Therapy, Untangled
Starting therapy can feel a bit like digging through a backpack you’ve been carrying for years. You reach in for one thing and end up finding old notes, half-broken pencils, maybe even a snack you forgot about.
Bit by bit, you start to notice how much you’ve been holding that doesn’t really belong to you anymore.
Therapy doesn’t judge the mess; it just helps you look at what’s there and decide what’s worth keeping. It’s a chance to travel a little lighter, and maybe feel a little more like yourself again.
What Therapy Really Is
At its core, therapy is a space to get curious about your inner world. It’s one of the few places where you don’t have to edit yourself or worry about being “too much.”
Sometimes it’s about exploring the patterns and protective ways that have helped you get through hard things, and wondering whether they still fit the life you’re in now.
Therapy isn’t about “fixing” yourself. It’s more like learning to listen differently. It’s not about becoming someone new, but remembering the parts of you that got buried under all the coping and expectations.
Sometimes that means trying new ways to respond. Other times, it means softening toward yourself exactly as you are.
Common Misconceptions About Therapy
Therapy isn’t about doing it “the right way.” Some weeks might feel deep and reflective. Other weeks, you’re just getting through the day. That’s all welcome. Every part of you gets to show up — even the one that needs to vent.
Venting can absolutely have a place in therapy. But we don’t stop there. We might get curious about it:
What is the venting part of you trying to protect? What does it need to feel heard or soothed?
Instead of rushing to fix things, therapy makes room to notice what’s underneath the frustration or overwhelm.
It’s also not about being told what to do. A therapist isn’t there to hand you a set of instructions, but to help you discover your own pace, your own answers, your own way forward.
Why Therapy Matters
If you’ve ever thought, “I should be able to handle this on my own,” you’re in good company.
Therapy isn’t about weakness or failure — it’s about realizing you don’t have to carry everything alone. Once you start unpacking what’s been weighing you down, it gets easier to see who’s been there underneath it all along.
Even a small step — noticing what you’re carrying, or wondering what’s underneath — can be the start of a lighter, clearer path forward.
If you’re curious what this kind of unpacking could look like for you, you’re not alone. Therapy can be a space to explore that at your own pace, in your own way.
