Help Going to therapy. What should I do?

[HyenaRadio]

Hello, I'm new here and seeking advice on this subject is one of the things that led me to make this profile.

So recently my mom convinced me into agreeing to go to therapy while I'm still under her insurance. I've only ever seen one other therapist before for only about a week back in 2019 and got diagnosed with anxiety. That past experience didn't help me at all and getting help from school counselors (both high school and college) also did nothing for me.

I was just looking for advice if seeking help is even really worth it, I don't want to get my hopes up or wasted my time. I've heard horror stories about how seeing mental health professionals had actually made people worse off especially being hospitalized. I know I'm going to lie about my ideations and past traumas anyways. But I also know I'm in a very privileged position to have insurance, family who are at least somewhat sympathetic to my struggles, and the ability to even see a therapist. Should I trust this? Should I put in effort for this?

 

[scarletstarlet]

When talking to your therapist about suicidal thoughts, don't tell them you have a plan. If you tell them you're actively suicidal and on your way out of here, that's the point where they can step in.

I think you should get what you can out of therapy. Don't expect it to fix everything, the role of a therapist is to guide you through recovery, not do it for you. If your therapist says something you don't like, you can always find a different one too. A lot of assholes are working as therapists these days and are really insensitive sometimes. I'd say trust it but be cautious.

Best of luck on your journey. I wish you well.

 

[man_in_red:)]

nah don't waste time with a therapist they usually just say nice things and talk about breathing exercises which you can just find online.

 

[KuroiSH]

I think you should see how the first couple sessions go, because if you don't feel comfortable opening up to your therapist, you're getting nowhere. Also, don't overestimate them, because remember the only one who truly knows how you feel is yourself. Just try to keep a realistic attitude, while also not oversharing to the point they might consider sectioning you, because that'd be unfortunate. Good luck and hope it goes well.

 

[HyenaRadio]

Thank you so much for the advice and well wishes. Trust but be cautious is probably going to be my mantra during this.

nah don't waste time with a therapist they usually just say nice things and talk about breathing exercises which you can just find online.

That really has been my experience so far. This new therapy appointment is probably going to be the last time I give it a try, really doubt it'll work out unless a miracle happens lol

 

[Catastrofe]

I have tried 4 different ones, and with this one is for now working out. I explain what I mean.
1) I am experiencing suicidal thought for very long time now, to the point that I have also asked myself why I am seing a psychologist. When I have asked this he answered : "Because we have different voices inside, and all of them talk, sometimes quiter sometimes louder". It made me feel like he was not judging my behaviour, and this answer helped me a lot to feel somehow "normal", not mad.
2) I am experiencing suicidal thought due to a past love story that hurted me to this point. Of course a psychologist will always tell you that these thoughts results from several issues, and not one only. However this person was the only psychologist who told me : "ok, if you feel it hurted you so much than tell me in detail what happened". I finally felt like someone was hearing me and believing me when I say that love story was distructive to me. Of course there ate many things underneath it, but still I felt heard.
3) I have asked him "Why do some people develop these kind of thought and others, even though facing awful situations, don't?". He answered: "Million books have been written about, we still do not know". This helped me a lot, because it made me understand that this is so much bigger than any will power, than any rational thought, it is so much bigger than me, that is it **obvious** I cannot handle it alone.
4) I am a very stubborn person, but he always speaks calm and empathically.
5) I am speaking very openly about myself, I am not hiding anything because it would just be pointless : I need someone who connect the dots for me, and if I lie everything would be fake so useless. I have also spoken openly suicidal thought, I also told him I found a way that I would prefer - even though I have no plan. I am not advising it because I have read you can be reported, I am just saying I felt like saying and talk openly.

To me the most important is to feel heard and believed, and now I know that I should not keep on if I do not feel like this.
If you are up for trying, try also to make up your mind on what is important for you. Do you prefer someone who kicks your ass a little bit? Do you prefer, like I do, someone who really listen? It can be anything. To think about will make it easier not wasting your time.
So far I had useless experiences, but this one is turning out a good one so far.

That said, you can decide. :)

 

[HyenaRadio]

I have tried 4 different ones, and with this one is for now working out. I explain what I mean.
1) I am experiencing suicidal thought for very long time now, to the point that I have also asked myself why I am seing a psychologist. When I have asked this he answered : "Because we have different voices inside, and all of them talk, sometimes quiter sometimes louder". It made me feel like he was not judging my behaviour, and this answer helped me a lot to feel somehow "normal", not mad.
2) I am experiencing suicidal thought due to a past love story that hurted me to this point. Of course a psychologist will always tell you that these thoughts results from several issues, and not one only. However this person was the only psychologist who told me : "ok, if you feel it hurted you so much than tell me in detail what happened". I finally felt like someone was hearing me and believing me when I say that love story was distructive to me. Of course there ate many things underneath it, but still I felt heard.
3) I have asked him "Why do some people develop these kind of thought and others, even though facing awful situations, don't?". He answered: "Million books have been written about, we still do not know". This helped me a lot, because it made me understand that this is so much bigger than any will power, than any rational thought, it is so much bigger than me, that is it **obvious** I cannot handle it alone.
4) I am a very stubborn person, but he always speaks calm and empathically.
5) I am speaking very openly about myself, I am not hiding anything because it would just be pointless : I need someone who connect the dots for me, and if I lie everything would be fake so useless. I have also spoken openly suicidal thought, I also told him I found a way that I would prefer - even though I have no plan. I am not advising it because I have read you can be reported, I am just saying I felt like saying and talk openly.

To me the most important is to feel heard and believed, and now I know that I should not keep on if I do not feel like this.
If you are up for trying, try also to make up your mind on what is important for you. Do you prefer someone who kicks your ass a little bit? Do you prefer, like I do, someone who really listen? It can be anything. To think about will make it easier not wasting your time.
So far I had useless experiences, but this one is turning out a good one so far.

That said, you can decide. :)

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. I really appreciate it and it's definitely making me look at this situation differently. I'll definitely give it a shot, if anything just to figure out what might be important to me for if I ever try to get better. You gave me so much to think about!

I hope it continues to be a good thing for you and hopefully I'll be as lucky!

 

[imnotarobot]

It depends on what do you want from therapy and the type of therapy as well. Sometimes you will have to do 80% of the work by being brave enough to dig into your shit..
Have luck!

 

[Catastrofe]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with me. I really appreciate it and it's definitely making me look at this situation differently. I'll definitely give it a shot, if anything just to figure out what might be important to me for if I ever try to get better. You gave me so much to think about!

I hope it continues to be a good thing for you and hopefully I'll be as lucky!

Happy to hear what I said was somehow useful.
I wish you to find someone who is right for you

And thank you for the wishes :)
Keep us posted!

 

[ireallylikemangoes]

Therapy is all about trial and error, most of the time the therapist you are seeing might not be for you and it's okay to see a new one. Do not talk about active suicidal ideation as that will get you put in the psych ward, passive suicidal ideation is something you can tell them but still be careful as therapists can and will break confidentiality if they personally think you are a danger to yourself and others. I hope you the best on your therapy!

 

[orca87]

You might also get some ideas from the other thread here

Does therapy help?

Sorry if this has been asked before. I don't necessarily think I have a serious mental health disorder, since I've never had major depression / hypomania / mania episodes. I don't have problems physically or PTSD/CPTSD either. It's just that I've persistently had a low mood for well over a year...

sanctioned-suicide.net