3-minute read — by BTES Staff
You’ve probably heard it said in one form or another: “Therapy is for sissies!”, “Who needs that psychobabble crap?”, or “That’s just a bunch of touchy-feely stuff.” With such ignorant and devaluing cultural messages, it’s no wonder that admitting to receiving psychological training is still only whispered in confidential conversations.
In our modern world, it’s unfortunate to see that certain gender stereotypes persist. The misconception that women are more emotional than men is one of these. In reality, men and women have identical emotional characteristics. It’s only the social conditioning of what’s “acceptable” that creates any distinction between genders. In very generalized terms, women are socially conditioned that emotional reactivity is acceptable (it’s not), and men are socially conditioned that the display of emotion is a weakness (also wrong).
Due to this social conditioning, our culture is rife with stigma inhibiting the pursuit of greater emotional education and training, especially for men.
The truth is, therapy is work. Therapy is for people strong enough to ask tough questions, and who want to understand the answers badly enough to endure what discomfort may arise in the process in order to gain the knowledge and understanding that will improve their life.
Therapy—at least the kind of therapy we practice at BEing There—is not about having a good listener, or just needing to vent, or getting advice from a disinterested third-party. Good therapy is about understanding what makes you tick, why you make the choices you make, discovering the roadblocks embedded deep within you, and learning how to affect real, tangible changes.
That’s why world-class athletes, Fortune 500 CEOs, and even Navy SEALs seek therapy—they know they can’t reach peak performance without understanding the emotional issues that inhibit them.
No, therapy isn’t for sissies. Therapy is a challenging, courageous pursuit, and the only place to receive training on the emotional aspect in order to more effectively deal with all areas of your life.
Keep ’em coming.
We consistently produce short videos and articles that help you to understand your world and how to make it better. We’ll deliver them right to your inbox.