Therapy?

[KatRose]

This is probably far too much of a private subject to talk about openly, but I'd really like to hear someone else's opinion about it. I've been in a really bad rut for the last two months or so, and I've finally decided to see a counselor about it with my mom's support. Since it's a really new thing for me, I'm obviously a little uneasy about the idea of it. I'm also a very private person and I don't talk to other people about how I'm feeling most of the time (despite how it may seem by the way I rant on here lmao) so talking to a counselor just sounds... weird and uncomfortable to say the least.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience with counseling. Have you found that it's beneficial? Is it hard to get past the comfortableness of it? If anyone is willing to share their thoughts about it, I'd greatly appreciate a little insight!!

 

[N a t]

Unfortunately I cannot offer any advice with therapy since I have never sought any or even considered, however I can say that I too am a much more private and closed off person when offline. The internet has so much anonymity, it makes it so easy to do and say whatever without caring about the consequences, if any. I wish you luck, and I hope everything goes well for you.

 

[Dim]

I've been through a few therapists actually. First time was when I was 15. I felt pretty comfortable with her but when I hit 16 I fell through depression and felt I didn't need therapy. 2nd was when I was turning 18 and I was a senior in high school and was depressed and anxious as ever and I was abusing medication. My psychiatrist forced me to go to another therapist or else he won't see me again. I did not want to do it again. I was so stubborn I wanted him to just give me what I wanted, adhd stimulants. I'll be honest, my 2nd therapist did not work for me. I did not want to be in therapy first of all. 2nd of all I often had trouble with communiction and had thought blockage and needed to clear my head but she kept firing questions at me to the point where I got very frustrated with her. Eventually my psychiatrist allowed me to leave.

As of a few months ago I am in therapy once again but this time by choice. I stopped medication because it wasn't helping. I was out of high school but was literally in panic everyday because I was scared to death. I did not know what to do. It was awful and I needed something. I am somewhat comfortable with my current therapist. I have not seen her a lot though due to bad scheduling but I am seeing her tomorrow again. She has been pretty patient with me this whole time though.

ANYWAYS, much like you I am very uncomfortable talking to people, especially strangers. It may take time for you to get used to talking to this therapist until you get comfortable with them. If your first session doesn't go well, don't get discouraged. Just be patient. And most importantly, be honest. I told my therapist my thoughts often stop or I get too frustrated to talk so she allows me to take a moment or go out for a quick walk if it happens. So far my therapist has neen very patient and understand so at least I have someone to work with.

I don't know if I helped but I hope it all works out for you!

 

[3skulls]

Hey Kat, Hope you are having a wonderful day.
It is nice to hear that you are taking the steps necessary to beat the rut that you are currently in. First off understand that is completely normal to feel uneasy and uncomfortable about the idea of doing something new. I consider myself a private person as well so I can understand how hard and weird it can be to talk to someone else about my feelings.

My experience:
A few years ago I was at a all time low in my life. I was depressed and had suicidal thoughts daily and I would never open up to anyone or talk about it. Although I didn't seek a counselor I decided that it was time for a change and tried to find someone to talk to. I got in contact with my brother who I didn't speak to for a year and he said he would be willing to listen. When we met the first few times it was very hard to talk about my feelings. I felt embarrassed, nervous and extremely weak and thought that he would think that I was the dumbest person in the wold for having these feelings. After a few months it started to feel normal talking about my feelings. It became a new comfortable to me if that makes sense. Looking back I am very grateful for those days. I am happy now and have beaten the depression and no longer suffer from it. If I would of never opened up then who knows where I would be today. Yes it was hard and extremely nerve racking but it was so worth it.

Now to answer your question:
I believe that counseling will be very beneficial for you if you are truthful with yourself and your therapist. The counselor will help you the best to his/her ability and venting out your feeling will release some tension and stress plus it will help give you insight on what steps to take next. It will be very hard to become comfortable with therapy at first. but, the more you do it the easier it will get. You just have to believe yourself and remember why you are doing it. Your trying to overcome something and as long as you are willing to stay strong and not be afraid to take risks then you will beat it. I believe in you. Thanks for taking your time to read my reply and I hope i was able to give you insight and/or help you. Good luck Kat.

 

[Cynicat]

I've been in therapy about 3 years but stopped a couple months ago. Personally it didn't really helped me much because A)For me talking away my problems never really helped B)I've seen so many different therapists who all disagreed with each other about anything. Not my medication, treatment or diagnoses (which is why I've been diagnoses a lot).
I went there because i struggled with anxiety issues, dissociation, autism and things that were going on in my personal life. My last therapist was actually quite good, but he also didn't agree with other therapists and it didn't get me any further. That's why I decided to stop.

BUT I do think therapy can be a good thing to do for some people. I don't know what you're struggling with or what kind of a person you are, but for a lot of people therapy does work. Talking to somebody you don't know about this kind of stuff might be tuff at the beginning. Big chance you'll get used to it. Also it might help that you don't have any personal relationship with this person.

 

[DJStarstryker]

I tried to go to therapy before. It didn't help me. It almost feels like that if talking to somebody else is what you need, then therapy can help you. But if you want a solution not just talk, then therapy can't help you.

 

[Haskell]

I don't like it. At all. I just yell at people I hate. Or I yell at watching the news.

 

[idiotdoomspiral]

don't let bad psychiatrist experiences put you off. i myself have a pretty good one who controls my medicine, takes my blood pressure etc. however, that is not all that they offer. these guys have the power to help you in school, home, anywhere. they can offer assistants and councillors to talk to. they work with many other organisations to help children and adults through something. and if you don't want many people working with you that's fine. they will do a lot of things to make you a comfortable as possible.

tl;dr seeing a therapist is good to also help you with everything including seeing a councillor

 

[visibleghost]

im in therapy and it's okie. my first therapist was from hell but my current one is cool . . . i guess u just gottq find someone u can talk to and u have to kinda have a goal w/ ur therapy

 

[Xara]

i've been in a pretty bad rut for the last couple of years, and have yet to attend a therapy session. however, i believe it would be beneficial, as it's an opportunity to discuss anything that's bothering you, with someone who's non-judgmental. yeah, it'll probably be weird for a while, but i think eventually, you'll learn to be comfortable with the person

 

[KatRose]

Wow, everyone has such helpful and thorough advice. I really appreciate all of it!

I probably should have mentioned that I've already seen 2 different therapists at this point, but only one session each. The first lady was honestly just obnoxious and it felt like she was talking down to me in a somewhat degrading way, so I knew there was no way in hell I was going back to her. The other therapist I went to just the other day and she seemed so much more caring and respectful; it felt so easy to talk to her about the questions she was asking me. All awkwardness of talking to a stranger about my most intimate issues aside, I'm more concerned about how expensive the sessions are than anything else at this point, because my family is in a really poor financial standing right now and it makes me feel so selfish to be going to a therapist when my mom complains about barely making payments on our bills. I honestly just want help and I'm just not sure if seeing this counselor will be worth the financial strain that it puts on my parents.

 

[ams]

I just came back from an appointment with my psychiatrist. I LOVE going to therapy. It's a place where I get to talk about whatever I want and share things that I'm uncomfortable sharing with my friends/family. The best part is that having practice talking about difficult subject makes it easier to start those conversations in real life.

I saw 2 other people before I started going to my current psychiatrist and I definitely didn't click with either of them. Don't be afraid to shop around until you find someone you're comfortable with. Being able to be 100% yourself is super important to getting the most out of therapy!

 

[verb1999]

You wanna know what helped me a ton during some of my hardest time? Talking to strangers. Sounds bizarre, but it's true. Let me explain.

I grew up in a day and age where internet chat rooms were common & popular. The internet still has a million ways to communicate with everybody, but it has evolved greatly. It's very different now. But I would meet people in chat rooms, get to know them well enough where I would consider them a good friend, and that would lead to a phone call. And I would spend hours talking to people in different states (I live in the U.S.). During these calls, I would have some of the best conversations I've ever had. The beauty in them, is that you could open up to this person who, despite being someone I'd never met before, was still a good friend. And no matter what I told them, it was 100% confidential. Even if they wanted to tell someone, we don't know ANY of the same people! So nothing would ever get back to anybody I knew. This kind of openness lead to each of us really getting whatever was on our mind, off our chest, and we were able to confide in somebody very cool. And it helped to have that person to talk to who wasn't going to judge you. You see what I'm saying?

I think it was, in a way, a type of therapy, only not on a professional level.

 

[KatRose]

You wanna know what helped me a ton during some of my hardest time? Talking to strangers. Sounds bizarre, but it's true. Let me explain.

I grew up in a day and age where internet chat rooms were common & popular. The internet still has a million ways to communicate with everybody, but it has evolved greatly. It's very different now. But I would meet people in chat rooms, get to know them well enough where I would consider them a good friend, and that would lead to a phone call. And I would spend hours talking to people in different states (I live in the U.S.). During these calls, I would have some of the best conversations I've ever had. The beauty in them, is that you could open up to this person who, despite being someone I'd never met before, was still a good friend. And no matter what I told them, it was 100% confidential. Even if they wanted to tell someone, we don't know ANY of the same people! So nothing would ever get back to anybody I knew. This kind of openness lead to each of us really getting whatever was on our mind, off our chest, and we were able to confide in somebody very cool. And it helped to have that person to talk to who wasn't going to judge you. You see what I'm saying?

I think it was, in a way, a type of therapy, only not on a professional level.

I actually do that quite a lot! I met a lot of people the same kind of way through games and whatnot and have made what I consider some really good friends. The only issue with doing this is that you get to know all these people but it starts to kind of feel like a sham because you have different lives and at the end of the day you've never met them. I made the mistake of thinking I had feelings for someone I met online (but had never actually met) and it screwed me over a lot more than it helped me. I think I'm just gonna try to rely on talking to people in real life more at this point lol but I definitely understand what you're saying!!

 

[Rizies]

I have been in and out of therapy for about a year. I first went through my previous works EAP, and I was covered for about 4-5 sessions. I paid for an additional session.

It was alright. I am very self aware in how I feel, but my therapist helped me understand why I was thinking the way I was and where my hopelessness was coming from. It was interesting learning experience.

The second time I went, I went to a group therapy sessions for anxiety. I enjoyed that more, I didn't have to talk and I was able to listen and learn things about myself and how to deal with my anxiety.

I think it's always a good thing, even trying one session. If you don't connect with the therapist immediately don't worry about that. Find someone you can connect with.

 

[Nuclear Bingo]

yes, do it. I have seen countless therapists and counselors. I have been seeing a counselor in particular now for two years. At this point, he is a friend. He is someone who I can dump my problems on and he listens and has professional advice. He's changed my life. I suggest getting a counselor who can be your friend too. You can change your life too. There's no shame in it. Better than keeping it bottled inside

 

[Avocado LaSchaap]

Ak, therapists. I have been to a few. Very hard to tell the difference between therapists, councilors, and what they do. My first only wanted to put me on drugs, and had nothing to offer me once I refused that. The next was a "councilor", I think she was the nicest lady I had. She listened to me and it felt good to talk but ultimately she didn't really do anything for me besides lend her ear to my venting. Because those two were useless, I made sure that the third one was a "therapist" who offered a specific kind of therapy that I was interested in. She was nice but the "therapy" was useless. I finally decided to take drugs, but she couldn't prescribe them and said I had to go to a real doctor for that, except she forgot to to refer me so that never happened.

That pretty much sums it up. . . oh, except for the guy who was crazy religious and met me in a church, then wanted me to drive over an hour to his house for our next session. That didn't happen.

So overall they helped me feel a bit better when I was really down, but didn't really help me "get better". I ended up doing that all on my own. After many years of depression, the storm just kind of broke, haha. But they are worth going to, especially if you have access to anyone for free through your parents' insurance.

 

[Soraru]

Yeah, I've had experience with therapists. Most of them didn't entirely relate to how I was feeling or gave lackluster solutions. It felt more like an interview than emotional healing. I felt more like I had to explain to them what I was feeling and why and how rather than sharing my feelings and them understanding and offering advice. I think I needed to find a way to relax more than find a solution an unsolvable problem. There is only so much therapists can do for clients. I think that in the end it really is up to the client to work on a solution and put effort in it, and a decent therapist can try to guide and inspire.

Therapists and counselors are pretty good for when you need someone to talk to or to vent to if there is no one in your family or friends that for whichever reason you can't talk to. Sometimes there are ones who feel like they have some sort of authoritarian attitude or ones who patronize. Just take your time and get a feel for which one feels right for your comfort.

I personally had better experience with a counselor rather than a therapist.

 

[KaydeeKrunk]

When I went to a therapist it was an awful experience. My therapist wasn't a very nice person, she cried once during a session... super unprofessional, just wanted to get me on drugs and ship me off the peer counseling with a group which I hated the idea of even more, I literally had to yell at my mom that I was never going back because it was literally only hindering me and there was no way I was going to take medication. So I stopped going, I'm sure if I had a better counselor or therapist it would have been different but she was just... god awful. And apparently I was going to have the "good" therapist there but since I got strep throat when my first appointment was supposed to be I ended up with the crappy lady. Good times.

 

[_Dentata]

This is probably far too much of a private subject to talk about openly, but I'd really like to hear someone else's opinion about it. I've been in a really bad rut for the last two months or so, and I've finally decided to see a counselor about it with my mom's support. Since it's a really new thing for me, I'm obviously a little uneasy about the idea of it. I'm also a very private person and I don't talk to other people about how I'm feeling most of the time (despite how it may seem by the way I rant on here lmao) so talking to a counselor just sounds... weird and uncomfortable to say the least.

Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone else has had experience with counseling. Have you found that it's beneficial? Is it hard to get past the comfortableness of it? If anyone is willing to share their thoughts about it, I'd greatly appreciate a little insight!!

I don't know anything about you or your situation, so I can't really give you much advice. Just keep in mind they're not miracle workers; they can't fix whatever is wrong with you/or your life with a few conversations.