Going to a Psychologist: Real Help or the New Social Trend?

A few years ago, saying you went to a psychologist was almost something to be ashamed of. Today, however, it seems strange not to go. Therapy has become a common topic of conversation at dinner parties, on TikTok, and even on dating apps. But it’s worth asking: are we really becoming a more mentally aware society, or are we simply witnessing a new trend disguised as wellness? Nowadays, many people use therapy the way people once used gyms or detox diets: as a way to show they take care of themselves and have an emotionally “well-developed” inner life. Some post therapeutic quotes on Instagram, talk about “emotional boundaries,” or label every disagreement as “trauma.” Serious clinical concepts have been turned into empty buzzwords, endlessly repeated across social media. The problem is that this trend risks trivialising real suffering. Not everything is depression, and not everyone needs to turn every everyday difficulty into a therapy session. Some people go to a psychologist because they genuinely can’t cope anymore, but others go simply because it has become socially desirable to say they do. In certain circles – especially among young people from urban, affluent backgrounds – therapy has become almost a cultural status symbol. It is also true that modern society creates a worrying level of emotional fragility. We have been sold the idea that we must feel balanced, fulfilled, and emotionally stable twenty-four hours a day. When frustration appears, a completely normal part of life, many people no longer know how to deal with it. Any discomfort is immediately interpreted as a serious psychological issue. This is not to say that mental health is unimportant. On the contrary, mental disorders are real, and many people urgently need professional help. But that is precisely why it is concerning that psychology has increasingly become a fast-consumption product. Some influencers and pseudo-coaches sell simplistic ideas about self-esteem and happiness while turning emotional pain into viral content. Perhaps the real question is this: are we genuinely learning how to take care of ourselves, or have we simply become incapable of tolerating discomfort? Life has always been difficult, filled with moments of sadness, disappointment, and conflict. Medicalising every human emotion may ultimately make us more dependent and less resilient. Going to a psychologist should be neither a source of shame nor a fashionable trend. But it should not become a modern label used to appear morally superior or emotionally more evolved, either. Mental health is far too important to be reduced to a social trend. Perhaps the real problem is not that more and more people are going to therapy. The real problem is living in a society that breaks people down internally and then charges them to rebuild themselves. A society that expects us to be sensitive yet productive, vulnerable yet efficient, emotionally aware yet permanently available. And while we continue learning new words to describe what we feel, almost nobody asks why so many people have become incapable of enduring their own lives. I don’t believe we are necessarily more mentally ill. Perhaps we are simply lonelier than ever before. Roser Coll, Chiromassage Therapist at Serenity Address:Andorra la Vella, Baixada del Molí 7-9-11, bloc A1, Planta 3 Phone: +376 627 740 Instagram: @serenity.relaxing Web: www.serenityrelaxing.comThe post Going to a Psychologist: Real Help or the New Social Trend? first appeared on All PYRENEES.