The University of Warwick and the University of Manchester just sent out a press release about a study that shows that psychotherapy will make you happier than having more money.  They compared the effect of several sessions of therapy vs. a sudden windfall of 25K pounds in cash and found that therapy by far had the larger effect on a person’s sense of well-being.

How can that be?  Because no one can really put a price on mental health.  You know how people say that if you don’t have health, you don’t have anything?  Well, that includes mental health, too.  Yet mental health is the unarguably the most neglected aspect of overall wellness.  And sexual health is a tiny but even more neglected part of mental well-being.  Sexual health is considered an extra, a frill.

Don’t let money stop you from pursuing better mental health.  As I’ve written recently, there is always some way to get help.  Every licensed psychotherapist does a few thousand hours of work in agencies across the country where low- or no cost mental health services are offered.  Therapists also usually will see a client or two for low fee; some therapists, like myself, have an intern that can accommodate a few clients as well.

So if you are miserable and dreaming about winning the lottery as an answer to happiness, dream on.  It’s good mental health that will bring you more contentment.

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