Discussion How many of you are in therapy? Why or why not?

[mathieu]

I'm in therapy and I don't think it helps.

 

[Life_and_Death]

I was going to therapy but thanks to covid19 I don't have to anymore. I had an appointment like 2-4 days after they shut stuff down and no one answered the phone at her office nor had personally gotten ahold of me. Which is fine I hated going to see her. She never listened to a word I said. I'm going to see my phyciatrist in August though to get my 4th medication and an MRI.

 

[WastedSpace]

I am suicidal due to very severe chronic pain. My doctor keeps pushing me to go to see a psychiatrist to 'address the mental health aspect of being in pain'. I politely decline every time. Clinical psychiatry is highly experimental and a corrupt profit-driven industry. Even the most well-meaning psychiatrist who works out of their own private office can do very little for most people. Because under rigorous systematic review most treatments fail to show substantial efficacy and safety. Coupled with this, as people have pointed out, the doctors are constrained by the system they operate under. If someone wants to talk through their true feelings, they can't without fear of their autonomy and freedom being robbed from them as they are forcibly committed to a psychiatric ward and coerced to take medications. So the clinical relationship is always one of distrust and dishonesty.

Psychiatry relies on the scientific illiteracy of the patient. Most people don't know about statistical significance, regression to the mean, what falsifiability means. So they just fundamentally lack the tools to realize contemporary psychiatry remains pseudoscience.

With all that said if you have literally no avenue to talk through your problems you can shop around and find a psychiatrist you like. I see no difference between coming here and blowing off steam and going to a psychiatrist in terms of what it will achieve for the individual. There's this idea that psychiatrists are trained to deal more appropriately with the situation, but that's little more than a fantasy. I've met 2 psychologists and 3 psychiatrists. I thought they were all complete morons.

This is so well said. It is incredible how little evidence there is that psychiatric medication works. I will never ever see a psychiatrist after learning what I have and after seeing the way psych meds fucked me up. Therapists can only do so much damage but I am still not sure if I want to continue therapy. They're part of a deeply flawed and often malicious system even if they aren't prescribing meds.

 

[terry_a_davis]

I see a psyche every six months, but i am no longer in therapy as i am no longer mentally ill, i am still stupid tho :)

 

[wildgoat1995]

I'm not and I don't think I will. The main reason is the price It can be like 35 quid a session and that's on the cheap end of it. Yes I sound cheap but I rather spend that money on something that can make me happy.

I don't want to open up to someone I have this site. I don't want to risk getting locked up. I've heard many therapists are assholes. But I don't know for sure so I'm not going to assume that.

 

[Jolene40]

Therapy has been a lifeline for me. I can be totally honest and talk about suicide with no fear. I feel totally supported. I'm a female and see a female. I'd never see a male therapist, I just feel very comfortable with this lady. It allows me to play the game of life when I can be my true real self with someone without judgement, punishment, manipulation and all the other things humans do to each other

 

[beclou]

I am just wondering how many of you are in therapy and how its helping or not helping. I am especially concerned about getting locked up for telling the truth about how suicidal I am (I want to ctb more than anything but am staying alive for now due to a family member who is in an abusive relationship and the fact that I'm the only support person she has. Last time I went inpatient it was a very very negative/traumatic experience. I think it will break me to go inpatient again.) However, it is nice sometimes to have somebody to talk to.

I have been going to a therapist for 4 years. It has helped a LOT. I've identified patterns in myself and understood why I am the way I am.
however
I still feel suicidal and depressed most of the time. I also really struggle with relationships and as a result, find it nearly impossible to fully trust her. I have been open about suicidal thoughts though, but slightly downplayed them to avoid any concern on her part.

 

[lotus11]

not.
a) can't afford it
b) Have done in the past and found it pretty useless anyway

 

[everydayiloveyou]

I think therapy can be really helpful, but you really need a good provider. Some therapists seem to think that all they gotta do is sit and listen because that will work on anyone, but real persistent mental illness doesn't usually respond well to that. It's like a doctor who treats the root issue vs. a doctor who just puts a bandaid over the symptom.

A good therapist uses evidence-based modalities and behaves appropriately with you. They shouldn't just parrot out "im so sorry" and "thats not your fault" whenever you cry about your problems. You should also trust them with the nitty gritty of your thoughts without feeling scared that they'll betray you by committing you.

I had a counselor at my school who did CBT and was super helpful, and then a therapist from a private clinic who was nice and all but did absolutely nothing to help me with my problems. In either case, I felt comfortable bringing up suicidal thoughts, but I've never been committed before so idk if maybe therapists err on the side of caution with people who've been in inpatient.

In any case, just be vague and don't talk about these things with urgency. Acknowledge that you have them and explore why, but don't be specific in a way that can sound like you plan to hurt yourself in the near future. So far that's worked well for me.

 

[WastedSpace]

I have been going to a therapist for 4 years. It has helped a LOT. I've identified patterns in myself and understood why I am the way I am.
however
I still feel suicidal and depressed most of the time. I also really struggle with relationships and as a result, find it nearly impossible to fully trust her. I have been open about suicidal thoughts though, but slightly downplayed them to avoid any concern on her part.

Im glad it's helped at least in part. I totally understand why you'd choose to downplay your thoughts. Unfortunately it's what a lot of us have to do.

I think therapy can be really helpful, but you really need a good provider. Some therapists seem to think that all they gotta do is sit and listen because that will work on anyone, but real persistent mental illness doesn't usually respond well to that. It's like a doctor who treats the root issue vs. a doctor who just puts a bandaid over the symptom.

A good therapist uses evidence-based modalities and behaves appropriately with you. They shouldn't just parrot out "im so sorry" and "thats not your fault" whenever you cry about your problems. You should also trust them with the nitty gritty of your thoughts without feeling scared that they'll betray you by committing you.

I had a counselor at my school who did CBT and was super helpful, and then a therapist from a private clinic who was nice and all but did absolutely nothing to help me with my problems. In either case, I felt comfortable bringing up suicidal thoughts, but I've never been committed before so idk if maybe therapists err on the side of caution with people who've been in inpatient.

In any case, just be vague and don't talk about these things with urgency. Acknowledge that you have them and explore why, but don't be specific in a way that can sound like you plan to hurt yourself in the near future. So far that's worked well for me.

Sounds like a good plan :)

 

[Woodnote]

I'm required by law to attend therapy for 6 months because of my last suicide attempt. I find it to be pretty useless.

 

[so tired or manic]

I've been through many therapists. with trust issues stemming over a series of events and a strong desire to want to do everything on my own therapy never helped much. I had one I trusted and saw for years who abandoned me when I wound up in the hospital because the psychiatrist caused me to be suicidal just upping the doses instead of trying something new. the therapist called me a lost cause because of something out of my control. I haven't made it past a couple sessions with a new therapist since.

 

[sourcreamonion]

Stopped going to therapy two years ago. My therapist kept giving me backhanded compliments to make me believe I wasn't mentally ill and I was victimizing myself.

 

[WastedSpace]

Like gaslighting? That's super fucked up!

Stopped going to therapy two years ago. My therapist kept giving me backhanded compliments to make me believe I wasn't mentally ill and I was victimizing myself.

I've been through many therapists. with trust issues stemming over a series of events and a strong desire to want to do everything on my own therapy never helped much. I had one I trusted and saw for years who abandoned me when I wound up in the hospital because the psychiatrist caused me to be suicidal just upping the doses instead of trying something new. the therapist called me a lost cause because of something out of my control. I haven't made it past a couple sessions with a new therapist since.

Jesus that is terrible :(

 

[Caspers]

Yeah, I've seen this guy for two and a half years (met him in brain injury hospital from last attempt). I've slowly begun to trust him and am trying to let myself open up to him, though a part of me really doesn't want that. He knows I'm passively suicidal and have been for most of my life. I recently told him I have plans to CTB and want to do it next year. He told me 'what a waste of a life'.

 

[The_doomer]

i'm in therapy. don't think its going to work but I know that not going doesn't work so i'm trying to stick with it. most sessions are like verbal arm wrestling where I basically try to prove that life isn't worth living. but some sessions are exhausting. opening up about my biggest insecurities about past failures while being told to try again just proves my point in my head. even if I know they're right. I haven't learned anything yet, most of what i'm told or what they try leading me to realize are things I've heard and thought about thousands of times.

 

[nerve]

I just received my notice of termination letter from my last therapist ;; so I guess I'm out for now. I liked her plenty enough, there's just nothing to talk about and nowhere to go with me. It breaks my heart but they can't help, as much as I wished they could and as hard as I might try.

 

[Nymph]

I just go to a psychiatrist and get meds, sometimes I talk to her about my problems but she doesn't seem to take them seriously. I went to a school psychologist once and I really didn't like her and she told me the same shit other people told me. I really don't have any hope for psychologists. I don't wanna be one of those I'm NoT LiKe OtHeR GiRls but most people really don't understand me...
Also I hate talking and expressing myself through words, I hate it so damn much. I just wanna be quite and be in silence

 

[Rn110bg101]

i've seen many therapists over the years, but most of them were completely useless—though i guess that was my fault because i'm garbage at expressing myself in my native language. the only good thing to have come out of it was an autism diagnosis.

i've started with a new therapist earlier this month after being forced to by a "friend". i'm more honest with them so i hoped it'd work this time, but since my only friend left (we had an arguement) i just wanna give up for good tbh. i do want to get better but i feel like nothing, including myself, could never change.

 

[Worthless_nobody]

I can't afford therapy but the few times I did go it wasn't helpful. Talking about my past a digging up old trauma was counterproductive. I just see psychiatrist now and then for meds.

 

[Lostandlooking]

I've seen a lot of therapists in the past. Most of them didn't help with the depression and anxiety, often only made it worse. I wasn't very good at expressing myself, explaining my anxieties etc. I got better at that. Sometimes small helpful remarks were made but overall therapist do not understand my struggle. That makes therapy a very difficult process for me. It hurts to be misunderstood again and again and again. I've been given a lot of bad advice, which I often followed because that's what the therapist told me to do if I wanted to get better. It didn't work.

I'm better at setting boundaries now but it took years and years. I am lucky I found a very good stresscoach to help me with this. I still struggle though. In my experience the connection with the therapist is EVERYTHING. Trust is very important. Good therapists are hard to come by. I've seen about 10 different ones.

Going inpatient would scare the hell out of me. I can understand why that scares you. I don't know if they can actually do that if you tell them about your suicide plans. I just don't know. I've rarely spoken about my suicidal thoughts. When I told my therapist it was quickly brushed aside when I told them I wasn't planning. I have been planning for the last 1,5 years and I don't know how a therapist would react to that. Because I haven't told anyone.

 

[Bitterman1996]

No, due to current pandemic but I've went two times in the last two years. Yes it's dumb perhaps to be on off about it, but on the other hand my family seems to think it's not important as long as I'm functional. Other than that, my problem is with the therapist themselves because they don't feel as open-minded (Im atheist/don't practice my current religion, so any religious advice is futile) .

 

[Wisdom3_1-9]

I am not currently in therapy, though I have considered it. For it to help me, I feel I would need to be completely honest. If I'm completely honest, they'll commit me. I'm too scared of that possibility.

 

[draw a circle]

I'm not, but kinda want to try. But I don't have money and time to do that. By time I mean I have a lot of free time but to actually improve, it will take up time and energy, which I can't afford to spare right now. And my professors at college are psychologists and I know I don't really want to talk to people like them. I want to at least try once before attempting anything tho.

 

[XYZ]

Not in therapy. I am beyond saving. There's not enough drugs and therapy out there to put this Humpty Dumpty together again.

 

[voyager (D)]

I have been in therapy many times. The therapists have become rich, my soul has remained poor. Something went wrong.

 

[so tired or manic]

people seem terrified that they might get committed, but it's not as simple as they drag you to the nearest mental hospital. usually the police get involved and if you tell them everything is okay, then they have no reason to admit you.

it's possible it's different outside the US.

 

[Theodora]

Was until I turned 18 .. last two years have been useless

 

[WastedSpace]

people seem terrified that they might get committed, but it's not as simple as they drag you to the nearest mental hospital. usually the police get involved and if you tell them everything is okay, then they have no reason to admit you.

it's possible it's different outside the US.

I've been committed twice for being suicidal (didn't actually attempt). Police were not involved. I live in the U.S. So it looks like it varies significantly from place to place.

The therapists have become rich, my soul has remained poor. Something went wrong.

This is so beautifully said and so tragic