Washington, DC is a lot of things: stressful, exciting, frustrating, and confusing. It’s also home.
This city may not always be your favorite place, and it may not always be a particularly healthy place to hang around. But it will always be important, and right now, it’s where you belong. So you need to make it work for yourself, your health, and your future.
That’s why it’s important to talk about therapy. Therapy is a form of mental health care, of course. And it’s a powerful treatment option for those who are suffering from anxiety, depression, or virtually any other mental health disorder, be it common or uncommon. But that’s not all that therapy is.
The truth about therapy
Therapy can help you with things that harm your mental health but which don’t quite rise to the level of “disorder” — like stress at work or a rough patch in your relationship, to name just two examples. And therapy can be a particularly smart option to consider if you’re living and/or working here in Washington, DC.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is all about understanding not only what you think, but how you think. Cognitive behavioral therapy is among the most common forms of talk therapy, and it can give you new tools for assessing your thought patterns and behavioral reactions — as well as the means for changing your thoughts and actions.
These are powerful things. With some insights into your own thought processes and behaviors, you could become more objective about the issues you face in your life. You could get better at loving yourself and shaping your decisions and behaviors in a way that makes life better for everyone around you. All of this could happen even if you don’t consider yourself mentally ill. You could, in short, make the good things in your life great.
Therapy is great for people who are suffering from mental health disorders, and it’s great for those who are not too. It’s useful for combating any sort of mental health strain, including stress — which, here in DC, is a daily reality!
DC and your mental health
Seeking therapy is pretty much always a good idea. And it’s a particularly good idea here in Washington, DC, point out the experts at Therapy Group of DC.
That’s because Washignton, DC is a professional pressure cooker and a city that seems all too adept at ruining our healthy habits. It’s no secret that DC’s highly competitive political and professional scenes can really take it out of you. And keeping up often means working long hours and letting your work-life balance fly out the window — which only hurts your mental health even more.
On top of that, consider the fact that long hours, lots of great take-out options, and small living spaces make DC a city that encourages poor physical habits like skipping exercise and eating a lot of takeout. Since your mental health is closely connected to your physical health, this all makes DC an even more mentally damaging place to live.
But you don’t have to leave town to protect your mind. Just focus on the things that you can control, like the healthy habits mentioned above. And, for goodness sake, get a therapist! Working with a mental health professional can do wonders for your mind and for your personal life.
By properly caring for your mental health here in DC, you’ll become more productive, happier, and stronger in your interpersonal relationships. Invest in your mind, because it’s the best way to invest in yourself.