It can be incredibly difficult to take the first steps toward counseling.
What if it's a waste of time and money?
I don't like getting emotional in front of other people.
What if I don't like my counselor?
What if talking about it makes it feel worse?
Welcome the parts of you that have concerns and worries about trying something new.
There might also be hopeful parts of you as you consider counseling:
What if this is what I need to make positive changes in my life?
What if this helps with the anxiety and numbness I live with day-to-day?
What if I gain the courage to pursue what I want and need in life?
What if my life gets better?
Welcome the part of you that is hopeful about trying something new.
The truth is, you may not like your counselor, and it's okay to try a few and find one you connect with. You might cry or feel like it's silly to be here, but these feelings will come and go. We won't let them overwhelm you. You might be encouraged to talk about something that is a little uncomfortable for you, but you also will be encouraged to go at your own pace. And it might be a waste of time and money, but that might be because a part of you isn't quite ready for it. Yet, how could we know if we are fully ready until after we take the leap? Brene Brown calls this "daring greatly," and points readers back to Theodore Roosevelt's great speech:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.…”
If you are ready to dare greatly, then you're ready to try counseling.
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