Counseling: Exercise for your Soul

It seems that every few years we see a rise in new and exciting workout regimens designed to gain personal strength, endurance, and have us looking and feeling great! Whether it’s aerobics from the 80’s, P90-X, or the hype of CrossFit, the development and routine of physical exercise continues to have a huge impact for millions of people.

Have you considered that your emotional health can be just as important as your physical health? What if you could enhance your physical health while enhancing your emotional well-being – at the same time? Counseling does just that.

Sometimes people assume that those who seek counseling must be in crisis or unable to help themselves get healthy. But rarely do we see someone at the gym and ask ourselves “I wonder why they are here every day?” We know why they are there. They want to be as healthy as they desire to be and maintain what they have built. They care about how they feel, look, and perform. Counseling can do the exact same thing for your emotional well-being and for your relationships.

Being in the process of counseling gives you an opportunity to work on connecting your heart and mind. It is a process that slows you down and allows you to see, feel, and work through what is happening inside of you. Knowing how you’re “feeling and dealing” gives you the chance to gain control of your emotions and respond to the people in your life in a healthier way. You get to see what is happening and what options you have available to change the outcome. Your soul will get stronger in this process.

Just like physical fitness, counseling has many approaches and techniques that are helpful. It’s important to find the best fit and to consistently put in the work to get the results you need. It takes a lot of courage to come into a therapy room and expose yourself and be vulnerable. It is very similar to walking back into a gym after a while. The pain can hurt, it can burn, it may even feel exhausting, but only in the beginning! If you choose to do so, you will likely find a sense of peace that you may have never experienced before.

Counseling can be vital for our relationships and our world to find comfort and connection. If you have never been in counseling before, take a moment and ask yourself, “Do I feel as strong and confident as I want to feel today?” Counseling could be the beginning of experiencing a new level of confidence. It could help you forge strength into the two most important parts of your body: your heart and mind.