30 Of The Most Brilliant Things People Realized In Therapy That They Felt Everyone Should Know About

To gain more insight on this topic, we reached out to Randy Withers, LCMHC. Randy is a Board-Certified and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice in North Carolina. He is also the Managing Editor of Blunt Therapy, a blog about mental health. Randy was kind enough to shine some light on the topic of therapy, and noted that although it can be an incredibly useful tool, "Therapy is not, in fact, for everyone."

"People with certain types of developmental disorders, certain types of psychotic disorders, and people with Narcissistic and Antisocial Personality Disorders are often not appropriate for therapy," Randy explained. "People who are forced to go to therapy don't tend to get good results from it, either. Having said that, it is fair to say that the vast majority of adolescents and adults can benefit tremendously from therapy, if for no other reason than people tend to benefit from the strong sense of social connection that therapy provides."

Randy also opened up with Bored Panda about some of his own experiences with therapy. "I have struggled with depression, anxiety, and post traumatic stress for most of my adult life. I have seen several different therapists, and most have have been quite helpful. For me, a good therapist provides much-needed insight, education, and support," he noted.

"I like to process life issues with my current therapist, Kim. I appreciate getting a neutral but informed point of view about whatever it is that I'm processing with her. Some therapists have literally saved my life. It's one of the reasons I got into this field."

One thing I noticed from reading the responses on this Reddit post was that many people mentioned how a therapist can say something incredibly insightful that suddenly seems like it should have been obvious all along. So we asked Randy if he could explain this experience a bit. "This can happen for a number of reasons, but what I tend to see is that people tend to have assumptions that guide their thinking. Many of us never bother to challenge these assumptions and are awestruck when we realize how our thinking contributes to our anxiety and depression," he explained.

"I've noticed that for many of my male clients, they are so busy trying to please their wives or girlfriends that they are shocked to discover that their feelings and needs actually matter, too," Randy noted. "It is amazing to me how many men never realize such a basic truth. People also tell things to therapists that they have literally never told anyone else. Secrets are toxic, and simply relieving oneself of that burden is by itself an impactful experience for most of my clients."

"Our minds can be dangerous weapons, especially if we don't know how to use them," he added. "Our brains are hardwired to focus on the negative. Most of us don't realize just how much suffering our thoughts cause us."

We also asked Randy if there were any particularly insightful things he's been told by therapists that stuck with him. "Years ago, a therapist told me resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die. That stuck with me," he shared. "Many adolescents need to hear that their parents' divorce was not their fault. So do survivors of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual assault. For whatever reason, victims of these types of crimes tend to feel an enormous amount of guilt and shame."

"But in general, the one thing I think everyone needs to hear is 'You matter. A lot.'," Randy added.

Randy also wanted to remind readers that therapy is not an immediate cure for any of our issues or struggles. "Therapy requires a lot of work outside the session to be impactful," he told Bored Panda. "Talking to a therapist without making behavioral and lifestyle changes is like talking to a personal trainer and then not going to the gym. It's never a waste of time, but you'll get so much more out of it if you do the work."

If you'd like to hear more wise words from Randy, be sure to visit Blunt Therapy's website right here.

Personally, I've always had wonderful experiences in therapy, but I understand that it's not possible for everyone. So today, we'll settle for "trickle-down therapy" online. Be sure to upvote all of the responses that resonate with you, and feel free to share more insightful words you've gleaned from therapy in the comments below. Let's prioritize our mental health, pandas! Then, if you want to check out another Bored Panda article featuring advice from therapists that might give you a fresh perspective, we recommend reading this piece next.