If so, what was your experience? 

It's chill you can just rant about anything and anyone if you don't have like something SERIOUS serious to discuss. 

I don't have the money, so I just raw dog my mental health issues.

6 minutes ago, Ryusei said:

It's chill you can just rant about anything and anyone if you don't have like something SERIOUS serious to discuss. 

But can't you just do that with friends and family 

i started going because of work and then stayed because it's just someone else to vent with that gives me different insights and advice than my family / friends. i'm lucky that my therapist is around my age and she just gets lots of stuff in a better way i feel like...

it's almost like a friend but i think she gives me a more objective and profound feedback than friends and family if that makes sense.

 

i'm also able to put it through my parent's medical insurance so it's basically free for me, which also helps lol

 

but i feel like it has very subtly helped me manage my emotions and thoughts in a more efficient way. like it's easier to identify what and how i'm feeling (lol) in each moment, and to also not get too carried away by a specific emotion.

Edited June 19, 20251 yr by lachiqui_klk

3 minutes ago, Swiftie In Red said:

But can't you just do that with friends and family 

Sure you can but some things may feel inappropriate to bring up at any time so if you have any conflicted feelings about something you can talk to the therapist about it. I think it's a good safe space to discuss many things as long as you get a therapist who knows what they're doing. It can spark new thoughts or new ways of thinking about things. 

It's obvious most atrlers haven't 

I've always wanted to, I feel like most people should tbh

7 years and counting, best decision of my life.

Yes, several times, actually, and I wouldn't recommend it.  Society loves to sell us the idea that therapy is the gold standard for mental health, but I think it only works for certain (read: neurotypical) people who lack self-reflection and insight into why they are the way they are.  I already know why I am the way I am, and I don't need some bítch in a chair who's getting paid several hours-worth of my hard-earned money to tell me what I already know.  Like, yes, I know I'm bitter and jaded by past experiences. Wow, Karen! How did you know? It couldn't possibly be because I just laid out my whole life story for you!

 

The moral of the story I've learned is: Nobody knows you better than you know yourself.  Instead of selling someone all of your personal information, why don't you get to know yourself better and make a life plan that is actually actionable.  And if there are aspects of your personality that other people deem "toxic" and tell you to get therapy for, it is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to do so. There are certain negative beliefs I've definitely abandoned over the years, but I will NEVER abandon my bitterness, based on my experience growing up as a gay man in an ultra-conservative country where I was continuously abused, ridiculed, mocked, and demeaned to the point where I don't trust anybody anymore.

Yeah, I had a therapist who was really BAD. She seemed more interested in my personal drama and gossiping than in actually helping me.

 

I ended up switching to a more expensive therapist, and he really helped me a lot, but I hate that mental health care has become such an expensive luxury.

Yes. Best decision ever. It completely changed my life

It's a necessity, it's luxury and everything in between, it makes you a better person

Just now, Bitter Aging Twink said:

Yes, several times, actually, and I wouldn't recommend it.  Society loves to sell us the idea that therapy is the gold standard for mental health, but I think it only works for certain (read: neurotypical) people who lack self-reflection and insight into why they are the way they are.  I already know why I am the way I am, and I don't need some bítch in a chair who's getting paid several hours-worth of my hard-earned money to tell me what I already know.  Like, yes, I know I'm bitter and jaded by past experiences. Wow, Karen! How did you know? It couldn't possibly be because I just laid out my whole life story for you!

 

The moral of the story I've learned is: Nobody knows you better than you know yourself.  Instead of selling someone all of your personal information, why don't you get to know yourself better and make a life plan that is actually actionable.  And if there are aspects of your personality that other people deem "toxic" and tell you to get therapy for, it is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to do so. There are certain negative beliefs I've definitely abandoned over the years, but I will NEVER abandon my bitterness, based on my experience growing up as a gay man in an ultra-conservative country where I was continuously abused, ridiculed, mocked, and demeaned to the point where I don't trust anybody anymore.

That´s a very valid feeling, and this is something that a lot of self-aware people (including myself) have struggled with in therapy. Somatic therapy helped intensly for me because of this. It's about feeling and experiencing emotional pain, not just talking about it and rationalizing it.

it changed my life ill say that

4 minutes ago, Bitter Aging Twink said:

Yes, several times, actually, and I wouldn't recommend it.  Society loves to sell us the idea that therapy is the gold standard for mental health, but I think it only works for certain (read: neurotypical) people who lack self-reflection and insight into why they are the way they are.  I already know why I am the way I am, and I don't need some bítch in a chair who's getting paid several hours-worth of my hard-earned money to tell me what I already know.  Like, yes, I know I'm bitter and jaded by past experiences. Wow, Karen! How did you know? It couldn't possibly be because I just laid out my whole life story for you!

 

The moral of the story I've learned is: Nobody knows you better than you know yourself.  Instead of selling someone all of your personal information, why don't you get to know yourself better and make a life plan that is actually actionable.  And if there are aspects of your personality that other people deem "toxic" and tell you to get therapy for, it is ultimately up to you whether or not you want to do so. There are certain negative beliefs I've definitely abandoned over the years, but I will NEVER abandon my bitterness, based on my experience growing up as a gay man in an ultra-conservative country where I was continuously abused, ridiculed, mocked, and demeaned to the point where I don't trust anybody anymore.

this is my perspective of it as well. i have autism and therefore I've always been acutely self aware and reflective. i have entire therapy sessions talking to myself  i know what's wrong with me and the why behind it, i wanna know how to combat it

i made good progress. the lady was kind and motherly, she always reminded me of my self worth. but she talked too much every session, i could barely get a word in. so once i reached the next stage in my life, i stopped seeing her and haven't been back.

I went to therapy after having a mental breakdown and major mental anxiety crisis, it seriously changed my life along with meditation which I was practicing quite often at the time. I only did it for 6 months which was sufficient to get my mind in a better place. 

 

I went to 4 different therapists before deciding with one. So it's important that if you feel like one therapist isn't going to or isn't helping you much that you consider going with another.

 

It's also important to be aware that there are several different approaches of therapy, such as gestalt, cognitive and so on. 

I wouldn't be here if I did

Retail?

I've been on therapy for over a year and it's been helping me a lot.

 

My first session with my previous therapist was fantastic because I was pouring out feelings that I usually keep to myself (mainly because I hate showing vulnerability to other people around me), but my second session wasn't very successful, because I could tell she was in a hurry and was giving me advice that I wasn't comfortable following, since my mental health was a mess back then.

 

After that I decided to find another therapist who's been pretty great so far. Just recently I had to complain about a session that I felt it ended quite abruptly, and he appreciated I was comfortable to talk to him about that. Ever since that session, he has been changing how he approaches our appointments and I am thankful for that.

 

Of course I can't say therapy is a cure that will help everyone, but it has been very important for someone like me who's been so comfortable in hiding my problems to point where I started crashing out last year. A year later I can feel myself being more confident and not as afraid to take risks.

I did it for a few months. I think it's useful if you have a specific problem you want to talk through. It helps you to confront and work through things that you wouldn't necessarily do by yourself. For me it was quite a reaffirming experience in that it helped me realise I had a lot of solutions myself, I just needed to be a bit more honest and kinder with myself.

Therapy is not a cure btw, it's just another tool in your quiver with which you can face life. Problems will never stop, you will just learn to recognise them better and treat them differently. And imo, (neurotypical) people who have been to therapy and say it's not for them, they needed a different approach/therapist, or they just are not ready to handle the truths that therapy is gonna unearth. 

Recently yes and it's nice it's basically just a nice chat and it's making me realize some things 

 

However it hasn't helped with my anxiety still like I'm still anxious leaving the house just by the way I look and feel

 

But idk it's helped me learn stuff about myself but i don't think it's therapy I think it's just a shrink or whatever you call it.

yes and honestly with my self-esteem issues, I should look into finding a new therapist. the problems with my most recent therapist include that he was my age (just like 4 months younger than me in fact…) AND the fact that I was attracted to him. like in all honesty, now that he's nowhere in my life now I can admit that my attraction to him actually never faltered. he was bearish, had a cute beard, and reminded me of my ex boyfriend from almost a decade ago. I wish I could've turned it off, but no. he complimented MY appearance during our first meeting too… like careful brah. but even more than both of the things I've mentioned, what bothered me the most was that he did not f*cking push back. nah. next therapist I have needs to be far harsher, like I want someone to actually push my buttons and not f*cking hold back. like I'm sorry but that's what I always need in my life. I get sh*t done if you're mean to me sometimes. like it just has to happen  I have been a very sensitive boy since I was a kid, but if you're assertive and border on at least slightly aggressive, then you'll easily get through to me. I don't love constant aggression but I'm definitely fond of constant assertion at this point. now that I've had sex with my neighbor (the woman I mentioned on Sunday in the "last time you had sex" thread) I honestly am feeling far more confident this week. it also helps that I deleted the twitter app from my phone. but, those issues still need to be worked out a little bit I think. I mean I know my body is at least slightly sexy but our community's standards do remain dreadful and that's definitely something I'd like to talk to perhaps an older woman therapist about. I can't f*ck with another therapist who's my age, like I get this weird yuck where I'm like "this f*cker probably thinks they're so much better than me" which is a nasty-spirited sort of intrusive thought, but man I'm not gonna deny that it pops up sometimes with people my age  but anyway, yeah most of the time i've done therapy it's been good. I just need a more specific type of therapist to help me. in addition to the body dysmorphia sh*t, my mommy issues are still alive and well at my age of 28. f*ck. I need to talk them out way more and I wish my mom would actually understand the lengths I've tried to go to to at least somewhat repair and strengthen our relationship. but I really just don't think people get it unless they've also grown up with a Jewish east coast mom, idk how to put it into words. oh also I'm sick of this f*cking concierge job and a therapist would probably help me find ways to organize my life so I can move onto something else lol