Therapy Session 35: Pleasure Centered Living -VS-Practicality Centered Living

In the last weeks and previous sessions, we talked a lot about relationships and my goals to move more out of my comfort zones. That includes platonic, romantic, and professional. That is something that I have really been embracing in the past few weeks. I admit that it has been rather enjoyable. These sessions about strengthening current relationships, building new relationships, and nourishing professional connections, all of which brought me to thinking about all of this in a very holistic manner. 

“Anais, you are NOW living in a pleasure centered manner instead of focusing solely on practicality.“

All of the sessions, I feel have led up to me reaching the point of focusing NOT on practicality solely, but paying more attention to getting as much pleasure out of life as possible. I spent the first half of my life, really focusing on doing what was right, responsible, and even things that I thought others expected of me. So, I have been talking about my plans to start enjoying more life, and now I am at the point where I am putting those words into action. 

Before going to therapy, I was focused not on my pleasure but more about what was practical and expected. Oddly, I was so used to living like this that I didn’t even realize that was my focus. That’s because that way of moving through the world, and in my life, was my norm. Therefore, it wasn’t out of the ordinary, or so I thought while I was living that life. 

My initial therapy sessions were about grief. Then the sessions that followed were about unraveling family trauma, exposed by the death of my father. Once we started picking that scab, It leads to tackle family dynamics and how that impacted me. Uncovering that led to insight on how I interacted with people, romantically, platonically, and professionally. That was very complex because I really had no concept of how much childhood stuff had impacted my adult life. 

So, after doing that very involved work in my therapy sessions and unraveling it outside of sessions, here I am ready to move forth and put all that unraveling to work in real-time, and in real-life. That moving forth is really about embracing all of the pleasures. I mean, real deal ALL. OF. THE. PLEASURES.

As I was unraveling everything needed to get me to this point in my life, I often wondered If I made the right moves by sacrificing so much living so practically instead of a more pleasure centered life. I then circle back to realizing, had I NOT, made those practical moves I would be in a different space. I wouldn’t be in a position to fully embrace pleasure as I am about to enjoy at this stage in my life. So ultimately, everything happened how it was supposed to happen. 

Due to some of the practicalities that I focused on, I am now in a different space than I would have been, had I not been practical. I now am in a position to exclusively think about the pleasures that Anais wants instead of focusing on what I should do or the expectations of others, and any other obstacle to impede my pleasure. That’s HUGE! 

For a while, I was focusing on the path that I was given, but that path came with expectations. Instead of going that route, I am going to use that path as a vehicle to embrace my pleasure. That is HUGE because it takes me in a different direction, one that I only had dreams of going, and that’s amazing. 

It’s a whole new world. A pleasure centered world in which I am at the center of my own existence for the first time in my life. It’s beautiful, I love it, and I will continue to embrace it.  

I would love to know your thoughts on this session, therapy in general, and more about your journey in getting better in touch with who you are through therapy. Reach out, let’s chat on FB, IG, and Twitter. Until then, Happy Healing.

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