When we’re in a happy and healthy place, it can be easy to forget that not everyone has the same kind of support network that we do. Even if we generally have everything going for us, there are bound to be times when our confidence takes a nosedive, or we experience something so challenging that we feel like our world is falling apart.

Venting to friends isn’t always enough, and that’s where therapy comes in. It may seem like an extreme response to pretty common problems, but the fact remains that therapy is crucial for those who need it most. With so many people hesitant about therapy due to preconceived notions about what it involves, it can feel like a difficult step to take. However, once you get past the initial awkwardness of making that first appointment, there are so many benefits. Therapy often leads to improving your mental and holistic wellbeing.

Here are some of the top benefits of seeing a therapist:

Confidence boost

There’s often a stigma around therapy due to the assumption that it’s only ever used by people who are weak and have no coping skills. In reality, therapy is there to help people struggling in some way that they can’t seem to get a handle on. It allows them to unpack what’s going on, talk it through with a professional and get back on track. At its core, this boosts confidence the most: being aware of what’s holding you back and then finding a way to overcome those barriers. Therapy can be beneficial for this, and for many people, it’s all it takes to turn their lives around.

Learn new coping techniques

As well as helping you identify what’s holding you back and how to tackle it, therapy can also teach you new coping techniques that you can use in the here and now. For example, mindfulness and deep breathing can be beneficial when feeling stressed or anxious. Again, getting help to integrate these into your everyday life is a lot easier when you have the support of a therapist.

Become more self-aware

Cultivating self-awareness has many benefits, and it’s something you can achieve through almost any form of therapy. There are different types, so which one you choose will affect the way in which you become more self-aware, but every kind of therapy will involve you becoming more aware of your emotions and thoughts. Identifying what you’re feeling, knowing why you feel this way, and what you can do to make yourself feel better can be incredibly empowering when you’re going through a tough time. Knowing how to handle the situations that are stressing you out most can be incredibly helpful when you’re struggling, and therapy can help you get to this point.

Be treated for diagnosed conditions

Therapy isn’t only for those who think something is fundamentally wrong with them — it’s also for those who have been diagnosed with a condition that may need to be treated. Whether it’s an anxiety disorder, depression, addictions such as love addiction, a personality disorder, or something else entirely, therapy can be incredibly helpful in dealing with this. 

Develop healthier relationships

Most people are in at least one relationship in their life, be it a romantic one or a friendship. And relationships can be enriching, but they can also be tricky. As well as being aware of what’s going on in your head, a healthy relationship requires you to learn to understand your partner’s mindset. And therapy can help you do just this. Working with a therapist can help you understand your patterns in relationships, get to the root of any issues you have, and explore your partner’s patterns and work to break them. It can help you break the cycle of poor relationships and start to form healthy ones.