EXPLORE

Explore
By Jennifer Eulberg, MA, LPC
For this once again planned pre-pandemic blog topic, I would like to start with a “Thank You”. I’m thankful for my clients and all of those individuals willing to take a look inside themselves and work toward better understanding of themselves, others, and the world around us. Engaging in therapy is not easy. It certainly isn’t a weakness! Doing the work of internal investigation, confronting traumas, challenging brain patterns, and sharing your most personal thoughts takes incredible strength. I thank my clients for the honor and trust of being a part of their journeys.

To this end, I would like to go a different way than I perhaps normally would with “explore”. While it is often the realm of my work to help clients explore their inner worlds as well as their closest relationships, I have to admit many of us are a bit sick of that concentrated, and lately unrelenting, journey. The possible explorations outward and into the community is a place of mixed messages, mixed opinions, and frankly, mixed levels of restrictions. So then, where to explore?

This question led to my immense gratitude of those who share their stories with me and the world. While this sharing is built into my work as a therapist, it is an available and abundant resource for all of us. Whether you have a large network of friends and/or family or not, we all have unprecedented access to stories of others. Available access points to such journeys can be found in (but not limited to) the following: podcasts, vlogs, blogs, posts, and good old-fashioned memoirs and biographies.

Right now, it’s easy to get lost in the isolation. What month, day, time is it? It’s difficult to navigate our options going out: which stores, counties, states are “open”? Do I feel safe going out?

To me, it is a wonderful feeling of connectedness to our larger humanity to explore the worlds of others. If you happen to feel stir crazy with the staying in and/or if you are unsettled regarding where, when, and how to go out, I encourage you to explore the ways you can connect with others through hearing, reading, listening, or watching their stories.
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May is Mental Health Awareness Month! If you, or someone you know, are struggling, please reach out. Tell someone YOUR story.  Please know mental health therapists everywhere are here to help! If you are interested in speaking to someone at Sandhill Counseling, please reach out to our intake coordinator at 636-379-1779.

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