When you think of self-care, you might picture a relaxing bubble bath with a beverage and a book, and maybe even a pleasant walk in a local park. You don’t necessarily think of a therapy session with a clinical psychologist. However, cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, and other therapies are also forms of self-care that are worth exploring. Keep reading to learn how.
Address Mental Health
In the same way that you address mental health by going for a walk in nature or talking to a friend, a therapy session with an expert in the field, like Dr. Saara Muscat, also involves addressing mental health. Therapy sessions are about discussing emotional and behavioral challenges, such as those involved in anxiety, depression, and trauma, in a safe space.
Develop Coping Skills
At a fundamental level, self-care is about tuning into your needs in order to determine what will benefit you in a given situation. Short term, this might be more focused on improving your mood by exercising, spending time with friends, or participating in a fun or relaxing activity, like gardening.
Therapy sessions can help you further clarify and attend to your needs by equipping you with tools to help you navigate life’s ongoing challenges, manage difficult emotions, and build resilience that will benefit you long-term. While you can still turn to fun activities when you’re feeling low, you can also draw from an arsenal of other coping tools you learned from your sessions, like deep breathing and mindfulness.
Prevent Burnout
Burnout is a very real problem in our society. In fact, as of 2024, United States employees in a survey rated their burnout as ‘high’ or ‘very high’. While you can participate in relaxing activities after work to de-stress and unwind, therapy is another helpful form of self-care that can help prevent burnout. Your therapist can help you maintain your well-being and devise strategies like setting clear boundaries and seeking support from trusted people in your life.
Learn Self-Compassion
Your well-being matters, even if you don’t immediately see it. The simple act of going to therapy is self-care because it reflects that the negative thoughts and feelings you’ve been having about yourself are worthy of care and attention. By committing to therapy, you’re making a conscious choice to treat yourself with kindness and practice more self-compassion.
Build Self-Esteem
Low self-esteem can affect your entire life. It can prevent you from achieving personal and professional growth and create feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and sadness. Sometimes your negative views of yourself might even convince you that you are not worthy of self-care or making yourself feel better. Low self-esteem is another concern that can be overcome in therapy by helping you uncover the root causes of your self-perception, develop healthy coping mechanisms, and challenge your negative thought patterns.
Learn Preventative Care
We encounter many challenges in our lives, and we don’t always know how to deal with them. As a result, minor problems have the potential to become crises. Therapy isn’t just an option for when you’re in crisis and truly struggling. It can and should be a proactive measure and a form of self-care for maintaining your mental wellness in the long term.
Self-care isn’t necessarily about bubble baths and book-reading. It can also be therapy sessions where you develop coping skills, build your self-esteem, and learn self-compassion. It is never too late to explore how therapy might benefit you and to start putting yourself first.
