Like a bridge over troubled waters...

Time really does seem to be passing faster and faster – it's already been a week since we celebrated the World Water Day. Although snow and rain are becoming increasingly rare (to the point where television has to show us what happens to a bottle of water when it freezes outside), not a single school year goes by without our children being told to draw the water cycle at least once. Scholars and ignoramuses alike engage in heated debates on how much water one should drink per day, or whether it is ethical to drink the same water we use to water our gardens or flush our toilets. Even the Book of Books says that we cannot live without water. How do you feel about water and the passing of time and life?

• Are you sinking?

• Do you long to be above water, but somehow cannot manage?
• Are you like a fish in water when you're with people, or do you have butterflies in your stomach?
• Do you fall asleep as if you've been thrown into water, but then sleep like a log?
• Are you afraid of (under)water spirits? (Do water spirits exist? Why don't we just let it float...)
• Are you worried that you're barely keeping your head above water?
• Does it annoy you that someone around you preaches water and drinks wine? But you'd rather not say anything because that would be grist to their mill?
• Are you unable to find the right person and think that maybe you're always fishing in the same waters?
• Are you drowning in sadness or even depression?

• Then please don't reach for the bottle of firewater, but come to therapy instead

You might say, "Oh, talk is cheap, and water flows... How could some stories help me?"

They could, and a lot — why not give it a try? When was the last time you experienced someone listening to you with genuine interest for an entire hour? When was the last time you allowed yourself to stop and calmly reflect on your life, dive into the depths of your inner self, and fish out memories and emotions that may have been forbidden for a long time? When was the last time you allowed yourself to cry in relief, especially in front of another understanding person? This is also healing, because water cleanses from the outside, while tears cleanse from the inside. You can do all this in therapy.

There is a big difference between suppressing your feelings, just thinking about them, or expressing them out loud, and having someone who is listening to you while you do so. And it is not enough just to talk about emotions—emotions must be experienced... And if we don't have words for a moment, we can draw, sing, or just be silent, let things flow and just be, calm and safe, inside or outside, and even then a miracle will happen here and there - after all, still waters run deep. So let's see what happens when we meet...

Whatever difficulties you are facing, you do not have to face them alone. If you are in the depths of depression, I will dive in with you, I will not let you drown – and we will emerge again, stronger, wiser, lighter, happier. We will grow together like weeds. Don't worry, I'm not making this up, I have (well-established) psychotherapeutic training, more than half a lifetime behind me, and a supervisor above me. But some diving is necessary, there is enough superficiality all around us, and as Professor Kašparů so beautifully says, only dead fish float on the surface... So if we want to be like a fish in water, we have no choice but to dive into the depths and occasionally swim through rough waters... Maybe it won't just be a storm in a (half-full) glass of water, and maybe a lot of water will have to flow under the bridge before you take a breath and say, "Phew, it's over." And you will feel wonderful, as if you had been sprinkled with living water. You will discover your own spring. And that is worth it. I am keeping my fingers crossed for you and looking forward to seeing you