I saw a therapist for the first time in my life this week — not because anything in particular is weighing on my mind, or anything tragic has happened, but just because my primary care physician (and the mental health community in general) assert that antidepressants work best in tandem with talk therapy.
After a few years of stalling, I finally did it. Even so, my opening argument of sorts was, “I feel like I shouldn’t be here.”
The first session was, as expected, a getting-to-know-you session, with a combination of brain-dump from me and required questions from her (e.g. “Are you in any legal trouble?”). As it happens, we found enough in common (including our love of Studio Ghibli and our dark senses of humor) that it wasn’t nearly as awkward as I expected. The outcome of our first one-hour session was a realization that journaling/blogging is an important factor in my mental health, and that I need to get back into the habit of getting my thoughts and feelings out of my head so I can recognize them and acknowledge them.
She also gave me some homework: a “Wellness Wheel” to fill out. I’m supposed to rank my satisfaction with each of eight areas of my life from 1 to 10. The instructions specifically say, “Go with your gut on this one,” so instead of first analyzing each one carefully with positives and negatives like I normally would, I’m just going to throw some numbers out there.
Me being who I am, though, I will present the results using an Excel graph instead of coloring in the worksheet she gave me.
| Category | Description | My Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Health | Eating well, exercising, quality sleep | 8 |
| Mental Health | Healthy mindset and emotions | 7 |
| Relationships | Feeling connected to others | 4 |
| Finances | Budgeting, saving money | 9 |
| Career | Satisfaction with work | 9 |
| Spirituality | Personal growth, seeking understanding | 7 |
| Home | Safe and comfortable living space | 7 |
Now for some details.
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