Lexie Miller - LPC

You know how people say, “running is my therapy,” or “yoga is my therapy” or “wine is my therapy?”

Today, a loving reminder that actual therapy is really good therapy.

I’ve seen a counselor/therapist on and off in several seasons of my life & just began with a new therapist recently & was reminded once again how helpful it is, especially in stretches of loss or change or recovery.

Being alive is such a gift...AND ALSO most of us are facing some very real challenges: the end of a relationship or the struggle of addiction, the loss of a family member or a crisis of faith—and the stories that we tell ourselves about these events are crucially important for our mental health.

Our culture does a few things really well: celebration, happiness, achievement, beginnings.

What we don’t yet do well, culturally: grief, struggle, loss, endings. We don’t know what to do with our badly broken hearts, crushed expectations, searing losses, raging grief.

Therapy helps build a safe container to hold all those wiggly, scary things we’ve been taught to ignore—and you know they won’t be ignored & they’ll find their way out sometime.

How to find a good therapist: word of mouth. Ask people in your life who seem to have a decent handle on their own mental health—chances are they have a good therapist.

And asking about it is valuable in another way: it normalizes therapy, which is important.

I rolled into a brand new city and absolutely asked every woman with great blond hair where she gets her color done.

And when I realized my grief & anger were too heavy to bear on my own, I sent an email to friends whose emotional wholeness inspires me, & that’s how I found this wonderful, wise new therapist. (Also how I found a tailor & a good butcher. It works on so many levels.)

We’re not responsible for what happened to us, but we are absolutely responsible for what we do with our pain.

Therapy, like almost every good thing: hard but worth it.

Make the appointment. :)❤️