Beyond Quick and Easy Solutions

There is no short supply of theories of what is missing with this world and I certainly cannot say that I have any theory after only doing my job. Through my experience I have certainly encountered a theme. A philosopher from ancient Athens, Plato, made some simple observations on human behavior. He explained that the baker makes baked goods and these are satisfying to people but are not healthy. The doctor would suggest that you eat healthy foods that do not taste as good. It takes an act of willpower to be choosing to eat these healthier foods.

But why choose the healthy foods when baked goods taste so good? Back in ancient Athens, it was a worry to get sick because they did not have anything of what we have for medical sciences today. There was no “sick time” to be paid out by their jobs. Immune systems would have to be ready for whatever illnesses they might have got from their livestock. Fast forward to our day and age and we have so many social and medical advances to be able to defend against these illnesses. Arguably there is less of a draw to be eating healthier foods.

But this is not a blog about healthy eating or foods. This is a blog about therapy and emotional wellness. In the world today, there are so many easy ways to make us feel better instantly that it is astonishing. Before the internet we had to wait for that special time of day for us to watch our TV show and had to be patient throughout the commercials. It was a mark of economic prowess to have a large movie collection and most people rented movies. Now movie streaming and easy entertainment is completely at our easy grasp. It is the fast food of feeling good.

There are so many people who prefer these fast ways of feeling good that it ends up as a coping mechanism to rush to these ways of feeling good. Those that are most afraid of feeling anxious or depressed end up being the most anxious and depressed in part by them finding these cheap ways of coping with their emotions or distracting themselves. Plato argued in more ways than one that the best things for the soul were not easy but would be long lasting.

Why work on your emotions when there are so many quick ways to feel good? Maybe you do not need to. As long as everything seems to be working with these quick ways to feel good, then maybe let sleeping dogs lie. However, when problems do come and you have done so much to cope with your emotions in these quick and easy ways, taking those first steps into finding out what’s not working in your life can be tough as it might be for eating healthy for the first time. For clients like this, I am deeply grateful to be a part of those first uncertain steps. You might not know what you are feeling or why you are feeling that way. Emotions might have been something you had felt so uncomfortable with expressing for such a long time, not having the right people in your life to have these calm, reflective talks with. 

Busy with work, family and everything else that pops up in life, I have always found it helpful to check in with my own counsellor to work through some of the questions that I am facing. The work in counselling is never fully done but I think it is worth it in the long term, especially if there are work benefits packages to burn through. If these check-ins with a counsellor are made every once in a while, the really difficult times won’t seem as difficult.

👉 Book your counselling session today and experience the benefits.