The Mental Masseuse, as the title for my blog, was born out of the idea that therapy is like a massage for the mind: uncomfortable, tender, and painful at times, invigorating, relieving and refreshing at others, you ultimately leave in a different state than when you entered. What if we cared for our minds just like we care for our bodies? We go to the doctor, the dentist, the hair stylist, the aesthetician, and the personal trainer. We have been socialized to address our physical well-being, but a stigma remains over addressing our emotional well-being. Our psychological selves are too often left by the wayside, fed with pop culture mantras like “Just think positive”, “Just be happy”, “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”. While these messages may be helpful in small doses, there’s a larger underlying belief implied in many of these sayings that indicates that there is something bad, wrong, or unnecessary with uncomfortable or challenging feelings.
Our very real and, most importantly, our very human emotions of sadness, fear, anger, worry, regret, guilt, and shame, to name just a few, are often denied — banished as unwanted parts of ourselves; as such, we miss out on the very important messages these emotions send. Feeling sad? Shows that something is or was important to you. Worried? There’s probably something you need to pay attention to. Feeling guilty? Maybe you acted against your values. Angry? Perhaps there’s some underlying fear there. The same mechanism that allowed us to experience our fear and, in turn, spurred us to run from that tiger in prehistoric times is the very same mechanism by which we experience our emotions today. When we ignore, avoid, and defend against our feelings, we are denying our basic biology and birthright as human beings: the ability to use our emotions as messengers, guiding us toward situations and people that bring safety and joy, and away from those that don’t.
Therapy is like a massage for your mind: I invite you to get to know your emotional make up. Working with me as your “mental masseuse”*, we explore what messages your emotions are sending you, and decide how you want to let them guide you. With you as the expert on “you”, combined with my background and training, we co-create a space for healing, insight, and evolution. Let’s get free.
*my therapy never involves actual massage or physical touch