An Investment in Myself

I recently had a conversation with my son one evening about budgets and we were discussing how much he spends monthly on things such as going to the gym, getting a haircut, buying new clothes, travel, getting lunch while at work and socialising etc, I noticed he added into his budget money for his own counselling/wellbeing, (he has had his own mental health challenges on and off for many years and paid for his own counselling because for obvious reasons I could not be his therapist) he said something that really struck a chord with me because it is so true yet hardly ever thought of in the context in which it was said, so what did he say ??

He said, very sincerely ‘I consider my counselling an investment in myself’. Thinking about that statement later on inwardly I smiled to myself because he is so very right in that analogy, taking care of your mental health/wellbeing is certainly one of the best investments you could ever make in your life. Think about it, we maintain our physical appearance such as body, hair, face, nails, clothes etc to make ourselves not only look but ultimately feel better, this is such a normal everyday routine that we follow without even thinking about it so why would you not take the same amount of care for your mental health?

Just because you cannot always physically ‘see’ your fears, anxieties, feelings and emotions doesn’t mean they are not present and having an impact on your daily life, wouldn’t it be great to look after our minds in the same way we maintain our bodies, they are equally important for a healthy wellbeing.

Clients often say to me they cannot afford a counselling session yet when I ask if they can afford their monthly gym fee or a night out on the town the answer is almost always yes and whilst I would never tell somebody how to spend their money, take a second to think and see why it makes sense to invest in your overall wellbeing and not just one part of it. Taking care of your mental health/ wellbeing doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment draining you of all your hard earned cash, by making that comparably small investment in yourself today it can pay dividends many times over in the future because you will have the resources to cope with anything that comes your way. Now that truly is an investment in your self.