That’s it. Take a deep breath and hold it in. Count to three…let it out.

Have you ever had someone say that to you? I have. Usually those words are spoken to me in the middle of chaos. In the middle of a moment/hour/day when everything feels completely outside of my control.

It works. It centers me once more and leads me to the realization that some things are outside of my control. But not everything. I always have control over my reaction to the things that are outside of my control. I can take a deep breath, talk to someone, or do whatever it takes to find my center.

When we experience something hard we grasp for control. We want to feel empowered…empowered to change the situation for ourselves and for others. It is  hard moment when we realize that we are rarely able to have that much control.

I envision the therapy room as a safe place. A place to relinquish the desperate desire for control. A place to recognize that we cannot control the world around us. That we simply cannot tell the world how to think or how to act.

The therapy room is a safe place. It is a place to gather our thoughts and to process what we will think, say, or do next. It is a place where we can regroup with the support of another person…where we can figure out how to reach out to those we love.

The therapy room is a place where we can breathe. Where we can take a deep breath, hold it in, and count to three.