What Every Philadelphia Therapist Wants You to Know (especially right now)

When did life become so hard?

Your life had been going along smoothly, it seemed, and then all of a sudden, life as you knew it changed. At the beginning of this mess, you thought you were handling things pretty well. But now, you have this sinking feeling and you just know something’s not right.

You tell yourself that you should be able to handle everything that’s going on-

…that you shouldn’t be affected by the unrest of absolutely everything going on around you; that you should be able to “suck it up” and do what you have to do. But the almost daily panic attacks, restless nights, the chronic exhaustion, irritability, waiting for the next shoe to drop… has made you question how well you thought you’ve been doing.

You keep asking yourself, “Am I Crazy?”

The question of your sanity keeps coming up in your head and keeps playing over and over and over on that record player of a brain. That thought… the thought that something may be wrong with you… has been keeping you up at night. So, not only are you questioning the idea that you may be indeed “losing it”, but you can’t stop thinking about it. You wish you knew how to push the stop button on the never-ending playlist of these thoughts.

Then the realization hits you-

“Oh my God, what will everyone think? Do they already think I’m crazy? I mean, if I think it, others are bound to think that too, right???”

You want your life back

and you’re so f*cking tired of hearing, “the new normal” or if you see or hear one more story about how the numbers of COVID cases keep going up, you’re not sure you can keep it together.

You look around and you become angry at yourself for feeling this way… because all over the news you see evidence of how bad other people have it right now- the racial injustices, systemic racism, the political division, the environmental crisis, the wildfires, the list keeps growing.

“You don’t deserve to feel so upset”, you tell yourself.

So, you smile and pretend you’re ok because you have to… you have to look like you have it all together because… well, because if you don’t, then, you may just crack…. At your core, you realize you need the extra help, but wonder, what will other people think if I start going to therapy? Even more frightening is the idea you’ll have to face the fact that you’re not ok….

Here's the thing-

You’re not crazy.

and as Demi Lovato sang,

“It’s okay not to be okay.”

I’ll say it again.

IT’S OK NOT TO BE OK.

Here’s the truth- It would be weird if you weren’t emotionally impacted by the huge sh*t show of a f*cking circus, we’re all living in right now. Honestly, who wouldn’t be or isn’t affected by all of this?

You are not alone in your struggle.

Right now, more than ever, people are experiencing the mental health impacts of the pandemic and everything going on in our society. There is such a huge need for mental health treatment. Yet, I still continue to read and hear about how many Americans are still not pursuing the help they so desperately need. Why you dear reader may ask? Well, as a mental health therapist who’s worked for almost 2 decades in the field, one thing keeps coming up. People are so scared that if they’re emotionally struggling, it equates to being crazy; like “falling off the deep end crazy”.

First of all, we all act “crazy” at times. Again, I ask, who hasn’t? Add on the fact that we’ll all living through a f*cking pandemic. In addition, the continued oppression and inequality still running rampant in our society.

So, let’s be real- 2020 has sucked in so many ways.

It would be “crazy” if you weren’t impacted.

Philadelphia Dialectical Behavior Therapy

So, here’s what you’re going to do. If you know something doesn’t seem or feel right, trust that inner voice. Do what you need to do to take care of yourself. Reach out and book your free DBT therapy consultation today by clicking here.