Do You Feel Like You’re Just Not Good Enough?
Are you stressed and overburdened by all the expectations placed on you? Does it seem you are expected to be superwoman, and you can’t catch a break? Maybe you’re so used to caring for others’ emotional needs that you’ve neglected your own. Perhaps you feel burned out and exhausted and your efforts go unappreciated. Maybe you’ve been working tirelessly for a job promotion, but years and years of hard work and leadership have gone continually unnoticed. Deep down, you may ask yourself: Am I just not good enough?
Being a woman in today’s cultural environment is stressful. On one hand, you are supposed to be smart, driven, and independent, but on the other hand you are still expected to be gentle, compassionate, and nurturing. In the face of these contradictory expectations, it’s easy to feel as though you must wear different faces around different people. What’s more, it may seem like you never get a chance to be your true self.
Thankfully, counseling for women gives you the opportunity to celebrate your value outside of all these cultural measurements. It’s a chance to accept yourself for who you really are while acknowledging what you’ve accomplished. At Crosswinds Center, you can learn to focus on the positives in your life instead of allowing a critical voice to invalidate you and all your hard work.
Women Are Often Bombarded With Unrealistic Expectations
Work stressors, adversities, traumatic experiences, and major life-transitions are all common struggles in a woman’s life. Withstanding those challenges with grace and dignity is both an art and science. Doing it alone may be unrealistic and even impossible. A woman’s mental health is impacted by risk factors associated with genetics, brain chemicals and hormones, various medical illnesses, trauma, the impact of multiple life roles, social and cultural experiences, personality traits, and psychological factors. Puberty, PMS/PMDD, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, and menopause experiences may increase a woman’s risk for anxiety, depression, and a host of other mental health issues.
On top of all the risk factors, women often face unrealistic cultural expectations. We are supposed to be young, beautiful, and shaped a certain way—anything else is looked down upon. Our culture is filled with unhealthy and often unrealistic portraits of womanhood. When we naturally and inevitably fall short of them, we often develop low self-esteem and a negative body image. And on a behavioral level, we might be judged according to our ability to manage emotional “dramas” and avoid being labeled “bossy” or “controlling.”
Because of all these contradictory expectations, it’s hard to carve out your authentic path in life and sustain lasting contentment and happiness. That’s why it’s vital to seek help. Counseling for women is a chance to embrace your dignity, value, authenticity, and personal significance. Most importantly, we believe you will be able to achieve and experience deep, lasting change and inner freedom.
Counseling For Women Can Help You Befriend Yourself On A Deeper Level
Have you found yourself serving at the altar of perfectionism? You may also find yourself trapped in a self-defense mode, constantly working on concealing your vulnerabilities in order to avoid criticism, embarrassment, or emotional pain. At Crosswinds Center, you won’t need to hide anything. Our sessions provide a safe, nurturing, non-judgmental environment for you to explore your thoughts, feelings, relationships, and experiences. Here, you can talk openly about your vulnerabilities. Counseling for women is a chance to turn down the volume of your inner critic, boost your self-esteem, and gain a newfound sense of emotional freedom and empowerment.
Our intake process is relaxed and conversational. We will listen carefully, learn about your story, and understand what makes you feel energized and alive. From there, we can help you develop increased insight about the patterns of your behaviors, thoughts, feelings, and their purpose, which will allow you to identify and reexamine various glitches in your life’s blueprint and pave more effective and satisfying ways to relate to yourself and others. You will be able to enjoy a more meaningful life and start trusting yourself instead of doubting. We use psychodynamic therapeutic interventions and employ Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as adjuncts to initiate change and help you achieve your goals. We believe you can learn to walk in your own shoes with courage and confidence, discard unreasonable expectations, and embrace your true self.
Perhaps your vision of personal and professional success is not what you would like it to be. We will work with you so you can understand how to navigate tensions in the home, workplace, or wherever you run into conflict most. For instance, maybe you feel like everyone expects you to be their savior and you have too many responsibilities. If so, we will help you learn to step away from unnecessary demands, establish healthy boundaries, and avoid burnout. We can help you cultivate a supportive community in your life so that you feel accepted.
Before starting counseling, we encourage you to prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. Experiencing growth, healing, and restoration is possible, but it takes time. You can be gentle with yourself and take small steps to recovery. In this way, we believe you can heal your pain, develop self-compassion, and learn the courage to accept yourself as you are. With our help, you will be able to overcome feelings of inadequacy and carve your own path in life, staying true to your dreams and aspirations.
You may have some concerns about therapy for women…
I’m supposed to figure this out by myself instead of asking for help.
Cultivating a healthy support system is the surest way to build strength and resilience. Although it’s tempting to try and solve your problems alone, walking through life with someone else gives you access to broader perspectives and new ways of thinking, interpreting, feeling, relating, coping, and problem-solving. Just as you would seek a doctor for medical help, it’s important to seek a dedicated therapist to help you recognize your blind spots and master your life challenges.
Things are not that bad right now; I’m still waiting for the right time to seek help.
There isn’t really a “right time” or “wrong time” to pursue therapy. You can find encouragement knowing the best time is right now. Prevention is always better than salvaging what has been damaged or deteriorated. Counseling for women allows you to be proactive about self-care and initiate growth that lasts.
I’m too concerned about time and money to pursue women’s therapy.
Counseling is an investment, but it’s one that can pay dividends for the rest of your life. There is no price tag on the deep, lasting change you can accomplish by working with a competent therapist. In the long run, investing in your mental health can empower you to face your future storms with courage, hope, and assurance.
Free Yourself From The Expectations Of Others And Embrace Your True Self
If you feel constantly weighed down by unrealistic or unfulfilled expectations and find yourself questioning whether you are good enough, we would be honored to help. Women’s counseling with Crosswinds Center is a chance to break down the barriers of self-doubt in your life and liberate the real you. To get started, call us at 833-710-7770 or use the online contact form. During the COVID-19 crisis, we offer a hybrid of in-person and telehealth counseling sessions for women.