Many of our patients come to therapy with a cursory understanding of what therapy is and what it can do. You have a struggle, such as anxiety or depression, and your therapist uses evidence-based practices (like CBT) to help you cope with stress, change your thought patterns, alter behaviors, and better understand yourself.
We at Flourish Psychology are always happy to talk to you about therapy: what it is, why you might benefit, and how we can help. But today, we wanted to talk about some of the benefits of therapy that you may not expect. These are benefits that often extend beyond therapy, and are a consequence – both intended and unintended – of seeing your very own Brooklyn therapist.
Additional Benefits of Therapy
- Healthier Breathing – Anxiety and stress can trigger the activation of your fight or flight system. This system speeds up your heart rate and causes you to breathe faster, leading to hyperventilation. People that hyperventilate often may find themselves developing bad breathing habits that cause them to tire more quickly, experience weakness, or feel unwell. By addressing the anxiety, some people find that their breathing seems to be under control as well.
- Better Sex and Intimacy – There is, of course, far more to a person’s ability to enjoy intimacy than mental health alone. We work with many patients that struggle with intimacy, libido, and other conditions. But while curing anxiety or depression does not always make someone more capable as a lover, it does tend to increase a person’s own personal enjoyment, as they are less distracted by negative thoughts and better able to focus on the present.
- More Morning Energy – People with anxiety and depression often complain about feeling low energy in the morning, or more tired at night. Part of that is because these conditions are very draining. But another reason for these feelings is that people with mental health challenges tend to have less restful sleeps, so they’re drowsier in the morning.
- Less Flatulence/Bloating – Your mental health has an effect on the gut, and the symptoms of many mental health disorders can do so as well. Stress can affect gut flora, making it more difficult to process food. Sleeping and breathing better both reduce bloating and gas. Anxiety and depression slow down digestion. Managing your mental health means reducing these discomforts.
- Noticing More Around You – When a person struggles with their mental health, they are often “in their own brain.” That can make it difficult to pay attention to the world around them. A person that sees a Brooklyn therapist and has their anxiety and depression under control is able to process more information. This means they can often see more of what’s going on, enjoy and appreciate the beauty of nature, and even hear sounds they may not have heard before.
Learn More – Come See Our Therapists at Flourish Psychology
These only touch on some of the potential benefits of seeing a therapist in NYC, and while they may not hold true for everyone, one thing that we like to emphasize here at Flourish Psychology is that therapy is so much more than just “managing anxiety” or “reducing depression.” It has life-altering benefits in ways both big and small.
If you’re interested in getting started, please call Flourish Psychology, today.