Ted Lasso and Therapy

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” Dr. Sharon from Ted Lasso

If you have access to Apple TV and have not watched Ted Lasso, I highly recommend it. One of the reasons I have enjoyed Ted Lasso is because of Dr. Sharon and the show’s portrayal of therapy. I feel there are many times when a person watches television attempt to portray their career and they can nitpick it, but I found myself in awe of Dr. Sharon and even more in awe of the work I get to do through therapy. While I won’t likely do any house visits and don’t expect you to carry my foldable bike up to my house, I do expect that we may have some emotional encounters similar to what Dr. Sharon had with Ted. In particular, I wouldn’t be surprised if in our work together you initially get “pissed off” before you start to feel better.

And it may not always be anger that you feel, it may be a deep sadness, it may be bitterness, it may be disgust. Whatever the emotion may be, know that you will likely experience some emotions you may not want to feel before you finally get to those emotions you’ve been desperately searching for such as hope, joy, happiness, love. But there is a unique feeling when we lean into those emotions we are perhaps less than excited to feel. I call it “wholehearted exhaustion.”

Brene Brown paints a picture of this so well. She describes a person walking through the thickest mud and how each step is challenging, difficult, utterly exhausting. This is likely similar to how you feel when you first come to therapy. Together, we start to do our work and while you desperately want to start walking on solid ground again, you may notice that the steps stay the same for a little while. If you pay close attention though, you’ll start to notice that the mud gradually gets less thick and your steps start to become the slightest bit easier. As we keep trudging on, you’ll start to grow endurance for these steps, you’ll start to notice that while you’re still walking in mud that you’ve gotten stronger. Eventually, we will get to the point where you take that step out of the mud and feed solid ground again. You’re left with this “wholehearted exhaustion” because you’ve done challenging but great work on yourself and are finally stepping into you that isn’t trapped by defense mechanisms, shame, or an identity that has been formed by relentless societal standards.

So yes, you may get pissed off, you may get bitter, or sad, but if we work through these emotions together you will reach that freedom Dr. Sharon mentions.