“I’m fine.” “I’m doing okay.” How often have you said those words about yourself, without really unpacking just what it is that you’re going through?

It can be easy to underestimate your problems and brush off discussing your mental health concerns on rainy days when things feel ‘just fine.’ You might not feel like your world is falling apart, or that you need professional help when there are people out there who have it far worse than you.

But just because your mental well-being isn’t in a terrible state doesn’t mean that you have no issues that could affect your mental health. Unfortunately, it’s just not possible to navigate life without facing challenges that negatively impact our emotions.

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, a month that aims to shine a spotlight on mental health conversations that often get swept under the rug.

Make this a month of putting your mental well-being in the forefront of your mind, starting with these five reasons why therapy can still be beneficial, even if you think you’re feeling okay.

1. If you’re feeling fine, then therapy is a chance to work on improving yourself.

Arguably the best time to see a therapist is when there isn’t a crisis to solve or fires that need putting out in your life.

When major events are taking place in your life, you don’t have the time and energy to focus on yourself. You may need your therapist to simply help you get through the day and process all the emotions you’re going through.

But if that’s not you right now, then consider it a luxury to be in a space where you can actually work on improving yourself.

Maybe you want to procrastinate less, be more assertive at work, or get better at making new friends. Goals like these are things that a therapist can help you work towards.

Therapy doesn’t just focus on the things that have happened in your past – it’s also about the steps you can take to shape a better future.

2. You might not actually be okay.

Sometimes, saying you’re okay is actually a coping mechanism to deflect from addressing the darker emotions that you’ve buried away.

It may not feel like there is any harm in suppressing these feelings, but in fact, our untreated traumas can hurt us in ways far beyond our immediate mental health. Trauma has a real impact on our bodies, our memories, and how we carry ourselves in our day to day. It can hold us back from living our best lives and can turn into a time bomb where our emotions build up, until they eventually explode.

A therapist can help us unpack the childhood traumas that have shaped us and address the negative experiences that we’ve been unconsciously reacting to.

For some of us, it can also take speaking to a professional for us to realize that these feelings are even there.

3. Therapy can help us be more in touch with our emotions and build our EQ.

As someone who is naturally very emotionally avoidant, it’s often challenging for me to figure out how I truly feel about things that negatively impact me.

I’m so used to putting my guard up and pretending like I’m not affected that I end up having a lot of trouble being honest about my emotions.

Speaking to a therapist has helped me immensely in understanding which emotions I’m processing, and to put them into words. Being more emotionally aware has in turn taught me to be more resilient during difficult situations. It has allowed me to catch myself from lashing out at times when I couldn’t see beyond an initial level of irrational frustration, and to articulate myself with more maturity when I navigate through interpersonal conflicts.

It’s honestly so rewarding to be able to look back on all the years I’ve spent in therapy and see just how much I’ve learned about myself, as well as how much I’ve grown in my ability to deal with difficult emotions.

4. Therapy is a safe space to discuss things, no matter how small.

Most of us have friends and family we can turn to for guidance, advice, or just a listening ear. But there may be deeply personal issues that you’re too embarrassed to discuss with the people around you for fear of their judgment.

Maybe you’re grappling with your sexuality, exploring an unconventional relationship, or have a psychiatric disorder that no one knows about. It can sometimes be really hard to open up about these issues to the people who are closest to us.

Your therapist is a non-judgmental confidant with essentially no stake in your life, outside of the one hour you spend together in any given week. They haven’t met any of the cast of characters in your life, and even if they ever do, your therapist is obliged by patient confidentiality to never disclose anything that you discuss.

They are also uniquely positioned to listen to any and all concerns, being trained to offer an empathetic ear. If there is anyone you can count on to give you rational advice, it’s your therapist.

5. Therapy is a regular pulse check on your mental health.

How often are you taking the time to check up on yourself and ask yourself if you are really okay? When life gets busy, it’s easy to go through the motions and simply roll with the punches.

Regular therapy offers a space where you can pause and re-evaluate your mental state, amidst everything that’s happening in your life. Are you feeling better or worse compared to last week? What are the things that have happened this week to drive that feeling? What are the wins that should be celebrated, and the moments that hurt you?

Therapy is a sense check on everything you are going through as it happens. It offers space for an impartial expert to step in when they see trouble brewing in areas you may have missed.

It’s also an opportunity for someone to hold you accountable for the things you said you would work on. Did you make an effort to reach out to friends and family this week? Have you made progress with the tasks where you were procrastinating?

Above all else, setting aside a regular time for therapy will serve as your reminder to put your mental health first. In the long run, building a consistent habit around evaluating how you’re doing is perhaps the best thing you can do for your mental health.

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