Have you tried therapy? Did it help you?

[JustinTheGreat]

I’m looking into therapy now. I haven’t gone to a real session before.

of course I don’t have a personal opinion about it but I think it’s mostly helpful and those who say it doesn’t help, haven’t given it a solid chance.

i think a lot of the time people are under the impression that therapists are supposed to kiss your ass and coddle you and validate all your feelings. But that’s not the truth. Therapists are also there to tell you when you’re in the wrong. So I think some people are looking for someone to tell them you’re correct for feeling a certain way. And when they tell them otherwise, they get upset.

Therapy isn’t always going to make you feel good. It’s normal for it to make you feel worse before you can get better.

Also that but not all therapists are going to be the correct one for certain issues. You have to try different people before you find the correct one.

i tried online therapy once and it sucked lol. I won’t lie, I wasn’t completely comfortable opening up yet so maybe that’s my fault. But I’m sure being afraid of opening up is common and a therapist should know how to make you feel comfortable to do so

so this lady didn’t try to get to know me or my background or anything. She was just straight up “what are we taking about?” I tried to talk to her about how I’m always feeling unmotivated and I find it very hard to get out of bed and be productive. So she was like “are you sitting in bed right now?” And I was like yes. And she was like “okay stand up” so I did…

and then she was like “okay you’re out of bed. Now what are we gonna talk about?”

like girl…. how the fuck is that supposed to help me lol. You’re not going to ask more questions and figure out WHY I’m having a lack of motivation? You’re just gonna tell me to stand up? lol wtf

she just made me feel like I was completely wasting her time.

But that one session is not going to make me give up on all therapists. I’m sure I can find someone who will help me

[SteveSmith1985]

I've been in therapy before, and probably will again at some point in the not-too distant future. I think it is helpful, but you're right about needing to find someone who fits.

The one session you described is not how you can expect in-person therapy to be, even with a less-than-great therapist.

It will be more as you describe. Digging into the "why," and probing you with questions to get you to think/talk about different aspects of what you're feeling that you haven't thought about (at least not enough to put it into words).

Feeling comfortable opening up is key. If you don't feel comfortable being totally open, therapy won't do much for you. It's actually really easy (and actually feels good) to open up once you get started. You can expect to do 90% of the talking. But that 10% of the therapist talking is often in the form of interjecting a question about something you're saying. It's worth it for what is said to you in that 10%.

I loved reading this, because its great to see you in exactly the right mindset. Therapy can only work, if you give it a genuine chance. You are going into this with the perfect mindset to be somebody who will find therapy helpful.

I wanted to wish you good luck, and to let you know that it's been a positive experience for me (several experiences of varying lengths at different times).

Good luck

🙂

[Levin]

I am qualified and I'm always intrigued when people say it doesn't work, or even when your own clients say it isn't working (not a role for the fainted hearted). I do think some clients have unrealistic expectations. They're used to medical models, ie they think the counsellor can *fix* them or they can be treated as if with some pill.

There has to be a commitment to change. I do feel the concept of 'secondary gain' is useful. ie there is a reason why people stay in unhelpful patterns of behaviour. For example it may keep a person feeling safe.

[petitedollbabee]

Therapy has helped me an insane amount. I started therapy when I was 14, due to experiencing rape and sexual abuse as a child. When I started therapy, I was self destructive, spent every week trying to take my life, i had a self harm addiction, and later on that turned into substance abuse (alcohol, smoking, drugs). I also couldn’t maintain relationships, both romantic and friendships. I would self sabotage everything and I was drain to toxic people.


Im now (almost) 24, i still attend therapy but not for the same reasons. Im 4 years clean of self harm, 7 years clean from my last life attempt, im 4 years clean from drugs & alcohol abuse, and as of last week, im clean from nicotine addiction. Im in a stable and healthy relationship with my partner of 4 years, we have a baby together, im currently studying to get a degree, and im nowhere near the self destructive mess I was years ago. Therapy changed my life.


It’s different for everyone. Some people (like myself) find it makes an insane difference, and other people don’t find it helpful at all. It all depends on if you have a good therapist and if you’re actually willing to change. Pointless doing therapy if you don’t want to change anything about yourself or the way you think.

[777GgG]

I have anxiety and my primary suggested a therapist. I tried a few sessions and didn't enjoy it. I also didn't find it helped with the anxiety.

My best friend has been in therapy for years and I can tell when he's going and when he isn't.

My cousin also swears by it. And I can tell he's much more at ease and willing to take criticism since he's been going.

So I definitely think it depends on the person and why they're seeking therapy.

[exitseven]

I have had physical therapy after I had a hip replacement. However, when I was having my annual physical 4 or 5 years ago I told my doctor that I was feeling depressed. This was when we had Covid and I was laid off from my job and I was home alone most of the time. He took it really seriously and he told me that I was not the first one that complained about depression. He said it was from isolation and uncertainty. He told me that if Covid never happened I would be teaching my classes and living my life. We talked for about 45 minutes and really, just the idea that this has been happening to many people actually made me feel better. Not too long after that I found GaG and it helped some as well.

[combative]

Therapy is joke. Therapists are a bunch of spiritualist pseudo-science charlatans. More than half of psychology studies fail reproducibility tests. It’s all a bunch of bullshit, a confidence scheme to grift out a paycheck from vulnerable people. Therapists are human scum.

[Ariesman81]

Avoid female therapists. They have zero understanding of what a man deals with. Honestly, the best therapy you can get is to find a mentor and a group of guys who get it. There's a lot of hate here about the manosphere, but it's actually just guys sharing advice, knowledge and wisdom.

But as far as motivation... check your diet and vitamin D level.

[MemeSupreme]

you got a decent pov about therapy so far

and yeah it's helped. really they're just there to help you realize things about yourself and give you info, which you SHOULD use to help yourself. altho it's not always that straight forward

[Razp_Sorbet]

I did cognitive behavioral therapy for a few weeks. It definitely helped but I needed to do it alongside medication to get the full effect.

[slatyb]

It has worked for me. Try it and see if it's right for you. You may have to meet multiple therapists to find one that works for you.

[Valdemort]

Various times for various things with various results.

[NathanDavis]

I have not had it myself, but I think it can helpful when is properly helping, of course...

[LiamJHayden]

I have not. For me, running/working out, surfing, and playing guitar each has a therapeutic effect.

[Jeff51]

No therapy but some say I need it.

[itsannalee]

Just hypnotherapy