Therapy Is Like KonMari for Your Mind

If you've been with us for a bit, you're probably coming to realize some truths about our minds. Among others:

They're powerful...

They take shortcuts...

They're prone to creating habits...

And sometimes those habits aren't helpful.

Because of the nature of the way our minds work, they easily fall prey to creating shortcuts and habits that aren't helpful to us. Some of which manifest themselves as what modern society calls mental illness.

Think about that for a second. Simply because they're doing what they naturally do, our minds can find themselves in unhelpful patterns that negatively impact our lives.

It's no wonder why 1 in 4 people will experience mental illness at some point in their lives!

Mental Health Awareness Day

Yesterday was Mental Health Awareness Day. Unfortunately, even though so many of us could benefit from therapy, proportionally few of us actually take advantage of it.

A big factor in that underutilization is stigma.

We're afraid it says something bad about us. We're afraid it means we're weak, or that there's something wrong with us.

In fact, it just means you're a human with a mind that was doing it's job, and along the way accidentally created a pattern that wasn't helpful. 

Let's look at an analogy...because I LOVE analogies.

A cluttered pantry

Many of us have had the experience of a room or closet in our house slowly morphing into a cluttered, disorganized mess over time. 

It didn't happen overnight. No one walked in there and threw everything all over the place. It happened slowly.

One day, you didn't fully put away the groceries and left some cans on the counter. The next day, an opened bag of chips spilled on the floor. The next day, your kids dumped out a box of fruit snacks.

You get the picture.

Over time, you found yourself with a stressful, cluttered mess. 

The same thing happens to our minds. Over time, our minds develop patterns and habits that cause our thoughts to become disorganized, cluttered, messy.

Therapy is like KonMari

You might have heard of the best-selling book KonMari in which the author, Marie Kondo, outlines her method for getting rid of clutter and maintaining an organized space.

When I read that book, I instantly thought of my experiences in therapy (I've gone for 3 separate issues over my lifetime).

You see, our minds can easily morph into something that feels like that cluttered, messy pantry. 

No space.

No organization.

Nothing in its place.

Therapy is like having a neutral third party help you reorganize things.

It was like having a person come into my messy pantry with me, randomly pick up a box, and say, "Where does this go. Don't worry about everything else. Let's start here."

One by one, we sorted through everything. Stacking like objects together. Creating an organizational system. Putting everything back in its place.

Each time I've gone, I walked out with a spacious feeling mind. The transformation was amazing.

Psychological Strength

Therapy is an incredibly powerful tool, and I urge you to tackle your own mental KonMari by reaching out to a licensed therapist in your area, even if you just barely think it might help.

Where does psychological strength come into play, you might ask?

Psychological strength fits into the equation much like preventive care fits into medicine. (I'm mixing analogies, I know! Stay with me!)

Psych strength is the set of skills and tools we proactively develop to make it less likely that our pantry will get messy in the first place and more likely that we'll be able to keep it organized after a big KonMari session.

Every single person in the world would be better off if they spent intentional time learning how their mind really works and practicing some simple skills to make it more likely to work FOR them, not against them.

This is why we're so passionate about what we do at Peak Mind and why we're so thrilled you're in our community.

In the shadow of this Mental Health Awareness Day, we want to say thank you. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for making your mental health and wellbeing a priority.

 

"Many people carry this type of negative self-image for years, but it is swept away the instant they experience their own perfectly clean space. This drastic change in self-perception, the belief that you can do anything if you set your mind to it, transforms behavior and lifestyles."

- Marie Kondo