For most people, therapy is a time to focus on whatever the patient wants, whether it’s venting about a loved one, talking about stressors at work or delving into significant events from childhood.

Often, these in-depth conversations bring up uncomfortable truths about yourself—how your actions contribute to problems in your life, your thought process about certain situations, the way you treat loved ones, etc. Moments feel like “aha moments” or breakthroughs.

While these realizations can be very scary, they are also a very important opportunity for growth. A breakthrough moment is not the last step in therapy, it is actually a very important beginning to middle step. It can set the stage for your therapy sessions and set goals for you to work with your therapist on.

So, whatever you are facing Hard to accept reality, but still hoping for a big moment in the future, here is information about some of the big, life-changing realizations in therapy:

Not every moment in therapy is an aha moment.

Breakthroughs are different than simply learning new facts or hearing something interesting from a therapist. Instead, an aha moment requires “a major shift in your worldview and the way you view life so that you can live with it.

This realization is enough to rock your world and make you think about your experiences, decisions, and yourself very differently if You will feel very uncomfortable trying to go through life without making any changes.

For example, your therapist might help you discover that while you’ve always thought you were just an angry person, you’re actually scared and using your anger as a shield. Or, you might think of yourself as a people-pleaser, but actually have a deep fear of losing those around you if you don’t meet their needs. These breakthrough moments vary greatly and vary from person to person.

Because these truths can be difficult to accept, it’s not uncommon to feel upset afterwards, which can make coming to terms with this realization even more difficult.

To understand this part of yourself, you should sit with this new realization.

When a breakthrough happens, it takes time—days, weeks, or even longer—to come to terms with it. To fully cope with this breakthrough, you can consciously sit down with it and mentally address it. You could try journaling your breakthroughs, or try pairing your thoughts with physical or mental exercise such as walking, jogging, meditation, or prayer. This kind of thinking and behavior can help things resonate with you.

Here are some suggested tips when practicing intentional thinking:

• Name the implementation.Address the source of this belief.
• Ask yourself how long you have been operating under this false assumption.
• Ask how this assumption affects your life.
• Think about how things would be different if you had been operating from this new truth.
• Now that you have access to this information, decide how you want to differentiate yourself.

It’s important to know that there are no right or wrong answers to these questions.

Once you know how you want to approach life differently with this new knowledge, take a beat before responding to situations so you don’t revert to old ways.

When feeling strong emotions, a few minutes of deep breathing can help you focus and respond in a way that you’ll be proud of in the future. Not only will this help you become aware of your feelings, but it will also help you commit to any new personal goals that arise during your “aha moment.”

Five minutes of deep breathing gives you a choice point and time to say, “Okay, I’m feeling anxious.Usually that’s what I do, but do I want to try something else now?”

You can use these five minutes to make sure your behaviors are consistent with any new goals you have. This gives you time to not be impulsive and follow the same path, but to actually look for another path.

It can be helpful to talk to loved ones about this big moment, too.

Talking to someone you trust can be an effective way to realize this.

Feedback from the people in your life makes it more real, and it also makes you more accountable because you’ve spoken out.

In other words, if you know that your loved ones are aware of your struggles and your intentions to act differently, you’ll be less likely to revert to old ways or old thought patterns. If they know you’re trying to change, they might even be more understanding when you try new behaviors or routines.

It’s also important to continue to talk to a therapist.

The one thing you don’t want to do after realizing this is give up on treatment.

In order to make any change, you need to accept that it will take some effort and take some responsibility. It is important to continue receiving therapy and allowing your therapist to help you continue practicing in a safe environment.

No one completely changes their behavior and thought process after one major therapy session. Committing to personal change is a process, sometimes difficult and sometimes easy.

If you haven’t experienced a big moment in therapy, you can talk to your therapist about it.

Recognizing these new truths takes time and vulnerability, and while you shouldn’t expect to experience these big moments every session, you can expect to experience an aha moment throughout your treatment.

If you’ve been in therapy for a while and haven’t yet achieved these realizations (and want to), you can tell your therapist that you want to focus on achieving breakthroughs in one area of ​​your life.

It can spark some really deep conversations and can take the therapeutic process in a different direction to help you achieve your goals.

Be nice to yourself if you’re having a hard time sticking to your goal.

The realization of [the breakthrough] is just the beginning. This is the first step, but if it doesn’t work, nothing will change. Often these patterns are so ingrained in us.

For many people, these maladaptive thoughts and behaviors begin in childhood and define your entire world. Changing this by flipping a switch isn’t easy.

People are creatures of habit, and this can work very, very hard to change the way you think and behave. If you find it difficult to consistently follow this new path, be kind to yourself and forgive yourself.

Also, keep in mind that the more distress you feel, the more likely you are to revert to old coping mechanisms, so it may be more important to give yourself time to make decisions or react when you are distressed.

Managing mental health is a lifelong process. But every day brings different challenges – there will be highs and lows, and the goal is to develop the best management skills possible and forgive yourself for the moments when you make mistakes.