@me - After 'some exciting' things happened to me at work, the loss of family members and the joys of hitting 40 while taking care of ungrateful kids, I found myself experiencing panic attacks a few years back.
I've been seeing a therapist, a councellor and a psychoterapist for 3 years and i'm now far more confident, eloquent, open to talking about my feeling etc. I lost nothing in the process and gained a new appreciation for life. Without therapy i don't think i would have had the 'foundation' of confidence necessary to embrace satanism, and accept responsability for both my flaws and qualities alike.
For me it's a no brainer. Therapy is 200% worth it. And think about it - what is therapy at its most basic? You go see someone who's seen tons of people in your EXACT same situation (sad to say, but the reality is that no one is a special snowflake, we all fall under certain categories wether we accept it or not). You talk to them like you never talked to anyone before. They will never be offended, insulted or bored. They know how to address these issues, and they have experienced recoveries of their patients dozens if not hundreds of times over the course of dozens of years. What's so special or scary about that?
Don't give me wrong , you're not 'renting a friend' either. Friends are important , but no one is ever going to listen to your deepest fears for too long before it start sounding like 'whining' to them. If you need a professional to get you to the next level in your life or get over a hurdle, such as a difficult trauma or the loss of a loved one, then so be it.
My two cents of course.