As someone with anxiety, I like to find whatever ways I can in order to reduce stress and go through life with more self-confidence. Though I don't often like to admit I have flaws that should be improved on, I know I do, and this is one key area of my life that I decided to tackle head on by seeing my local therapist. I've only gone to three sessions so far at the time of this article, but I recognize that with the more sessions I attend, the greater the benefits for my personal health. With that said, here are some of those benefits.

1. Reduced Stress

First and foremost, being able to talk to someone who listens and understands your personal struggles is a great way to feel relaxed for the rest of the day. It's human nature to want to confide in others your personal concerns and worries, thereby forming a connection of understanding for the hardships another person is going through. People who bottle up their emotions and concerns are often more stressed out and if that person is unable or unwilling to speak to their close friends or family, the therapist can then fill in the void for stress relief.

2. Reduced Blood Pressure

When your stress is reduced, this also manifests in the physical reduction of blood pressure. When your blood pressure is lowered, this reduces the risk for heart attacks, diabetes, strokes, and other ill effects on your health. So becoming more relaxed by relieving oneself of stress comes with not just positive mental and emotional effects, but physical ones as well.

3. Greater Self-Confidence

If you have doubts about your own self-worth like I do, you may benefit from speaking to a therapist, if not a close friend or family member. Instead of focusing on the flaws about yourself, the therapist can act as a mirror reflecting the positive traits and characteristics that you possess. Once you recognize the positive aspects about yourself and treat the flaws as something to improve on, you can strengthen the bonds you share with other people and increase your personal quality of life.

4. More Grounded and Level-Headed

By sorting through all of your anxieties and insecurities with someone, you become more capable of tackling stressful or difficult situations in a rational manner. The art of mindfulness allows people to become more aware of their circumstances and see things for what they are objectively. It therefore becomes easier to calmly and patiently sort through a problem step-by-step, rather than panic and blow things out of proportion in a time of stress. It's only "logical," as the great Spock would say.

5. Better Sleep

The quality of your sleep increases when you talk to someone about the things that are troubling you. When one represses their anxieties and lives in a state of constant agitation, this impacts how well one sleeps at night, which then influences how they go about their day. You can see how this cycle reinforces itself, but it can be broken by trusting your therapist to listen and engage with the concerns that keep you up at night.