The Less Sexy Reason I Go To Therapy — To Learn How To Adult

I wrote my therapist a card a few weeks ago. I slipped it into page 60-something of a magazine. It earmarked the interview where I had my first full-page spread in a magazine. If I had to give you the spark notes version of what I wrote in the card, it was thank you. There were more sentences, a list of reasons why I saw that page and thought of her, but ultimately it was just a really big thank you.

I have anxiety and depression, but it’s been a long time since we’ve talked about the overwhelming nature of both of those realities during our 45-minute sessions. I don’t know when we moved from, “Please, help me not drown in these feelings” to weekly meetings about my life and the realities I needed help navigating and developing a healthy point of reference for. But we did and I’m thankful for it.

Because it’s not sexy or trendy, but I go to therapy to learn how to adult.

Growing up is hard and whether you’re stunted by family dynamics or propelled into a faux adulthood by life’s events like I was, there’s always room to have someone else help point you in the right direction. From my therapist I’ve learned about healthy relationships, what I should be looking for in a partner, what I should be willing to give a partner, and what red flags I shouldn’t ignore about boundaries crossed in the…