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Finding a therapist can be a lot like shuffling through matches on Tinder. You swipe until there’s a connection and then the real dance begins. However, therapy isn’t about having someone judge your life. In fact, it’s the opposite. Therapy builds a conditional “friendship” with someone you can fire (aka break up with) without repercussion. Therapists are trained to give good advice, know when not to talk, and give you the room you need to grow. Once you’ve been seeing each other for a few months, you will realize if they’re a good fit for your needs. If they’re not, you can kick them to the curb, no hurt feelings. But being able to rid yourself of them without guilt isn’t even the best reason to start seeing a shrink…
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Has therapy improved your life? Was there anything you did to find a mental health professional you enjoy working with? Leave your tips in the comments!
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They Provide A Gossip-Free Space For Venting
As much as you love your friends and family, you probably don't always agree with them. Sometimes, the best part of having a therapist is knowing that you can safely shit-talk these people without repercussion. Thanks to the client-patient confidentiality agreement, everything you say to your shrink stays with them. Plus, there's nothing worse than venting to an untrained professional with loose lips. All they do is start soap-opera level drama in your life.
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They're Leveling-Up Gurus
Your normal friends are fun and cool, but do they always give the best advice? A therapist is a "friend" whose primary goal is to help you end the behaviors that hold your ass back. They went to school to aid you in your quest to be a better person. Can you say that about your friend Carol who thinks she's got an answer for every-damn-thing?
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They Let You Be Completely Self-Absorbed
The reason you pay a therapist is it's their job to listen to you. Your shrink doesn't expect you to show up at their birthday party. In fact, you only have to see them when you want and need to. It's the perfect one-sided relationship. You get to be "self-absorbed" and they don't get upset when all you do is hash out your problems. Plus, the only people who avidly give free advice have the worst advice and messiest lives.
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They Let You Opt Out Whenever You're Ready
The thing about therapy is you can stop it at any time. Although putting the breaks on your weekly sessions might not be what your therapist wants, therapy, as we know, is about your wants. So if it's not working for you at any point, you can end things. No harm. No foul. No keyed car.
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They Know Your Relationship Is Pay-To-Play
Therapists perform a sort of emotional labor to help you restructure and improve your life. Because of this, you pay to have your life and problems assessed. This establishes the trust and boundaries that make the work you're doing functional. In most cases, money destroys friendships, but them dolla, dolla bills ya'll is what makes therapy work.
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