The Power of How: Letting Go of Why for Healing

So, the other day, I was casually scrolling through my Facebook feed, and this post caught my eye

"Depression is REAL. People can smile all day & still be broken inside!"

And let me tell you, I've got a bone to pick with that...

First off, nobody is broken. I get it, though. Heck, even I had a doctor once tell me I was broken, so I totally get why it's easy to buy into that idea. But let me set the record straight: it's pure, unadulterated BS. Straight up, you've-been-lied-to BS.

Secondly, it breaks my heart that we still have to assert that depression is real. It means there are still folks out there who think having a rough day is the same as battling depression. They think depression and anxiety are things you can just "snap out of," and if you just dig deep enough, you'll suddenly see the light and life will be rainbows and sunshine.

Yeah, right. Like it's that easy.

Let's dive into this for a sec.

Depression IS real, and it's got nothing to do with how smart you are or how well you can pinpoint all the reasons you're feeling down. This is one of the pitfalls of traditional talk therapy, which believes that if you analyze the WHY long enough, you'll magically find the answers and poof, you're healed.

But here's the kicker: after 13 years of traditional therapy and four years of studying psychology, I could rattle off all the reasons why I felt like crap, but I still had no clue how to fix it.

I remember telling my therapist back then that my brain understood everything she was saying, but my heart just wasn't buying it.

And that, my friends, is the problem with traditional therapy.

You see, asking "Why" gets you nowhere fast. It's like scratching an itch out of curiosity but never finding relief.

It's "How" that's the real game-changer.

You can start working on the "How" without ever figuring out the "Why" and still find the healing you've been searching for.

Neat right?

​Til next time!

Photo credit: Free pix