Therapy costs $180/hour. Alex makes $18/hour. The math doesn't work. But the feelings don't wait for the math to work. Lound became the space between, where processing could happen without a price tag that breaks the bank.
A note: Lound isn't a replacement for therapy. If you're in crisis, please reach out to a mental health professional or crisis line. What Lound can do is provide a space for processing between sessions, or when therapy isn't accessible. It's a tool, not a treatment.
Alex is 26, a freelance graphic designer with inconsistent income and no health insurance. They know they need to talk to someone. The breakup last year. The strained relationship with their dad. The anxiety that makes it hard to sleep. They know.
They tried a therapist once. Found one who seemed good. $180 per session, no sliding scale available. That's a week of groceries. That's half the electric bill. The math made them cry harder than whatever they went there to talk about.
So they stopped going. But the feelings didn't stop. They just built up with nowhere to go.
"Can't sleep again. The thing with my dad keeps coming back. He called yesterday and I didn't pick up and now I feel guilty but also relieved but also angry at myself for being relieved. I don't have anyone to talk to about this. My friends are tired of hearing about it. I can't afford a therapist. So I'm just... here. Talking to an app at 2am. Which is kind of pathetic but also I already feel slightly better just saying this out loud."
"I've been using this for a week and something weird is happening. I'm not as anxious at night. I think it's because I'm not just bottling everything anymore. I have somewhere to put it. It's not therapy. I know it's not therapy. But it's something. And something is more than what I had before."
I've noticed something across your entries. You mention your dad 8 times. Each time, you use the word "guilty" within two sentences.
But you never once describe anything you actually did wrong.
What if the guilt isn't about what you did, but about who you're allowed to be?
"That question about guilt. That messed me up. In a good way? A therapist would probably ask that. Actually a therapist DID ask something like that, in the one session I could afford. But I wasn't ready to hear it. Maybe I needed to sit with it longer. Maybe the timing matters."
I feel stupid that this helps. Like I should need a "real" therapist.
You don't need someone to fix you. Most of what therapy does is create space for you to hear yourself think. To externalize what's swirling inside. To see patterns you can't see when they're all mixed together.
That's what you're doing here. The value isn't in someone else's expertise. It's in the act of speaking and reflecting. That's real. That's not stupid.
But what if I need more than this?
Then you'll know. And when you can afford it, or find a sliding scale option, you'll go in more prepared. You'll have your patterns mapped. You'll have words for things that used to be fog. Therapy will be more efficient because you won't be starting from zero.
"Called my dad back today. First time in three months. It wasn't good exactly but it wasn't terrible. I didn't try to fix anything. I just... talked. And noticed how I felt. And when I hung up I came here and processed it. That's new. Usually I would just spiral."
"I found a therapist with a sliding scale. $60/session. Still not cheap but not impossible. I'm going to go once a month. And in between, I'll keep doing this."
"I realized I was waiting until I could afford 'real' help. But processing is processing. It doesn't have to cost $180 to be real. Some of the most important work I've done has been alone, in this app, at 2am."
Processing doesn't require permission. Or a price tag. Sometimes you just need somewhere to put the things you're carrying.
Therapy once a month. Processing every day. Different tools for different needs.
The guilt pattern emerged after weeks of entries. That insight would have taken months in monthly sessions.
When they finally saw a therapist, they came prepared. Words for things that used to be fog.
Alex sees a therapist once a month now. They process with Lound almost every day. The dad situation isn't fixed, but it's clearer. The anxiety isn't gone, but it has somewhere to go. They stopped waiting for help they couldn't afford and started doing what they could with what they had.
If you need to talk but can't afford what you need, you're not alone. Lound isn't therapy. But it's somewhere to put what you're carrying. To see your patterns. To process on your own terms. Sometimes that's enough. And when it's not, you'll know.