Why are you sad? You are a mental health professional, you can’t be sad. How can you help others if you are feeling this way? Aren’t you supposed to not feel anxious?
Mental health professionals are often considered to be immune from mental health issues. But is that true? No, we are also humans, programmed to cry, feel sad, struggle about things, have anxiety and go through pain. The difference is not immunity but awareness.
I remember taking a two hour session where the patient kept crying and telling me how she knew she had mental health issues yet could not take help. On being asked why, she replied, “Ma’am, therapy is for rich not poor. I know I can’t afford medicines and sessions. So I kept denying my illness”. Post that session, my eyes went numb. The daunting silence followed me for two days. Her shaken voice and emotions kept echoing in my head. The food on my table felt like a rod that I had to chew and swallow. That is how hard it could be at times.
We carry the weight of countless stories, the unspoken traumas of others, the silent cries for help, the wounds that bleed and what not. Sometimes helping becomes such a priority that our small victories go unnoticed. We are the safe space and an unwavering presence for others. Being a mental health professional is a challenge and a privilege at the same time. Helping others with the intersection of pain and growth is what we do. We listen for hours, the years and months of traumas, the lifetime of struggles and then we navigate hope. But, is not therapy just talking? No, it is not just talking. It is much more than talking.
If therapy was all about talking, it would not have healed people the way it does. Therapy is a place where a person can sit with its emotions and most fragile feelings without fear of judgement. Therapy is a structured, evidence based process designed to help the individuals understand their emotions, develop coping strategies and create a meaningful change in their lives. It may look like a conversation, but for many people it is for the first time they have been seen and their emotions have been validated. It teaches the beauty of hope, growth and connection. Mental health and mental health professionals deserve your time. Therapy deserves your time.
(Author is a mental health professional at Tele-psychiatry Department, IMHANS)
