Therapy for Young Adults

“What’s your plan?”

Why do people still ask this all the time??

“What are you doing after high school?”
“What are you doing after college?”
“Who are you dating… why aren’t you dating?”
“When are you getting married… when are you having kids… what’s your 5-year plan, 10-year plan?”

As a fully grown, successful adult, I’m still annoyed at how often some of these questions are still asked of me… and it’s usually by people that have absolutely no business asking those questions.

And just to put it out there…

… no one really needs to have a “plan.”

Because guess what? Life doesn’t care about your “plan.”

I mean, really. You can make a solid plan and stick to it 100%, but that doesn’t allow for life to happen with you. LIFE consists of growth, change, new interests, challenges, many unexpected things… new friends, ended relationships, career changes, loss, financial constraints.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s totally okay to have a general plan – just keep in mind that when it comes to life, plans are meant to be flexible. They need to adjust and grow with you. Not the other way around.

And honestly, after my years of experience not only in and with therapy, but in higher education as a college counselor, advisor, and adjunct faculty, well, it really amazes me how flawed of a system we have. Such high and unrealistic expectations of success are put on young people today, without any of these systems adequately preparing you for the real world and how to be successful in it and successful with yourself.

It’s totally possible to be successful and be the most authentic and healthiest version of you. But first – let’s challenge the system.

Challenge the system.

If you don’t challenge this faulty system and re-work it to make it your own, then your “plan” may just be setting yourself up for failure.

Succumbing to unrealistic goals leaves us feeling awful. It significantly lowers self-esteem and self-worth, making you never feeling good enough… wondering if anyone will ever be proud of you, or if you’ll ever get to the place of feeling proud of yourself.

You may end up comparing yourself to peers (who are often portraying a picture perfect life on social media), cutting off from family or friends, or even lying to them about your successes or “progress” just to get them off your back for a bit.

Sometimes you stick to the plan, just as you set out.

But even after checking off everything on your list, you still feel like something’s missing… like you aren’t happy or fulfilled with this plan you were told to follow.

You end up in a college major or a training program that you’re no longer passionate about. Or even worse, you end up in a career that has left you burnt out and disappointed.

When you try to fit yourself into these neat little boxes that these systems continue to put us into, you end up losing yourself – your identity – and you can feel really stuck. This lost sense of self can turn you into your own bully: cycling through negative internal dialogue that reinforces your worst fears about yourself and your future.

This cycle is what makes you most vulnerable to spikes in depression, anxiety, and engagement in unhealthy coping skills. And that can take you down a path that is the exact opposite of what you had planned.

Feel CONFIDENT and in control of your life path.

First, let’s figure out what YOUR path is. In therapy, we’ll dive deep into your true and authentic self and what it is you really want from this life. We’ll evaluate the current “plans” and expectations you are feeling from not only those around you, but the systems in which you are working in.

We’ll navigate the roles that mental health has been playing in your current life, including basic needs, self-care efforts, relationships, and generational patterns. We’ll also work on accessing and strengthening your support system which can be super helpful to this next stage of growth.

We’ll start developing a new “path,” one that is structured to meet your actual needs and goals, and one that matches your purpose in this life. We’ll create small steps for incorporating more of what you need in your day to day life so that you can start living more purposefully as soon as possible.

Be your own author.

This is the time to take control back of your life, and finally start rewriting your narrative. Listen, adulting is hard (I’ve been there), but it’s not impossible. I had to learn it the hard way – on my own and with lots of obstacles on the way, but you don’t have to.

Let me help you take the next steps to living the life you deserve. Call today: (267) 989-9113.