Satya in Therapy: The Hidden Cost of Hiding Your Truth

Hi, I'm Julia. If you're new here, I'm a former athlete and licensed psychotherapist. I specialize in helping adults who seem high functioning move from constantly striving to genuinely thriving using my research-backed clinical expertise and somatic strategies for sustainable healing.

Satya in Therapy: Being Truthful, Honest, and Authentically YOU

We’re talking about the first limb of the 8 Limb Path, the Yamas. The second Yama is Satya — truthfulness and authenticity.

Satya isn't just about not lying. It's about living in alignment with your authentic truth—even when it's uncomfortable, inconvenient, or risky.

For high-achievers and ambitious professionals, Satya is often sacrificed in service of success. You show up as who you think people want you to be. You say "yes" when you mean "no." You hide your struggles. You perform rather than participate.

And this performance is exhausting.

I’ve been there. Personal story time:

I recently rebranded my practice. I have a specialized education in Sport and Health Psychology and I’m a former collegiate athlete, so naturally I was marketing to athletes. Unfortunately, I noticed I was feeling really misaligned in sessions when I would meet with collegiate athletes who were focused on performance improvement and didn’t seem interested in noticing or addressing the intersecting identities or systems that were impacting them. They just seemed to want a competitive edge.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome that I have such a cool background and that these former clients of mine were able and willing to access services to gain a mental advantage over their competition. But it wasn’t the work I wanted to do. I felt stressed, like their performance in their sport was dependent on my performance in session. Therapy shouldn’t be performative, especially from the therapist. I didn’t want to limit myself or my clients to just performing better - I wanted to start helping clients actually feel their emotions, be present with themselves, and connect with their bodies in a way that is not dependent on how their body performs.

So I stopped accepting inquiries from collegiate athletes. I deepened my yoga practice and did yoga teacher training. I rebranded. And now, here you are, reading my blog. Cool, huh? I think so. Practicing authentically with clients who align with my values is so much better for my own mental health.

How Satya Gets Violated

People-Pleasing: Saying "yes" to requests you don't have energy for. Adjusting your opinions to match others. Prioritizing others' comfort over your own needs.

Performance: Showing up as who you think is expected rather than who you are. The "professional persona" that's different from your authentic self. The version of you that looks successful while feeling empty inside. This is more than demonstrating professionalism - it is a form of masking.

Silence: Not speaking up to express your needs, boundaries, or feelings. Staying quiet when you disagree. Suppressing your voice.

Pretending: Acting fine when you're struggling. Smiling through burnout. Appearing confident when you're terrified.

The result? A split between who you are and who you're pretending to be. And that split creates anxiety, depression, and a pervasive sense that you're not enough.

The Anxiety Connection

Many of my clients don't realize that a lot of their anxiety stems from Satya violation. They're anxious because they're living inauthentically. In Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) this is addressed as a misalignment between your known values and how your decisions misalign with these values. Their nervous system knows they're not safe being themselves.

When you're constantly performing, your nervous system is in a state of vigilance: "What if they find out who I really am? What if they reject me?" Does this sound like imposter syndrome? Because that’s exactly what it is.

How Satya Shows Up in Therapy

I worked with a highly driven former athlete who would frequently bring up social concerns. I noticed a pattern in how she would express worry that her coworkers were talking negatively about her. We uncovered that she was included in a work group chat that was full of her colleagues sharing negative opinions and gossip about their peers (including some people she was friends with). She didn’t agree with what they were saying, and didn’t contribute to the conversation, but reading the texts felt gross to her and caused her to worry that they were speaking the same way about her. I gently challenged that she may also be feel distressed because she was passively involved in a pattern of gossip that misaligned with her kindhearted nature.

Here's what changed:

1. Awareness: We examined where she was performing and where she was authentic. What parts of herself was she hiding?

2. Gradual Truth-Telling: We didn't ask her to just leave the group chat. We started small. Honestly acknowledging that the group chat was doing more harm than good and turning off the text notifications. Setting a boundary with herself that she wouldn’t read the group chat while at work to see if/how it impacted her mood and focus. The consideration of sending a text that said “I don’t agree with that,” or “That’s not a nice thing to say” whenever she felt safe enough to stand in her truth. Contributing in the group chat with kind words and praise to demonstrate authenticity. We kept going incrementally.

3. Nervous System Work: As she spoke her truth, her nervous system had to adjust to the vulnerability. Change is hard, and can be scary even when it is incremental. We used somatic practices to help her feel safe in authenticity - slowed exhales, tension release, etc.

4. Identity Reconstruction: As she stopped engaging, she got to show who she actually was. How she actually wanted to speak about coworkers, even when they weren’t around. What brought her genuine joy.

Over time, something pretty remarkable things happened: she became closer with a few select coworkers and was promoted to a leadership position. This client shared with me how she received feedback that her professionalism and kindness were highly regarded factors for her promotion. She wasn’t friends with everyone, but she was kind to everyone, and she commanded respect. Over time, she also spilled the tea that one of the gossiping group chat members got in trouble with HR, and another burned bridges when they were let go. My client continued to thrive.

Practicing Satya: Practical Steps

1. Notice where you're performing: Be mindful and pay attention - when do you show up as someone other than yourself? Which relationships require performance? Don’t ignore what you notice.

2. Identify your truths: What do you actually think, feel, or want—separate from what others expect? Journaling is a great place to start for this.

3. Start small: Speak one truth in a low-stakes situation. Notice what happens. Build from there.

4. Explore the fear: Usually, we hide our truth because we're afraid. Afraid of judgment. Rejection. Loss. Get curious about that fear. What are you afraid will happen when you are honest or show your true self?

5. Breathe in the courage: Use pranayama to calm your activated nervous system before speaking difficult truths. When you are regulated, courage is more accessible. I recommend using Lion’s Breath to gain some activating, powerful energy and Box Breathing for a sense of control and calm.

The Freedom on the Other Side

When you practice Satya, something shifts. You stop expending energy on the performance. That energy becomes available for your actual life, your actual relationships, your actual vision. Authenticity feels better because there’s less resistance and less effort involved.

And yes, sometimes people won't like the authentic you. And that's the risk of Satya. But here's what's also true: The right people—the people who matter—will love you more for your authenticity than they ever did for your performance.

Ready to practice Satya? Learn more about yoga-informed psychotherapy or reach out to explore your truth in a safe space.