Therapy: The Cost of Doing Nothing

People need therapy. Especially in severe, destructive, or unmanageable situations.

In fact, each one of us needs it for lifetime personal wholeness. No one is exempted from growing.

We all want to be happy. We strive to reach our goals. Our desire is to worry or stress less. We want peace of mind.

It's one reality about the human condition that doesn't change. Yet, for some reasons, many tend to resist therapy.

We can be fine spending thousands on gadgets, clothes, dinners, or travels. But still, many find themselves hesitant to spend on therapy ... on "self-investment."

Joseph and Carol were fighting in big ways. And have been ever since. He was smart and outspoken. As for Carol, she's no longer caring to Joseph, but materialistic and know-it-all.

"You mean, we just talk. How long?" Carol kept asking during their marital session. She simply wanted to know how quick the process will be.

They never returned to do their therapy. About a year after, I received a text message from Carol. Her husband had become an alcoholic and been having sex with his secretary.

There is no quick fix in mental and emotional healing. The cost of doing nothing is heavy and long-lasting.

"Men are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them," said the ancient philosopher Epictetus. His implication is that our feelings are caused by our thoughts.

When you think of Therapy as "quick fix," frivolous, or a waste of time and money, you're not seeing life as it really is. You're not fully aware of your thoughts and how it harms your reality.

Life, as in therapy, requires us to show up. We "do work" developmentally over a period of time - over months or years. There is no magic, miracle, or overnight cure.

Consider the "costs" of doing nothing.

Where will you be a year, 2 years or 5 years from now, with the same old wounds and patterns stealing your happiness now? What's the cost of inaction or remaining stuck?

Clinical and anecdotal evidences show that the "costs" are really high. Much higher - financially, relationally, mentally, emotionally, spiritually - than temporary therapy processes.

What is your health "worth" to you? Can you put a price on your life?