Getting Therapy
Having weighed in on the medication
issue, here are some comments I have about getting therapy.
- There's no "magic bullet" in your past which you can uncover and
then suddenly be free of depression. Only in Hollywood do people have those
kinds of momentous "breakthroughs." More commonly, you will simply
figure out more-and-more things over time. It will have a slow, cumulative
effect on your life. Progress may seem slow and fitful at times, but eventually
it all "flattens out," so that what seemed to be of no help becomes
important later.
- Therapy is not just telling a therapist what you think. If that were all
it was, it'd be useless. It's a give-and-take, an analytical process. You will
go over things thoroughly and spend much of your time looking for ways to
change your behavior and/or thinking. That is what therapy is all about--making
changes.
- As much as you may dread the prospect, yes, therapy can force you
to face uncomfortable things about yourself. It's not as bad as you think
though, and I know of no decent therapist who will judge you because of
anything you've done or that's happened to you. In the end, you'll be glad you
talked about uncomfortable subjects. Believe me.
- Therapy has a stigma attached to it, just as with medications--perhaps
more so. Don't be ashamed of having to see a therapist. From what I've seen,
there are lots of mentally-healthy people who'd nevertheless benefit from a
little therapy, themselves!
- Both individual and group therapy have their advantages and drawbacks.
Individual therapy focuses on you, but offers only one person's (that is, the
therapist's) input. Group therapy offers many voices, but time is divided among
patients. There may be times when one or the other is best for you. Don't
assume that only one or the other will work for you. Things just aren't that
cut-and-dried.
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