Being Honest Brings Out The Best In People

A few years ago I started therapy. I kept it a secret when I started, it felt like it wasn't the kind of thing I could tell anyone. I felt like it was embarrassing, and I was kind of ashamed of it.

Worse, I felt like I was the only one. It seemed like everyone but me was competent to handle things on their own. But then there was me, I needed help, because I was less capable. None of my friends or family needed help like that or so I thought.

When I started therapy, I began to tell my family and friends. I even told them that it might be helpful to them, if I thought that they had things going on that might benefit from therapy.

Guess what happened? As I started confiding in other people that I was in therapy, they started telling me the same thing! It was like once I told them that I would understand, it was safe to tell me. We didn't have to keep this a secret from each other anymore.

It was sobering to hear their stories. One person close to me told me how she went on antidepressants after the deaths of both of her parents. Another friend has been treated for depression since he was in middle school. My hairdresser had been on medication anti-anxiety meds because of obsessive compulsive disorder.

The people who told me these things said they felt relieved to be able to share the information. They were tired of keeping the secret! I felt like I had support in my struggles, and like I wasn't alone, just from hearing their stories.

Therapy has made me realize that none of us are perfect. Also, there's no point in trying to hide it when you are having difficulties. It's better to be open and honest.

If you tell people when there are things going on that are difficult, you'll probably have people share similar experiences or give you support in other ways. This is very helpful, and really can make you feel a lot better.