FINDING THERAPY IN EVERYDAY LIFE

The word therapy can scare people sometimes. The thought of entering a room where your deepest darkest secrets might be uncovered or even worse you might find out you have problems that you never even knew about before!

Believe me I can understand these fears because I have experienced them myself and putting yourself in that position can make you feel vulnerable and insecure. What I have realised though down through the years is that therapy in that sense is not always the ultimate answer. Yes it can help you take the first step towards wellness and that first step on the ladder can generally be the hardest, but good health is something that needs daily attention and heading to a therapist once a week is not going to solve your problems if you are still living a destructive lifestyle outside of therapy.

Simple everyday things like dancing and singing are examples of great therapy that we can include in our daily life. Art is therapy, friendship is therapy, meditation is therapy and self-care is therapy. How about a bubble bath, a walk in the park, coffee with friends or if you’re a parent enjoying a cup of tea by yourself! To me therapy is anything that contributes to a positive and balanced lifestyle.

We all encounter challenges on a daily basis so we need to find tools to help us cope that work for us personally and sometimes you need to try a lot of tools before you find the one that works for you.

For example if yourself and a friend were given a box each containing 100 keys and you were told that only one of the keys could open the door. What would you do?

You would have to try the keys one by one in an effort to find the one that unlocked the door. You might be lucky and pick the right key first time round or you might have to try 99 keys before you finally find the one that works and the same applies to life.

What works for one person will not work for another and you need to find what works for you. Different things will work on different days but the most important thing is to have fun along the way.

20 THERAPEUTIC THINGS FOR YOU TO TRY:

1. Buy yourself flowers
2. Take a bubble bath
3. Swing on the swings in the playground and see how high you can go (my favourite!!)
4. Listen to your favourite music
5. Have a disco
6. Sing your heart out
7. Read your favourite book
8. Have a cup of tea and your favourite treat
9. Organise a get together with friends
10. Meditate
11. Colour (yes adult colouring is wonderful)
12. Knit or sew
13. Laugh!! At yourself, a funny movie, a silly book
14. Go for a walk
15. Cook your favourite meal
16. Take a nap
17. Journal- yes, write down your ideas, dreams, hopes and worries. I find writing one of the greatest forms of therapy
18. Write that thank you card to someone special (There is always someone we need to thank!)
19. Try yoga or Pilates
20. Give yourself a compliment