Familiarity turns around medication. An equation of chemicals playing within our bodies, delivering relatively fast and noticeable results. But away from medication, how does therapy work? I mean besides magical wands, how does a therapist help you relieve your load?

Is it possible to work on your mental system without cutting you open? Surgery is not needed as long as Neuro Plasticity exists.

What is neuro-plasticity?

It is your brain’s constant ability to create new connections between your neurons and to dust those that need some seasonal cleanup.

Picture a road closure that had been replaced by a detour, due to construction works. The younger you are, the higher plasticity is in your brain, meaning the sooner therapy starts, the better.

If you consult for physical therapy or for mental therapy, work will aim to create new pathways in your brain, the master pilot of all your systems. A change of mental habits is what we hope to achieve. We want you to remember your painful memories but to have constructive reactions to it. We want you to have a better understanding of your past and your present, a better understanding of your emotions and a better control over your current behaviours.

For more information about emotional intelligence here is my article https://astoryofthoughts.wordpress.com/2018/11/30/seek-and-destroy/

Daily efforts and a massive load of energy are needed from you to make progress happen. I said progress, not healing. In therapy, we do not discuss healing. Healing is a stage while progress is a journey, a story of struggle and success.

Your physical or mental therapist will have you do different types of exercises in relation to your specific needs, to teach your brain new information. It is not completely true that only your brain issues orders. The body does have a direct impact on your brain’s functioning. Your perception through the senses is directly reflected in your brain and change happens in the way you think or behave.

Repetition is the main ingredient to all this, along with self-trust.

Please do what your therapist asks you to do. They do not mean to boss you around or to dictate how you should be living your life but they know the chain of behaviour and how one thought or action could affect you tremendously.

And what about talking? How on Earth is talking effective? Well talking is a complex cognitive skill that took humans thousands of years to develop. Words are not to be underestimated. Words shake the world. Believe it or not, spoken words have direct impact on your brain. Each spoken sentence uses energy and releases energy from your psyche.

Self talk is important and helpful but in cases of depression, anxiety or paranoia, it could lead to disastrous results. Expressing your thoughts out loud with words is extremely powerful. No matter how strongly you believe that you understand the dwelling thoughts inside your head, saying it out loud is like throwing it up. Psychological pressure is instantly reduced and relief is as instant as following the intake of medication.

Art therapy is a strong form of therapy but if it is not associated with words, it stays unfulfilled. Writing and composing music add an important turn to your progress but since we are mostly verbal creatures, words would still be needed in any case, for ultimate results.

Talking to trustworthy friends is very helpful, as long as they know how to listen and how to give advice in relation to your situation. Tricky isn’t it?

I would recommend therapy if you seek professional advice. A professional is trained to give you the advice and the guidance you need. If they do not know how to do that, find another one but do not give up on therapy. If the meal is not good, it doesn’t mean you should stop eating, it would mean that you should try a different cook.

Check my article on the fear of therapy https://astoryofthoughts.wordpress.com/2019/10/07/the-fear-of-therapy/