Report On My First Time As A Psychologist

I never thought I would need to go to a psychologist. Besides, I had never worried too much about the work of psychologists or thought about what therapy could do for me. But one day everything changed. I began to feel that something was not right inside. And I could not explain why. It was time for my first time as a psychologist.

I felt less motivated. I did not get the same pleasure out of things that I once enjoyed. It got harder and harder to get myself out of bed and out of the house every day. Even though I felt more comfortable when I was out. I felt I wanted to, but I could not. It was a strange feeling. It made me think something was wrong with my mental health.

Time passed and nothing seemed to change or improve. Finally I got the courage to do it. It was my first time as a psychologist. I did not know what to expect, what to say or how to start when I arrived at his office. I was really nervous and reluctant. Now that I’ve seen the results, I can say that it was definitely worth it. It was also different than what I had expected.

“Everyone talks about the mind without hesitation. But they are confused when you ask them to define it ”

-BF Skinner-

A psychologist will not tell you what you want to hear – They will tell you the truth even if it hurts

For my first time as a psychologist  , he started asking me why I decided to ask for help. It scared me that I could not explain it. Like I said before, I just felt uncomfortable. I could not find any reason or word for my discomfort. And contrary to what I expected, it was actually very simple to talk to him.

He could help me put my problem into words. He did not make me feel alone or helpless. He also did not tell me what I wanted to hear. He just taught me to analyze and work on what was not going well. He helped me to be aware of my imperfections, but also my potential.

“Your life is not so much determined by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much knowing what is happening to you as knowing your way of looking at what is happening. “

–Khalil Gibran–

But we did not just talk . From the start, from my first time as a psychologist, we agreed that we had a common goal. What we wanted to do was help me go beyond my feelings of discomfort that had made me make an appointment in the first place. This is perhaps the most difficult part of the therapy. You are not a passive being who gets a magical solution to your problems. Instead, you realize that your problems may change, grow, or disappear. It all depends on how you perceive them and what you do about them, directly or indirectly.

It is then that you realize that there is no magic. Change is difficult. Sometimes it’s harder to change than to suffer through the problem that led you to the psychologist in the first place. During the process, your idea of ​​who you are may change, and it can be scary . But the goal is not to feel comfortable in the short term. You work for change that will help you feel comfortable in the long run.

“The purpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of ​​the things we know best.”

-Paul Valery-

A good psychologist will help you free yourself from guilt but also make you take responsibility for your emotions

When you start treatment and put changes in place, it’s not just smooth sailing . Often, since I was aware of my problems, I tried to put a mark on them. These marks did not always coincide with what my psychologist told me.

It made me trust him less because I thought no one knows you better than yourself . Later, I realized that just as I do not know myself better than myself, I specialize in knowing the mental sources and gears that my psychology sees them. It was something pretty simple, but at first I could not see it. It turns out that we can all be masters of self-deception.

What I got out of my first time as a psychologist

Self-deception leads us to be too cruel or too good to ourselves. It makes it impossible for us to see our own reality clearly . So often we jump into guilt to feel how we feel, or to be who we are, just because we are not feeling well.

But therapy is like a mirror. It teaches you to see yourself, exactly as you are, not as you wish you were, or how you accuse yourself of being. During my first time as a psychologist, he helped me let go of the guilt I had about not achieving my goals and not putting all my energy into accomplishing them . In this way, he also helped me to take responsibility for the emotions born of that guilt.

For all these reasons, my first time as a psychologist was worth it. Now I am stronger, I have more resources, and my understanding of the world is more balanced. Now I know I’m not perfect. In fact, I have come to feel a certain devotion to the imperfections that led to so much frustration. I can face life and I can fail. All that does not make me weak. It strengthens my motivation to keep growing.

I certainly have fears, but they no longer sneak into my thoughts and paralyze me. My fears do not control me, for I have the support to tie up the knots that used to hold me captive.