Therapy When You Least Expect It
What a week I've had since my last blog! Working at Newport Complementary Health Clinic gives me the great pleasure in working with a wide variety of people, helping them find the answers to solve their problems. I'm sure that one of the things that makes me a good practitioner, is my real love of people. I genuinely have a huge interest in people and enjoy their company (most of the time!). This allows me to enter into all sorts of conversations with them and hopefully help them with whatever they want to change. But I have mentioned in previous blogs how my clients nearly always 'give' something back to me too. A therapy exchange almost, something that I'm not frightened to admit.
Sometimes it's pretty obvious what it is that I get from being with a client. For example, the lady who text's to say that 'the magnesium powder has done the trick and can I have 2 more pots please'. And the elderly gentleman who said 'even though I've never met you before, I feel so comfortable talking to you that I feel like I've known you for years'. And a text from a longstanding client yesterday who feels so grateful to have 'found' me as I have helped her feel so much better. Now, as a person who dedicates her time to helping people, getting feedback like that from a client is the most wonderful feeling. That's great silent therapy.
But what about the moments that we all experience that seem so small, its almost not worth acknowledging them? Really? Some mornings I stop off at a well known coffee chain before work. The manageress and I spend approximately 5 minutes in each others company and frankly, usually talk a load of rubbish. But it always starts with a 'good morning' and ends with a 'have a great day'. Now I have no idea how she feels about our morning chat, but I really appreciate it. It starts me off on the right mood and by the time at the clinic, I'm smiling. And then there's Emma, a new friend of only 5 months, but we feel like we have been friends for years. We send random texts and e mails about anything and skype at least once a week. Unfortunately we live 200 miles apart but we appreciate each others friendship and that gratitude generates a positive experience that makes us both feel great. And the conversation I had today with a female client who has become a friend, gave me some insight into her life, which I could relate to, and helped me with some 'stuff' that's been stuck in my head.
And my point ??????? What would happen if we acknowledged and recognised these moments that are happening many, many times in a day? What are we missing out on if we don't? What will we attract into our lives if we just had gratitude for the simplest of things? These moments are like mini therapy moments. I know that each of the above situations added something good for me. Sometimes we make it all so complicated, analyse and try to understand. I learnt a long time ago that you don't need to understand everything for there to be a benefit. Just believe and receive.
Yesterday, a client (who has low self esteem issues) commented that she had prepared a presentation for her husband and that his managers were so impressed that they had bought her flowers. Her immediate reaction was one, not of pride and acknowledgement, but one of embarrassment that they had focused their attention on her. She realised that it was a shame she hadn't been able to accept the compliment and what a difference it would have made if she had. She is working with me to change and address her difficulties to accept such acknowledgement with Hypnotherapy and Neuro-Linguistic Programming.
The flip side of this is that you attract what you give out. So in order for you to be in a position to have gratitude for those wonderful, little feel good moments in life, you have to be prepared to engage with and appreciate others. You need to say 'good morning', to tell your family how much they mean to you, to send that random text that makes your friend smile, to organise that get together, to say thank you to your work colleague who has done a great job.
Sounds easy? Obvious right? Wrong! I work with all manner of clients to allow them to easily achieve these things. We often feel stuck, silly, unworthy, undeserving and incompetent. The simple fact is, we can all achieve these things and the more you do, the more you get. It's totally self perpetuating. Therapy can come at you from all directions, but if you are not in a great place to receive it, you're not going to feel it. And if you don't feel it, you are most definitely missing out.