As we’re working to recover from our addictions and mental health issues, examining our fears with a therapist can help us greatly in our healing. We are sometimes so clouded by our toxic thought patterns and so distracted by our life circumstances that we have a hard time looking at what is driving us in our lives. We aren’t always thinking clearly, and our emotions can be scattered, overwhelming and hard to process. Therapists can help us to see things in ways we might not have been able to otherwise.
Therapists are trained to examine the fears rooted in our choices, and in our emotional, behavioral and thought patterns. Where we might just see what’s on the surface, they can help us to look deeper, to our fear-based motivations and intentions. They’re able to see the big picture, whereas we can get caught up in the everyday, temporary issues we’re dealing with. For example, if we’re caught up in a toxic relationship that we can’t seem to extricate ourselves from, we might think our main motivation is love. We might think that we can’t leave this person simply because we love them. Therapists, on the other hand, can see beyond the surface to the deeper issues within. They can detect when we might be attached to a relationship because of a fear of abandonment. They can tell when our insecurities in a relationship are a product of a fear of inadequacy. These fears can be hard for us to pick up on alone.
Therapists can provide the objectivity we often can’t provide ourselves. It can be very difficult to see through the illusions of our fears when we’re caught up in them. We’re feeling the weight of them, the sadness and anxiety, so much so that we can’t look objectively at what might be causing our fears in the first place. Therapists have the necessary distance and are unbiased and nonjudgmental. They can help us to see the things we simply weren’t able to see on our own.
Being open to therapy can be intimidating, just as exploring our fears can be. The entire process can be daunting and overwhelming. When we take that step, we prove to ourselves that we are stronger than our fears. We don’t have to be controlled or overpowered by them anymore. We show ourselves just how strong and courageous we actually are. When we examine our fears with the support of a therapist with whom we feel safe and comfortable, we open ourselves up to transformative healing we may not have been able to achieve alone.
Your new life starts today. Let Riverside Recovery be your support system as you do the work to heal. Call (800) 871-5440 for more information on our addiction recovery treatment programs.