Therapy, which is largely stigmatized in our culture, is mysterious to a great many people. Some people believe that one has to be “crazy” to need mental health care. Others believe that seeking therapy is a sign of weakness, a sign that people are not strong enough to overcome their issues without help.

I would challenge all of these assumptions. One does not need to be crazy to get mental health care, nor is one by definition crazy because one sees a therapist. Sadly, these myths persist. I encountered it in my own family when I started seeing a therapist my senior year of high school. I was stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed. The therapist I saw gave me the space to talk about how things were going and how much I was struggling, without judging me for not being good enough.

As a frosh, I ended up going to Counseling And Psychological Services (CAPS) in an effort to deal with the huge unknown called college. Just like many other first-year students, I was lonely; I felt lost in the upper-class environment of this campus, and I needed someone to talk to. So I sought help, and I got it. When I started having a lot of physical issues my second semester here, I again went to CAPS to help me deal with the new and very real pain I was in. I’ve continued to see my counselor regularly since then. I’ve also called CAPS after hours and spoken with the on-call therapist when I was in the midst of a panic attack, and I’ve gone to a crisis appointment when I couldn’t wait for a regular appointment.

So what actually happens in a therapy session? It’s not a whole lot different from going to a doctor. I check in at the desk and wait for my name to be called. I then go upstairs, sit down in a cushy chair surrounded by little puzzles and plants, and simply talk. Sometimes I cry; other times I don’t. It depends on what we’re talking about and my emotional state.

I like to think about my mental health care the same way I would think about physical health care. I try to check in regularly, just as I get check-ups at the doctor’s office. Having a regular appointment means that I know that an hour is coming during which I can talk frankly about issues, big or small, that are bothering me. Sometimes I go in and talk about a fight I had with a family member. Other times I talk about smaller issues, such as the stress of midterms or finals, or that conversation I had with a friend or professor that really bothered me. I get to determine what we talk about.

Now, this isn’t to say that everyone should or must see a mental health professional with that level of frequency; not everyone needs to see a doctor multiple times a month, just as not everyone needs to see a therapist all the time. However, problems come up for everyone, and having a safe space to talk about them can be valuable—whether it’s with friends, 8-to-8, CAPS, or someone else.

Seeking help, including mental health care, is a smart thing to do. For me, it means I’m asking for help when I know I need it instead of making things worse by trying to deal with them alone. Why shouldn’t I reach out? I’ve found that getting an outside perspective on what I’m going through can help ground me and show me when my perception is distorted, whether due to anxiety or to a lack of understanding of another person’s point of view.

Mental health doesn’t have to be a scary unknown. In fact, it should really be just the opposite. Seeing a therapist, like seeing a doctor or a dentist, is just another part of taking care of yourself.