Hereâs a thought I had about how therapy & treatment works (vs how many people imagine it works). This is based on my experience with depression and chronic illness, but I hope it applies more broadly as well.
Imagine you have to take a road trip on a deserted road alone. Halfway through the trip your engine starts to splutter and the car breaks down. What do you do?
A lot of people imagine that therapy and treatment is like calling a mechanic to come and fix your car for you. You make the call, and then you just have to wait around until the mechanic has fixed the problem, and your car is good as new! Unfortunately, it doesnât work like that. There is no on-call mechanic. No-one is able to fix this car except for you.
Instead, itâs like you pull a toolbox out of the trunk, pop open the hood, and dial up the mechanic on the phone. You have to try and describe the problems as clearly as possible, and follow the advice they give you as well as you can.
Sometimes you wonât understand the advice, and youâll need them to explain it again or suggest something else. Sometimes youâll do what they say and the car still wonât run, and they wonât be able to explain why, only give you something new to try. Sometimes youâll think you fixed the problem and start driving, and the car will break again two minutes down the road. No matter what happens, itâs going to be hard and messy and frustrating work.
But at the end of it, not only will your car be running again, but youâll know how to fix it now. Which isnât to say that youâll never need another mechanic again, but next time you get stuck, itâll be that little bit easier to handle.
So keep at it everyone, and good luck on your journeys!
