“Other people have real problems. I’d just be taking up space.”
People who say this to me have almost always lived through relational trauma. It can teach you that your needs don’t matte or that having needs is somehow wrong.
Let me share a few things gently:
This is the work I intentionally choose to do. I’m set up to support clients navigating these patterns.
You are not taking space from someone else. It’s designed for you. The space is already yours.
Your struggles matter, and you deserve relief.
Even reading that might feel uncomfortable. That makes sense.
“I already feel heavy, and therapy sounds hard.”
I won’t sugarcoat it — therapy can be hard. Changing long-standing patterns sometimes means feeling emotions that have been pushed aside or looking at painful experiences.
It also involves finding ways to make that weight feel less heavy. Sometimes, simply feeling accurately seen and understood brings relief.
Therapy that creates sustainable change respects your pace, readiness, and goals. We don’t rush into overwhelming experiences. We work in a way that your nervous system can actually tolerate and integrate.
Also, I don’t think I’ve ever had a session that didn’t include humor. I take the work seriously, and that includes making space for the full range of emotions — not just the difficult ones.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance the status quo already feels exhausting. You always get to decide whether it feels more painful to stay where things are or to move toward change.
“I should be able to handle this on my own.”
You probably have handled a lot on your own. That self-reliance is familiar and may even feel safer.
Going to therapy doesn’t mean you can’t handle life independently. In many ways, it reflects accountability and a willingness to grow. Chronic guilt isn’t a personal failure or something you need to “fix.” But if that’s hard to believe — or doesn’t fully land emotionally — having it reflected in therapy can feel deeply relieving.
If you find yourself believing therapy is valid for other people but not for you, that’s incredibly common. I might gently invite you to notice what feels different about you that makes it seem like you don’t deserve the same support.