If you need to seek out psychological help…

I was talking to a friend the other day who told me that her brother had recently suffered through losing his job and was having marriage problems, and that he was just having a really tough time in general. When I suggested he go see someone to get some help she scoffed at the idea. “He would never go to a shrink, are you kidding!” was her reply. I was truly surprised because the environment that I grew up in was very accepting, in fact encouraging, of people getting help when they need it. I thought that it was an outdated attitude to frown upon seeking out psychological help when there was a need. Clearly some people do still feel that way!

These days there are so many options and so little stigma attached to getting counseling that to me it’s a no brainer. It actually seems like it’s trendy in some areas, Hollywood and New York City to name a couple, where people refer to their therapist in casual conversation all the time. Whether it is regular out-patient office visits just until a person sorts things out, or the need to get away to an in-patient treatment center like PCH Treatment, options really do run the gamut and can be tailored to fit individual needs. The important thing in my mind is that first step of accepting that it is O.K. to falter and need support. Our society and the media sometimes can make it seem like we all have to be these perfect super achievers. It makes it difficult for people to admit that they are flawed. The message that is missing is that first and foremost we have to be happy in our lives, and that we are all flawed in some way, we just have to do the best we can. Success means different things to different people, and so does failure, but what we don’t hear enough is that it is O.K. to fail. People do it every day. Then they get back up and start over.

*This is a partnered post.