I'm a therapist, this is what your friends and family are secretly dealing with

She says her clients often carry burdens they believe are unique to them when they're far more common than we think. 

A leading therapist has lifted the lid on the secrets plaguing everyday Aussies, revealing the surprising things people struggle to share with even their closest loved ones. 

Emma Mahony, a mental health professional, says her clients often carry burdens they believe are unique to them when in reality, these experiences are far more common than we think. 

According to Mahony, there are three main hidden struggles.

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Image: TikTok

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The three most common struggles

"I know this because I'm a therapist so I know all these things but I know that a lot of people aren't talking about it amongst their friends," she said in an TikTok video.

"Hopefully, this makes you feel a little less alone."

Firstly, she said people come to her when experiencing a sexless relationship. 

"There's a lot of shame around this and a lot of people don't know how to approach this with their partner and don't know if they even want to work on it with them," she said.

"They feel like they can't bring it up with their friends because sex is such an integral part of a relationship, but it's completely lacking from theirs."

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Next up, she says that some people experience a sense of relief when a family member with a long-term illness finally passes away.

"A lot of people struggle with feeling like they're not allowed to feel a sense of relief now that they don't have to take care of this person anymore," she explains. 

And finally, mum guilt is a massive one for many women.

"They don't want to be a mum sometimes, and they wish they could turn back time and not have kids," the therapist said.

"People are afraid to tell other mums this because it's the best thing in their life but also they hate it so much sometimes."

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Comments flowed in 

The video racked up hundreds of comments from people who were thankful to Mahony for shedding light on these topics.

"I'm gonna need the mums to start speaking up about hating motherhood," the top comment with 12k likes read.

"I told my therapist that I love my daughter but I HATE being a mum and she looked me in the eye and said, 'everyone feels the way you do' and I sobbed," another mum revealed.

And someone pointed out a single commonality between these issues: "The common thread in a lot of these is that they are caretaking tasks that primarily benefit one party at the cost of the other."

In other videos, Mahony shared even more issues people bring up in their therapy sessions.

Some of them include:

• Mums feeling overwhelmed and unseen, questioning if their partners really understand the challenges of parenthood
• Feeling pressured to celebrate pregnancy announcements while secretly dreading the thought of having kids themselves
• Struggling to navigate friendships with people in different financial situations.
• Engaging in negative self-talk and battling self-doubt
• Questioning whether a long-term relationship is still the right fit
• Dealing with unresolved feelings or lingering drama from a past relationship
• Body image issues and struggling with a complex relationship with food
• Secretly disliking or having strained relationships with certain family members
• Questioning or exploring their sexual orientation but feeling afraid to open up
• Having a complicated relationship with alcohol and maybe needing some support

Originally published as I'm a therapist, this is what your friends and family are secretly dealing with