10+ Best Advice From Therapist That Will Change Your Life Forever
Last Update on November 3, 2023 : Published on February 21, 2021
Therapy is an empowering practice where a therapist tries to resolve a person’s life challenges through a systematic process. Each therapy session, each client, and each therapist is unique.
However, some tools of coping that make life better are often at the heart of therapies. Therefore, we decided to share these mental health tips with you, for you to bring real changes in your life and learn ways to cope healthily daily.
Also Read: Starting Therapy? Here Are The Things You Need To Know
Disclaimer: Therapy is not about receiving advice, applying it, and call it a day. It is a systematic process that involves multiple steps and a licensed professional to resolve an issue. This advice is generic and is a part of the entire treatment process. You can apply them daily as in hand coping techniques. However, if your issues continue to bother you, seeking therapy is suggested.
So, to provide you with the best therapist advice, we reviewed different interviews, articles, and blog posts by different therapists. And here we are with advice from therapists across the fields put together for you. Continue reading to bring positive changes in your life.
10+ Best Therapist Advice For You
Therapist Advice 1: Create Your Support System
If I ask you that: Can you turn to all your Instagram or Snapchat followers for support when your life hits rock bottom? Probably, your response will be a NO! We, humans, crave connections and while we might have hundreds of millions of contacts in our call log the question comes down to how many can we count on.
Only a few right? Well, it does not matter how many people you feel connected to, having them as a part of your support system on difficult days is what makes the difference.
Also Read: How To Optimize Instagram For Your Mental Wellness | Little Secrets For You
That is why therapist Klow gives the therapist advice of creating a list of your people, the one you can count on. He says,
“By building a list of people that you trust, with whom you can talk to in times of need, you allow yourself a strong sense of not being alone.”
This will work as your emergency SOS list whom you can connect with when things go a little harsh. Their time and love will surely replenish you and lift your spirit.
Therapist Advice 2: Write Down Your Thoughts
On some days, when you have no one to vent out your feelings to or when the issue is such that you want to keep it with you alone that is when the therapist’s trick of writing it all down comes to play. When you vent on paper, you create a healthy and productive outlet for your underlying emotions.
According to David Klow, a marriage and family therapist, ‘writing your thoughts down in a mental health journal helps you vent healthily.’
Even if you manage to give 5 minutes of your day to journaling it will bring positive changes in your life. What makes the practice of penning down your thoughts even more amazing is the fact that it is a private, non-judgment, and comfortable place to open up about your feelings.
Therapist Advice 3: Allow Yourself To Feel The Emotions
When we encounter a life challenge that brings overwhelming emotions with it, we often try to deal with the feelings by either dodging them or putting them under the carpet. Either way, we end up creating a mess within by not dealing with these emotions, that ideally came up with a message!
Even Tina Gilbertson, a psychotherapist by profession, emphasizes the need to allow yourself to feel your emotions. She shared a mental health tip saying,
“While you may not want to act on every feeling you have, try to experience each one fully in the privacy of your own heart. Name your feelings (e.g., anger, sadness, dread, etc.) and remind yourself you’re allowed to have them.”
It might be a little tricky to start at first so we would recommend you to use a mood-o-meter to keep a track of how you feel and then further work on it. Remember you have to be real to yourself to work on what is bothering you.
Therapist Advice 4: Boundaries are Not Rude; They are Healthy
While you may think of boundaries as rude they are indeed required to maintain healthy relationships, uplift your self-worth, and protect your mental peace. By setting boundaries, you find your voice.
Therapist Advice 5: Displace The Negative Thoughts with Positive Ones
Having negative thoughts overshadow your emotions and behavior, the world kind of seems a dark place to be in. Perhaps, negative thoughts are one of the biggest reasons why people seek therapy.
Dr. Mayer gave a mental health tip that you should not be avoiding the negative thoughts as by doing so you create an invisible and unhelpful pile of the same within you. So what to do instead? He suggests countering negative thoughts with positive ones. He further suggested two ways to make it work:
- Replace your negative thoughts with a positive statemen
- Acknowledge your negative thoughts and consider them as a reminder to take some time out for yourself.
You may also make use of this therapist trick to deal with overwhelming and negative emotions:
Therapist Advice 6: It is Okay to Put Yourself First
Do you always put others over you? Well, it is good to be kind to others but how about learning to be kind to yourself. While you might think of the concept of putting oneself first as selfish, it is indeed required to protect and nourish your overall well-being.
It is important to treat yourself the way you would want to be treated by others. So turn on your focus on yourself, indulge in activities that you love, and make yourself feel good.
As Jenn Kennedy, a Marriage and Family therapist suggests that ‘one thing that makes the most difference is self-care.’
She further recommends, “Whatever makes you feel better and feels kind to you helps push back on the usual mental health culprits.”
Therapist Advice 7: Make Room For Forgiveness
Do you often blame yourself for everything that is happening in your life? If yes, then it is advised that you make room for self-forgiveness and stop blaming yourself or others for things happening in your life.
Ryan Howes gave the mental health tip,
“There’s no reason to keep beating up your former self. When you forgive yourself for your past decisions, you’re free from the blame and can find the bandwidth to manage the current issues in your life.”
So practice self-forgiveness and show compassion towards self.
Watch This Video Learn a therapy-based activity to practice forgiveness.
Therapist Advice 8: Flourish with Gratitude
My first review paper was on the concept: Gratitude. Which made me learn “It is good to be grateful.” Gratitude is a beautiful and empowering practice that allows us to be mindful of what we have, feel grounded, and count on our blessings instead of shortcomings.
Laura Federico, a licensed psychotherapist, shared a therapist trick to put gratitude to play and connect with our coping bodies. She shared a therapist’s advice,
“When you notice that you are feeling separate from your body, start at your feet and work your way up, and check-in with each part of your body briefly. Thank each part of your body for how it has helped you so far in your day.”
Do give this advice from the therapist Federico a shot at least for a week and share your experience with us in the comments section.
Therapist Advice 9: Understand the Connection Between Body & Mind
Our mind and body are closely knitted together. While you might be eating healthy, going to the gym, and keeping up with the latest fitness trend if your mind is in an unhappy state, it all comes down to zero!
It is important to give equal weightage, attention, love, and care to both your mind as well as your body. It is only doing so that one can work as a fully functioning individual.
Therapist Hannah Rodriguez says,
“to listen to yourself you have to connect with your body.”
If you are eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly then do not forget to give yourself a dose of mediation (and vice-versa). Remember the most intuitive here is YOU and you are your Mind+Body!
Therapist Advice 10: Above All Be Gentle With Self
No matter how difficult or challenging the situations are, remember to be gentle with yourself. Think of it this way, you are the energy source for your thoughts, emotions, and behavior to work in the right direction. If you won’t be gentle and considerate of yourself, nothing will line up for good!
A client named Kati Charin shared her therapy experience, where she was verbal about the same therapist advice: Be gentle with yourself. Reminding yourself that others might be going through the same challenges opens doors for empathy and grace.
Along with this, acknowledging how you feel allows you to be gentle with yourself. Whatever may help you here just turn the outward empathy inwards sometimes when you need it the most, and be compassionate towards self.
Advice From Me: Remind Yourself of What You Can Control and What You Can’t
When anyone around me starts feeling distressed, experiencing sadness, or getting anxious over something in their life I have a piece of advice to give them. I just ask them to take three deep breaths, and ask themselves can they control this situation?
Yes, then put your efforts in the same direction. If not, then channelize this emotional energy into something positive. You may choose an activity that you enjoy and invest in the same. Personally, when situations are not in my control I choose to direct that energy within me in cooking, which works like a mini therapy session for me.
Now it is time for you to pick one of these pieces of advice a day or maybe a week and put it to use. If it brings even 1% of the difference in your life do share your experience with us. But do not just leave this blog on reading, take some time out and give it a real-time experience.
I would like to quote Alicia H. Clark a licensed clinical psychologist here, “The best progress happens when you apply what you’ve learned outside that setting, in your real life.”
Keep this advice from the therapist in mind and get going in your life. Beautiful changes are waiting ahead of you.
Which out of these best pieces of advice from a therapist are you going to give a shot? Share with us in the comments section below.
About The Author
Anjali Singh
Anjali Singh is a content curator in the field of Mental Health. She is currently done Ph.D. in Psychology. Her aim is to light up the world with positive vibes through her words, her idea of life is ‘Grow through what you go through’. Apart from this, she is a big-time pet lover.
