You don't have to be crazy to go to the psychologist

Part of the problem that leads some people to be unhappy for months or even years is that, no matter how bad they feel, they don't consider seeking professional psychological help. "That's for crazy people," they think, and in the end what happens to them is not so serious or based on such irrational behavior patterns.

But, this is a mistake. Without knowing it, these people harm themselves and may even harm others if they spread the idea that psychology are only for extreme cases in which the contact with reality or with the possibility of understanding the the rest.

The good news is that psychologists can work to help people be happy in ways that many people don't expect.

• Related article: "The 12 branches (or fields) of Psychology"

Why don't you have to be crazy to go to the psychologist?

The idea that the psychologist's office is the place where "crazy people" go is wrong for many reasons. First of all, you have to ask yourself something basic: what exactly does being crazy consist of? The concept of insanity is not used by the behavioral and health sciences for a very simple reason: it is just a mirage, a set of clichés and stereotypes that have been used historically to refer to people with behaviors that are not conventional.

In fact, what a few decades ago was considered madness could fit behaviors that are not only common today, but even well regarded, such as dedicating themselves to traveling instead of working in a stable place and raising a family after a certain age, or creating original and groundbreaking music.

Thus, the only thing that people who have been considered crazy have had or have in common is the having suffered stigmatizing attacks for the simple fact of going outside the norm in some appearance.

What if we assume that being crazy consists simply of having developed mental disorders, such as social phobia, Bipolar disorder or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Even with this extremely benevolent definition of insanity, it cannot be said that the work of psychologists is limited to this. And it is that, although it may surprise, what psychologists do in our interventions in patients goes beyond the world of mental health or psychopathology treatment. In this video you can see some examples.

So... what is the use of having professional psychological assistance?

From what we have seen so far, the work we psychologists do is not limited to treating people with problems that can be considered psychological disorders, that is, clinically relevant phenomena. And it is that emotional, behavioral and relationship-related problems go beyond the world of mental health.

So that… What exactly does the work of a psychologist or a psychologist consist of? In addition to enhancing the well-being of those who have developed psychopathologies and even neurological disorders, our work is, in short, to apply knowledge and psychological intervention methods to facilitate that people can be happy by introducing changes in their own ways of behaving, feeling and relating to others.

You have probably noticed that this task is very open and adaptable, not necessarily starting from the detection of psychopathologies. Indeed: our work as psychologists is characterized by flexibility, precisely because human behavior, everything that we can do, feel and think, is extraordinarily diverse.

It is also for this reason that psychological intervention is always a process adapted to each person and their circumstances. And since each individual experience is unique, what we can help people with is also very varied, because what separates us from happiness or prevents us from developing well in life adopts different shapes.

In short: it is not madness, it is human complexity

The popular term insanity not only has no scientific value: it also does not reflect the complexity of the kinds of problems that psychologists help overcome. For better and for worse, humans are capable of extraordinary ability to respond to the environment, but sometimes we get "trapped" in situations that have been created from a combination of our previous actions, our biological predispositions and what happens to our around.

In therapy sessions, psychologists help “undo” these psychological problems and help take advantage of our potential to adapt, achieving autonomy and therefore room for maneuver to get closer to happiness.

Thinking of going to psychotherapy?

If you notice that you are going through a bad time or there is some aspect of your life that you would like to improve and it is related to your management of emotions or your behavior patterns, we invite you to get in touch with our team of professionals, Psychologists Majadahonda.

We perform psychotherapy services for adults, adolescents and children, as well as Mindfulness sessions or couples therapy. To know more about our center, or our contact information, go to this page.