“When we are no longer able to change a situation,
we are challenged to change ourselves.”
Viktor Frankl
The decision to seek help is one that is often arrived at after long periods of suffering. We so often cling to what is familiar, even when what is familiar is causing us and those around us tremendous pain. We go to great lengths to avoid coming face to face with our vulnerability, and unknowingly prolong our suffering despite our best efforts to master it. For many of us, we simply do what we know, choosing the familiarity of pain over the inherently fear-inducing path of change. Simply stated–change is hard. While change is inevitably challenging, it does not have to be undertaken alone. Finding a qualified therapist to support you through this process can make a significant difference in both the outcome and the process.
In the field of psychotherapy there is a saying I have found to be quite true over time–“We repeat what we don’t repair.” Despite deliberate attempts to do things differently, we frequently find ourselves stuck, repeating painful patterns that no longer serve us, yet unable to interrupt the pattern of repetition. Whether this pattern is an addictive process or substance, difficulty with relationships or intimacy, family conflict, habitual anger, or free-floating existential angst, psychotherapy can help identify the root causes of distress and facilitate the process of change.