I came across this little blurb a long time ago from a website that is no longer active, so I'm not able to provide a reference to it. Here is a light-hearted look at the analogy of therapy and cleaning...
But then I remember a truth I often remind my clients: lasting growth tends to look worse before it looks better. Chaos must exist for it to be organized.
This is true of cleaning, and it is especially true of therapy.
In therapy… … you unpack the relics of your past, the things accumulated over time, some burdensome and some treasured. … you learn how to cope with your chaos instead of shoving it back into the closet. … you invite someone into your mess, and realize that you don’t have to be “clean” to be worthy of love. … you let go of the things that no longer fit, and organize what you want to keep. … you find that even when it’s chaotic and overwhelming and hard to see the growth, you’ll eventually start to see your true self in the midst of the mess. … and, perhaps most importantly, you don’t have to face any of your mess alone.