Mark M. says, " My experience with Thrive started approximately 16 months ago. I came to a point where I knew that I needed guidance and help. I was burdened with guilt to an extent that I had never experienced, and it was consuming my day to day life. It was in my nature to resist change, ignore weakness, and not ask for help. All are important, but the third is the most important. I had a long list of counselors to pick from. So I picked one to call first. That phone call established much more than I would've ever thought, and changed my life for the better, helped me maintain my path through bad times, and made something click in my brain that brought back personal interests and values that I had lost along the way. I've never made a statement like that in my life until now.
Together we dug myself out of the whole that I was masking from co-workers, friends, family, and all. After about seven months in, I hit a realization that I'd never been happier in my adult life. This took dedication to the process. If you do not focus on positives, while accepting and facing the negatives, you won't get better. That thought process was, is and will remain a necessity in my day to day life. It took time, self awareness, and empathy.
So what happens from there....? Life hit me even harder than ever before. Within a seven week window, the combination of circumstances caused the worst pains of my life thus far. Initially, it broke me down. The first 3 of 7 months were brutal, but positive thought was always present no matter how bad the day or week had been - very minimal at times, but it was there. I wouldn't take the period of struggle back for anything, because I faced it. I learned more about myself than any period of my life, what I could handle, and our ability to keep moving forward. My counselor is the only reason I figured this out.
Because I asked for help almost a year prior, established a connection with my counselor, put all cards on the table, I was able to come out of a hole - guilt. Then six months later, get knocked into a deeper hole, bc that's what life does. While it was the worst time ever in the moment, it was the best time in terms of mental health, strength and growth.
The most important thing I can say is the following - I know that life is going to hit me with terrible moments again. There will be unfortunate circumstances, loss, mistakes made, and on and on. However, I don't worry about it, because of two things primarily. I can accept that certain things you cannot control, and that I will handle whatever it is, get through it, support the others effected, and move forward.
My appreciation of perspective that I've gained through my counselor will be instilled in me for the rest of my life and the gratitude I extend is in the hope that whoever is reading this, if you think you might need help, then you do need help, and you need to take action as I did.
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