I think that the advertising people behind the L’Oreal Products hit the nail on the head when they came up with the catch phrase ‘Because I’m worth it’. They had cottoned on to the idea that most women put everybody else in the family before themselves when organising the family budget and this often means there is nothing left for them.
Down through the years I have had consultations with many, many women who have come with problems and symptoms which needed to be addressed only for them to forgo therapy for financial reasons. The problems have ranged from depression, panic attacks, eating disorders, stress, relationship problems, insomnia, overweight, and confidence issues to mention just a few. All of these women were emotionally drained and badly and desperately in need of help.
There were some who told me immediately that their husbands or partners would not allow them to spend the cost of therapy on themselves, some who left the clinic full of enthusiasm about starting the following week after they discussed with their partners (they never got back) and others who told me that the children’s football subs and gym fees were due and they couldn’t afford therapy.
It is always with a heavy heart that I let these women go. Our fee payments are generous, we have a structure in place where it is affordable for all to take up therapy without too much financial strain but some women still feel that they are just not worth it. I often think that if these mothers who believe that by giving their children every chance that they themselves didn’t have could talk to their children twenty years down the line I think they would be astounded by the fact the gym and all those other extracurricular activities were not worth it! Given the choice I believe most children would prefer to have seen a happy, confident, healthy mother at the end of school each day.
So come on you mothers … you are worth it! Your emotional needs and wants are just as important as anyone else’s. In fact, when you put yourself first sometimes you are teaching your daughters to look after themselves; you are their role model, their leader. I’m very sure that if you saw your daughter suffering in any way and all that stood between her and happiness and health was the cost of therapy you would insist that she would avail of the therapy.
Most people think nothing of having a maintenance service on their car or even buying a new car but then think twice about seeking help when they themselves have a problem. You are the most important person in your life. Your family needs you to be strong and free and most important of all to be fulfilled. It is not so much what you say but what you do that has the biggest influence on your children. So just don’t buy makeup and hair dye to superficially make you believe you’re worth it. Make changes which will change you forever and not just until the grey grows back!
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