Mental health myths: Am I crazy enough?

Mental health concerns come with a lot of misunderstandings and there is plenty of misinformation out there. That’s why I like to tackle mental health myths from time to time. Today, let’s look at some thoughts about seeking treatment.

Myth: If I see a therapist, I’m crazy.

Fact: There are lots of “non-crazy” reasons to seek help.

   

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Somewhere in their heads, people set an imaginary standard for what the threshold should be for seeking mental health treatment. People come up with an idea of what they think is “bad enough.” One of the unfortunate consequences of this is that it makes people assume that someone who is in treatment meets their criteria for what they believe a mental health patient is. This is often not the case.

An acute crisis or severe symptoms definitely warrant treatment. But these are not the only reasons to seek it. It’s completely normal to go to a therapist if you are experiencing mild or moderate distress. This is, in fact, a good thing. By working on your problems before they get magnified with time saves you a lot of effort in the long run. 

It’s kind of like getting a headache. You notice that you’re hurting, but think that it’ll pass. As the day goes on, it gets worse and worse. Finally, you take some ibuprofen. But because the headache has set in more deeply at this point, it might be that no amount of pills makes it go away. You just may not feel better until after you sleep it off. Ultimately, you prolong your pain by not taking preventative action when your discomfort was tolerable. 

The same goes for staying in treatment after you start feeling better. There is no pressure to terminate until you are ready. You don’t have to stop just because you’re mostly doing better. Maintenance is important. My symptoms are not nearly as bad as they have been in the past, but I’m still in treatment because I don’t want to go back there. You might want to reduce the frequency of your sessions when you have made significant progress, but that is something to discuss with your therapist. Together you can make a decision on that.

Some people feel like they have to “earn” the right to be in therapy. They think that they don’t deserve treatment because they aren’t psychotic, don’t have a history of trauma or can cope reasonably well with their lives. The thing is, you don’t have to be a certain way to deserve help. The only prerequisite is a desire to improve your life. 

Honestly, you don’t even have to have problems to be in therapy. Plenty of people go for self-improvement. Some examples include learning to develop better relationships, finding greater fulfillment in your life, learning more about yourself and so on. You just can’t make assumptions about why people are in therapy.

In short, you don’t have to have hallucinations or be so depressed you can’t get out of bed for months before seeing a therapist. If you feel like therapy is or would be helpful for you, go for it. Likewise, don’t pass judgment on anyone else for seeking help. They don’t know your circumstances and you don’t know theirs. There is no template for what someone in treatment looks like. 

What beliefs have you had about yourself because you’re in treatment? How did you work through them? Talk about it in the comments.