In an existential sense, one of the cures for mental illness is reality. Mental illness is when your brain is telling you a lie about how the world is around you. Your ability to restore the emotions that you are expected to feel – the realistic emotions – acts as its own psychological cure.
Yet a challenge in recognizing “reality” is that mental health issues change what reality is. People with mental health struggles rarely realize that the way they see the world is broken. Often it requires working with a Long Island psychologist to start making progress in regaining that objective sense of self.
What Does it Mean to Develop Realistic Expectations?
With your therapist, Dr. Marc Shulman, you will work on what you need to develop better and more realistic expectations, including:
- Realistic Expectations of Self – You should have a good understanding of who you are, what your talents are, and more. That doesn’t mean to be negative about yourself, but rather experiencing positivity and positive emotions about what you are good at and understanding yourself and your abilities.
- Realistic Expectations of Others – You also have to develop a realistic expectation of others. What can you reasonably expect them to do, both in terms of what they shouldn’t need to do for you AND what they should be expected to do (for example, as a friend or a lover).
- Realistic Expectations of Life – You should also learn to have a more realistic assessment of life experience. You should be able to see both the good and the bad without overly focusing on the bad, and you should be able to know what you can reasonably expect from the small (going to a restaurant) to the large (when people get married).
Throughout Long Island therapy, we often find that there are many expectations that are off in some way. Within psychotherapy, we try to talk through these to develop the types of realistic expectations that you can and should have, while also showing you how to have a positive mindset out of these realistic expectations.
With offices in Garden City, Lawrence, and Rockville Centre, NY, Dr. Marc Shulman is here to work with you on your stresses and determine what we can do to give you a better outlook, more realistic expectations, and the ability to enjoy the experiences that you have in your life. Contact Dr. Shulman today to learn more.
