Sorry mom!

I started therapy in June of 2020. I had just recently turned 16 and was struggling BIG TIME with anxiety. I finally hit a breaking point and went to my mom in tears saying that I needed help. Professional help. Looking back now, that was most definitely terrifying and heartbreaking to hear as a parent. (Sorry mom!) I felt like I was insane and the thoughts I was having were insane and far from normal. I was constantly anxious and paranoid and was convinced I was going insane. To back up a little, before I started having these paranoid thoughts, I thought the way that my brain worked was normal. I assumed everyone’s brain was constantly overthinking and anxious and telling them a false narrative. I just thought that is how our brains worked. I have had anxiety for as long as I can remember. In kindergarten, I developed a nervous tick but thankfully, that was later diminished by my pediatrician. I struggled with separation anxiety BIG TIME and cried every day at school up until winter break. (Again, sorry mom!) (And dad too but my mom had to deal with drop off every morning) Fast forward to present day in June of 2020. When I started therapy, I was nervous, timid, and held back for the first couple of sessions. It is hard to be completely real and vulnerable with a stranger! I had seen one therapist before Lauren, and she made me feel like a kid and honestly made me feel crazy. She treated me like a child and did not speak to me at the level I needed to be spoken to. Therapy (And Lauren) gave me and my thoughts a voice. It was also nice to hear a professional tell me that I am not crazy! Anxiety is real. Paranoia is real. It does not mean you are crazy or insane which I have since learned. Therapy changed my life. It gave me tools and structured ways to deal with my anxiety. It forced me to be vulnerable and go out of my comfort zone. Also, in some ways, therapy holds me accountable. Sometimes I am told things that I do not WANT to hear but that I NEED to hear. I am proud to say now that I am a better, stronger, wiser, and a more mature person than I was in June of 2020. And I have all thanks to give to therapy for that. I can control my anxiety and take the power back when I start to feel overcome by anxiety and paranoia. Therapy changed and honestly saved my life. If you allow yourself to be open and vulnerable and take the hard stuff and constructive criticism when it comes, then therapy could potentially change your life too!

- An 18-year-old client that struggled with anxiety and paranoia