Is Therapy for Me?
Sometimes, unbearable hours turn into days. If this sounds like the life you’re living, I’d like to help change that.
You feel days pass by.
It’s 6pm, and you’re finally home from work, exhausted. Still having to cook dinner, get some chores done. Maybe try to relax a bit and stream some of that new show that looked promising.
You reflect on your day. Doing a bunch of things you care little about, for a bunch of people who you feel little connection with. Or feeling unappreciated by the few people who are important to you.
Some days, you wake up, and things look brighter. You don’t feel tired today! You did something meaningful today! But these moments are fleeting. And you know the feelings of loneliness will creep up again.
You're exhausted.
All the emotions you feel…it’s getting hard to ignore.
For as long as you remember, you’ve been the biggest critic of yourself. At work and at home, trying to be painfully perfect. And your immigrant family, a whole other level, a story truly worthy of the therapy room. And it just seems that whatever you do, it’s just not good enough. And that inner critic of yours will make sure you feel awful about it.
And every once in a while, you come to your senses, and decide that enough is enough. Maybe it’s not your fault. Maybe there’s something wrong with the world. The fucking racism. Everyone always wanting something from you. And the anger and resentment comes pouring out.
But that anger and resentment…you know you can’t continue to live like this...to be smothered by everyone and everything around you. What you truly want is to become the person you know you can be, and still be loved for being you, with all your quirks and desires.
You're trying your best to keep it together.
“The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.”
—Maya Angelou
You’re living a double life. On the surface, you’re a rule follower, the people-pleaser, who trades complacency for love and acceptance. But you know damn well this isn’t who you truly are. You dream of being…yourself. And you wonder what possibilities are out there. And it’s getting harder and harder to hold it all together.
Imagine, going to bed at night, excited for the next morning. Imagine, waking up in the morning, ecstatic to get your day started.
You're scared of wanting more.
We can get there, but only if you’re ready for that journey.
And that journey is scary and liberating and heartbreaking, all at once. Therapy is about getting intimately acquainted with your deep hidden parts that stop you from taking the leap out of your mental prison.
Therapy isn’t for the faint of heart. It requires an immense amount of courage. There is no quick fix. It requires patience, as we take time to understand the deepest parts of you.
And so, the fear is very real, but the question remains, can you afford not to pursue your freedom?
It can be scary to dream of “freedom,” but can you afford not to pursue it?
But then again, you’re still kind of iffy about going through with seeing a therapist. I understand that push-and-pull. It’s exhausting.
Maybe you worry that no therapist would truly “get” you, and your unique mix of identities and experiences. And you’re scared that opening up to someone would risk being judged. After all, you lived your entire life under the judgment and expectations of others. That’s the pain of being immigrant children, of being model minorities, of living to fulfill the obligations and expectations of others. You implicitly accepted all the expectations thrown at you. You carry a huge load, and it’s suffocating the real you.
But you’re not alone. I see you. And I’m ready to take that step with you. Give yourself that chance, and discover what’s truly inside you. It’s time to finally show up for yourself.
Not quite ready yet? It's all good. Take the time that you need; afterall, this is a big step to take. In the meantime, here's some more info regarding how it'll look like for us to work together.