Adulthood doesn’t just arrive with freedom and independence. Hidden in its fine print are a set of automatic subscriptions—stress, anxiety, pressure, burnout, and sometimes depression. None of us asked for them, yet they quietly come bundled with the “adult package.”
The other day, while joking about this with friends, someone said, “I’d like to speak with customer care.” We laughed, but the thought stayed with me. If life really had a customer service helpline, who would be on the other end?
The closest answer I’ve found is: counselors.
Think about it.
We turn to them when life stops “working” the way it’s supposed to.
We bring them our toughest questions: Why does this feel so heavy? Why am I stuck? Why does this keep happening?
They help us read the fine print—the hidden clauses of our thoughts, patterns, and emotions that shape our experience.
And when we’re frustrated, angry, or lost, we vent. They listen. Not to judge, but to patiently walk us through the chaos.
Of course, counselors can’t cancel the subscription. They can’t uninstall adulthood. But they can sit with us in the middle of it, help us understand the system a little better, and remind us that we’re not navigating it alone.
Maybe counseling isn’t about being “fixed.” Maybe it’s more like having someone on the line who knows the manual a bit better, who can gently guide you through when you’re ready to slam the phone down.
Life doesn’t come with customer care in the way we’d like. But perhaps in counselors, we’ve been given something close—a human connection that helps us carry the subscriptions of adulthood with a little more grace.
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