If Mental Health was a Leaky Roof...

Let's consider mental health issues to be like a leaky roof. I could put a bucket under it, and I will be okay for a while. But only until the bucket is full and needs to be cleared out. Because if I don't clear it out, the water will overflow. Yes, I could use a bigger container, but how big? Every container will eventually have to be emptied right? So how many containers of water can I keep throwing out? Can I do that for the rest of my life? I would only be able to forget about it for the period it takes to fill it up, it will always be on the back burner, never truly gone. What else can I do?

I would consider therapy to be the process of fixing the roof. The earlier I fix it, the less damage there will be. If I leave it for later, the water is going to eventually spoil other parts of the roof, maybe start another leak somewhere else. I might have to change the entire roof altogether. Which means more effort and more time spent on fixing things.

Now we all know that fixing one leak doesn't guarantee that there won't be more leaks in the future. But I can feel secure and stress free for now. I don't have to worry about changing buckets as part of my routine. Plus, fixing the leak has also taught me a little about what my roof is like, so I know what the weak points are, and what I need to do if there is another leak or danger of one in the future. I will know the signs to look out for.

The same applies to children, right? New houses also have leaky roofs sometimes. And it could be no one's fault, just that the new house had to weather big storms before the materials could solidify and become stronger.

So, do we fix leaky roofs, or do we let the buckets overflow?