– When Thankfulness Is Not Enough in Psychotherapy in Nashville, TN

LEARNING HOW BEING THANKFUL CAN DETRACT FROM A FULLER LIFE

All of us have philosophies that guide our daily life and actions. Most of us are quite unaware of these underlying beliefs that drive our actions and thoughts. Part of the benefit of individual psychotherapy in Nashville, TN is helping to illuminate these hidden drivers in our lives. The more we are aware of what’s driving us, the more control we have over where we are and where we want to go. For some of us, we believe that if we go to church and believe in God we will be taken care of: either here or in the after life. For others, we have a philosophy that giving of ourselves and sacrificing our desires will bring about love and peace in our families and important relationships. For others, we believe that if we focus on being thankful and grateful we can have a fulfilling life, because we put all our time and attention towards the gifts and grace we have been given.

Of course, being thankful isn’t a bad thing, and in fact, is quite necessary for an enjoyable life. However, if thankfulness is the main and primary driver for how we deal with life and relationships, we may be missing out on some very important aspects of love and connection.

HOW CAN THANKFULNESS EVER BE BAD?

If thankfulness is the primary focus of our lives, then we will be intentionally denying and ignoring the difficult and troubling parts of life. Most people would have a hard time identifying why this would be a bad thing. The reality is, though, that life and love are hard and difficult and trying. We need thankfulness desperately. But, we need to also be in touch with and aware of the ways that people hurt us and the ways that life lets us down. Obviously, the opposite can’t be true either. We can’t just focus on the negative and troubling times of life; that would be depressing. For some people though, being thankful is a way to avoid dealing with certain realities of life that are troublesome and overwhelming.

HOW CAN INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY IN NASHVILLE, TN HELP?

As we begin to uncover more of the deep beliefs that are driving our life, we begin to illuminate old experiences that may have been too difficult to integrate into our lives. There are many situations in life that in the moment or soon afterwards are simply too difficult to deal with or understand. It can be wise to put off dealing with these events for a certain period of life. However, at some point, we must deal with the hard and heartbreaking realities of old experiences, or we will be acting to avoid those old situations in ways that may not be helpful for the current period.

Individual psychotherapy creates a forum to explore these old experiences without having to solve them right away. As we come to understand their significance and impact on our lives, we can appropriately be angry and sad at those circumstances and the people that were involved. Anger and sadness are always difficult to process and understand. We need help along the way and sometimes individual psychotherapy is the place to garner that help.

If you are noticing that thankfulness may be blinding you to the darker parts of life, it may be helpful to reach out to a psychotherapist in Nashville, TN for guidance and direction. Chris Roberts is a licensed psychotherapist in Nashville, TN that would love to partner with you in accessing fuller parts of your life.