Edit: so please also help me understand this- if a person doesn’t have family and friends to support, sounds like therapy won’t really help this person unless they change their living conditions, or they relapse?
In: 68
I can only speak from personal experience, but therapy has given me a new perspective on myself and a lot of blindspots in my life. I never realized just how many painful things I internalized; I was narcissistic, pessimistic, had a victim complex, and the list went on. And although I still struggle with those qualities from time to time, being aware of them, and getting advice and even more importantly, support from the therapists I’ve met has enabled me to be the person I want to be rather than the person I was due to my circumstances and trauma.
One therapist put it best for me; right after my engagement fell apart (which is what initially made me seek therapy) told me I needed to grant myself “power” in my life. The power to take back what I needed rather than allowing myself to be at the mercy of my circumstances (which, in retrospect, I realize was important in changing my negativity and victim complex) and the power to grant myself the love and care I needed for myself, rather than trying to fill that void from the love of others.
Therapy is highly personal, and has different values for different individuals, but I find the most blanket explanation is it gives you an understanding of how you process, react to, and enable things in your life that you may not have been aware of and want to either empower or change based on your values.
Edit: I realize this isn’t really an ELI5 answer; I just saw the question and want to give my thoughts and I didn’t really pay attention to the sub. There are other excellent answers that deserve the proper recognition of the sub.
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