Hey Mama, You Need a Therapist

Can I share one of my strongest opinions with you? I think everyone deserves to see a therapist.  I think everyone needs a therapist. I especially think moms, parents, and caretakers of all kinds can benefit from an outlet to share the mental, physical, and emotional load that is taking care of tiny, growing people day in and day out. It’s essential to our mental health.

As moms, we get the snacks, pack the lunches, wipe the bottoms, clean the messes, kiss the boo-boos, and are the safe place for our kids to land in their time of mental and emotional stress. But you can’t pour from an empty cup. You can’t take care of the people who need taking care of until you take care of yourself. If you are feeling burned out, short-fused, depressed, or maybe you can’t even specify your emotions because you are feeling all of them all of the time, then seeing a therapist and talking to someone might be the step you need to take towards a healthier and happier mental well being. You deserve to have mental and emotional balance in your life. You deserve to take the time to help yourself. 

When I Prioritized My Mental Health

I have been seeing a therapist consistently for almost three years now. I began after my second baby was almost a year old. I didn’t know where to start when looking for a counselor, so to Google, I went.

Between some searching on the internet and searching through my insurance directory of providers, I ended up seeing someone for about a year who helped me begin the process of working through feelings of grief and depression, as well as helping me pinpoint anxiety triggers and boundary setting for myself and my relationships. I have since switched counselors to someone who I feel to be a better personality fit for my needs.

seeing a therapist and talking to someone might be the step you need to take towards a healthier and happier mental well being.

At first, I wasn’t sure you could do that, I had just spent a year building rapport with one therapist and it almost felt like a breakup leaving her. But after some reflection, I came back to the reason why I was seeing anyone at all – for MY mental health and wellness. If the provider I was seeing wasn’t serving me and my mental health needs that was ok! I could move on because the purpose of seeing anyone at all is for me and me alone.

I see my therapist roughly once a month (sometimes more, sometimes less depending on the season of life). There are sessions where I have a whole list of self-reflection to talk about. Anxiety, fears, boundaries, goals, you name it and we have most likely worked through it. And there are sessions where I don’t have anything specific to talk about and yet I leave feeling better; like I took time for just me and no one else.

I see my time in therapy as the ultimate definition of self-care. I never understood self-care until I realized that self-care is an act of loving yourself the way you love other people. Therapy is my form of loving myself and taking care of myself the way I would take care of a friend or loved one. 

My personal journey aside, looking for a therapist can be a daunting task! Navigating insurance and curated counseling directories online can be intimidating and confusing. My first and biggest piece of advice is to talk to a friend who may see a therapist and ask for a personal recommendation or to call your insurance company and see what mental health benefits are offered to you. These two paths can narrow down a list of sources to a manageable length.  

{Read more: Motherhood & Mental Health}

If you need permission to even entertain the thought of seeing a therapist let this post be that for you. If you need this to be the push or sign to listen to the voice in your head that has been urging you to look up providers under your insurance, let this be that for you. If you just want to feel seen and heard as you are in this season let this be that for you You are doing a great job mama, you take care of so much and your mental health deserves to be taken care of too.