The Benefits of Therapy

It's a funny thing about therapy. I can convince myself that it is pointless, stop going, and be quite alright for a while. But eventually, gradually, the weight of the world becomes more than I can handle. All the bottled up thoughts start breaking me down inside, until I can't see, can't breathe, can't function. It is about this time I realize there is something powerful and necessary in having that outside person to talk to, to tell every thought and admit every feeling to, without fear of rebuttal or judgment. This is my lifeline to maintaining sanity.I need to stop severing ties every few months. 

 The American Psychoanalytical Association reports that "even when psychiatric care is free, only 4.3% of the population uses outpatient psychotherapy, and the average length of treatment is 11 sessions." 

Some people are completely against therapy. They are convinced a shrink would do nothing for them, or perhaps would even make their problems worse. Others have had a bad experience (or perhaps several) and that has put them off from further attempts at psychotherapy.  

While I am fortunate to have found a facility that caters to low income patients so that it is affordable for me, many do not have that option. Some do not have insurance, and many insurance plans don't cover therapy or other mental health costs. 

In a nutshell, there are many reasons why therapy does not work out for people. But there are many benefits to it. A therapist can help you, through a series of questions, insights, and exercises to do the following:

• figure out your worth and purpose
• set personal goals and follow through
• improve relationships
• overcome issues such as anxiety, phobias, depression, anger, etc.  
• gain a fresh perspective from an outside source that will not be swayed to "take sides" in your situation
• alleviate stress and bottled up emotions by talking it out with someone who listens and cares
• find healing from traumatic events 

Stuff like this can scarcely be "fixed" in just a few sessions. Rather, therapy is an ongoing part of your life; for months, years, perhaps for the rest of your life. It's not a sign of weakness to need counseling. It's a matter of finding the take-charge attitude that says "yes, I have some things I need to work on, and I am going to do what it takes to improve myself in order to reach my full potential."

Of course, not everyone likes reliving painful experiences or talking in general. When I first began therapy six years ago I was very apprehensive about the prospect of being made to talk for 45 minutes straight! But it ended up being not so bad, and I felt at peace when I left each week. There were more than a few occasions when I was so distraught over something I just cried the whole time, and other sessions were filled with a lot of silence because depression had my tongue. My therapist had to talk me through a major panic attack during some sessions because I would be so stressed from the waiting room (the joys of social anxiety). Not everyone is blessed with a great first therapist like I was, and I grieved deeply when she moved away. I really don't think I will ever have a therapist I connect with and enjoy talking to as much as I did her. But each new one has brought something new to the table. They have each offered up fresh perspectives, and I have grown stronger and more capable because of my time in therapy. So when I start missing appointments, it shows. I start backtracking and losing my way. Sure, I could walk the road alone; so many do. But it is so much easier having a guide to help me through the rough patches, and to cheer me on the entire way.

We never truly stop growing, but there are definitely circumstances and emotions that halt our progress from time to time. Therapy is a great way to refocus and learn to spread your wings and fly. When you find inner peace and tap into your vitality, the sky is the limit.

-Amy Purdy

Remastering Your Mind: Part One

The mind is a powerful device.It can remember details, solve problems, recalculate objectives; it can make decisions, learn a new hobby, and ace a math test. Okay, some minds can do all of that. Not mine. Especially the math part.

Of all the many symptoms that can be attributed to Bipolar Disorder, the tricks it plays with memory and focus are at the top of many people's complaint list. With mania comes the speeding thoughts, the far fetched ideas, the inability to zero in on any one thought in order to make any sense out of the madness. The average brain produces approximately 70,000 thoughts per day, but during a manic episode, it can often feel as if that amount is occurring by the minute! During depression, quite the opposite happens. Suddenly, tying your shoes makes for confusion. Remembering your niece's birthday? Forget it. That kid's going to get a belated card, if anything. The brain feels like it's having to churn through molasses just to figure out what to wear that day.

Weighing less than 5lb, our brains take on an excessive job of keeping our entire body functioning. It keeps the heart pumping, the lungs breathing, and regulates body temperature and blood pressure. It controls your ability to walk, talk, and sense the world around you through sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch. It gives you the means to think critically, make decisions, and feel emotions. There's not a single element of your body that the brain is not the head master of.

So, when there's a malfunction in the brain, it makes life a lot harder, eh?

Apart from the additional struggle that mental disorder can place on the mind and body, an average adult between the ages 20-60 will lose around 0.04 to 0.11oz. of brain tissue per year. After the age of 60, this amount increases to 0.14oz. per year.  To understand a little more about how the brain works, allow me to share an excerpt from The Odd Brain by Dr. Stephen Juan:

"As clean, trim, strong, and fit as any athlete, the brain maintains its continuous high level of top performance by 'washing' itself. It keeps itself immaculately free of the slightest contaminating impurity, that is, of anything that could rob it of efficiency.

Our brain is at its largest in early adulthood, when it has approximately 100 billion neurons (brain cells). Most scientists agree that we lose between 10,000 and 100,000 neurons per day. When neurons die through old age, disease, or injury, they are rapidly consumed and digested by special glial cells attached to neurons. You might say they are the brain's wonderful little housekeepers. In addition to being cleaners, these glial cells also serve as nurses by providing sustenance to healthy neurons. 

 This washing process helps the brain store, along with its more than 100 billion neurons, more than 100 billion items of information. This is five hundred time the amount of information in a set of encyclopedias. And the glial cells may help account for the fact that the brain is still able to send out electrical impulses thirty-seven hours after death."

If that makes you feel like the deceased may have more wits about them than you, then you are not alone. And it's understandable to feel that way, as the brain often gets neglected. Like our stomachs crave food, our minds crave intellectual stimulation.  To build a muscle, you must work the muscle. You must also give it the loving care that it deserves. Proper nutrition and physical exercise go a long way in keeping the mind at optimum function. Likewise, challenging the brain and learning how to manage stress and other neuron-depleting emotions will aid in a healthier brain, and a happier you.

My goal for this series on remastering your mind is to shed light on many of the reasons why our ability to think and reason are affected by our lifestyles, and the role mental illness plays on the issue. I will also address some fundamental ways to regain control over your brain's functioning powers. In the next segment of this series, we will look at a few of the most common brain funks we fall captive to.

-Amy Purdy

Progress...or Something Like It

Oftentimes I can't tell whether I am moving forward or backward. Progress is a tricky thing. I'm getting older, but am I getting wiser? Some days I am really cynical. Other days I fake attempts of optimism (this is always a short lived play; I am a realist, after all). Other days depression vows to defeat me. Tonight I happen to be very happy and hopeful and more apt to take things at face value, rather than muddling things up with over-analytical thinking.

I have been on a bit of a roller coaster lately, not only with my moods, but with my life goals.  I have spent a fair share of time on getting my hopes up, having them fall abruptly, being crushed by imaginary setbacks, and being uplifted by the smallest advancements to my goals that bystanders would just overlook or take for granted.  I hold certain intentions dear to me, and when I care about something my whole being revolves around it whether it is healthy to do so or not. I have to keep reminding myself that it's okay that the best things in life take time, and that awful dreaded word PATIENCE.  I also have to clutch in my hands a thing called reality because not everything turns out the way we want it to.  We may yearn for a certain outcome more than anything in the world but never attain it, because our fate holds something better.  As faithless as I can be at times I do still believe certain aspects of our lives are meant to be.  I also believe that there are a lot of treasures along the way to finding our destiny but it is very easy to miss out on them if we focus too hard on the future.  Today is here for a reason.  We can choose to enjoy it, or we can choose to underestimate it, and perhaps lose the best part of our lives along with it.