August 21, 2013
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The Stigma of Psychotherapy
Many people will not seek out psychotherapy for serious mental or emotional issues because they fear they will be judged. See The Stigma of Receiving Psychotherapy.
Some of the reasons are:
- "People will think I am crazy."
- "People will think I can't control my own life."
- "People will think I am just blowing things out of proportion."
If you had an emotional or mental issue that was causing you extreme discomfort, pain, or unrest, would you seek out psychotherapy?
Comments (30)
Absolutely -- therapists are trained to be an impartial ear, as well as to provide assistance in dealing with such issues. It can be done discreetly, without others knowing aboaut it, and there is far less stigma than there used to be. People should not interpret the need for therapy as craziness -- if life is out of control, or if one is just blowing things out of proportion, there's nothing wrong in seeking help to bring life back into balance.
Don't know!
Yep. And I currently do. High five!
It would be hard to. But having dealt with therapists in the past for other types of issues, as long as it's a good therapist I'm comfortable with, I would like to believe I would seek out the help needed. Because let's face it, is it really any different than asking a mechanic to fix our car? Back in the day, doing that meant you weren't manly and guys were supposed to know all about cars. Now, fewer and fewer folks work on their own cars (but I will never let some stranger look under my baby's hood!)
I think I would, but how do you know ahead of time? My husband and daughter had to force me to go to the hospital when I was having the stroke.
the REAL QUESTION is WHICH kind of psychotherapy ought a person seek? Anyone who is sane enough to make an informed rational decision, isn't sick enough to NEED psychotherapy. People who NEED psychotherapy usually get it INVOLUNTARILY. That means commitment to some institution, rather than out-patient care. Institutions now-a-days are run by BIG PHARM post-doctoral degree granting University graduates who prescribe and proscribe CHEMICAL treatment, and electro-shock treatment.So, if you totally flip out, that's what you can expect. Unless the institution you happen to fall into the grip of is a STATE INSTITUTION, in which case, you may never see the light of day again. So, what you ARE REALLY ASKING, is what kind of psychotherapy should you choose to assist you dealing with what we should tern a "neurosis". And my answer is "Neo-Freudian" psychology only. Not Rogerian, ever. Not Jungian, unless you can get it real cheap. Not shaman. Not a priest, can't really count on them anymore.... Choose a Neo-Freudian. and where are they???so, your BEST BET is to deal with yourself, read a lot, and pray. prayer heals.
@mortimerZilch - I've been thinking, because it really doesn't sit well with me, about your comment ever since I read it. And I can't make my response go away. I have to address it, even if you never agree. Why? Because there are other people who read this, and you never know whose eyes, whose heart, whose mind you'll touch with your words. Words are powerful. They're especially powerful about such a personal and oftentimes vulnerable subject as asking for help. And that is, I think, what this comes down to.Seeking psychotherapy is asking for help. Boy, that's a hard thing for a lot of us to do. Because we can handle it, by God. Sometimes literally, we think we SHOULD be able to handle it, by God - as in your comment, through prayer. I have so many problems with that though and many of them are even addressed biblically. From Saul being soothed with the help of David's harp, to Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dreams which distressed him. In these examples, one might say that God used these people and their gifts to help the mental health of these men. David and his musical gifts, and Joseph's listening and interpreting gift - his ear. There are people that have a special heart for the plights of others. Therapists are (or should be) these kinds of people. Put aside your argument of Big Pharm or any other malignant cause, there are those who would darken the profession in any profession - the argument can be made of any job, any person, any position in life. So the people who have a special heart for the plight of others, who have the skill to listen without first trying to speak, these people take on the role of therapist. Whether that is a profession or not. And we don't always need to see a Professional Therapist. Sometimes, there are people who we know are safe. Who will listen without judgment. Who can show us what we aren't seeing. Because sometimes, it isn't easy to interpret what's going on from the inside. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to sort it out or to ask a question that leads to your personal aha moment. You see, I think it's the very definition of psychosis to get lost within your own thought. "so, your BEST BET is to deal with yourself" This can be dangerous if you need help. The blind leading the blind. A surgeon cannot operate on himself, no matter how skilled he is. He must use his knowledge to find someone he trusts, someone who also has skill, to help him. We all need help sometimes. And that's OK. It's even good and right! How burdensome it is to carry around the weight of the world on your shoulders alone. I don't see a need to address the other portions of your comment at this time (if I ever do). We all think what we do for our own reasons (in regard to your opinion of electroshock and inpatient therapy - which I would call a conspiracy theory), and I sincerely doubt you will change your mind. Maybe I have given you something to think about. Maybe not. But at least my mind can rest, now that I've written an essay-for-a-comment in response.
i really do wish that more folks thought like our first person to leave a comment here because that would certainly reduce the "stigma factor" associated with mental health issues! the worries expressed here about big pharma calling the shots are a symptom of a much deeper trouble within our health care system. the drug and insurance companies are running things now and the health care industry is more about making money than getting and keeping people well. thankfully, most professionals i have encountered that have managed to make it through the training required by their specialty (heavily funded by drug and insurance companies, btw) seem to be able to figure out what is appropriate for me and how to get the insurance companies to allow it when i have called upon them for help. prayer really is important, too...i have often thanked God for the regenerative power of our bodies/minds and the people in my life that have helped to restore me to health/wholeness and keep me on that path when i have needed them
There are some good ones out there...and it is our choice to seek help if we need it...I might if I thought it would help...I know it helps a lotta people...and I am not one to judge another because they are seeking help...
TheoDan vacates his post, and the Donkey leaps into the breach!Or was TheoDan actually Donkey_Guy_10 all along?
@PrincessPowers - Well said! I was simply going to say that I would and in fact did seek help, and I am currently in a recovery group that meets once a month. But after seeing Mr. Zilch's comment, then your response, I had to add that not only do I agree with you, I am a prime example of what happens when you DON'T seek help.Once upon a time, I was that person who thought, "I should be able to handle this on my own. I'm a grown woman. I'm intelligent enough." However, my idea of "handling" my situation was running away from it, creating an alternate reality on paper and then escaping into it, while my real-world problems continued to escalate until I could not ignore them any longer. Had I continued with that mindset, I probably would have ended up losing custody of both of my children (losing one of them was the main reason I lost my grip on reality in the first place). I might have eventually committed suicide. At the very least, I would still be struggling, unaware that my thought processes were in serious need of a reboot.My best friend tried to be my therapist for a long time. She has that "special heart" you talked about. She was able to see what I could not. She also knew when it was time to say, "You don't need me, you need a professional." And that's what really helped.@mortimerZilch - "Anyone who is sane enough to make an informed rational decision, isn't sick enough to NEED psychotherapy." WRONG. I make informed, rational decisions all the time, yet I still need help. It's called being human. I wish I had time to say more. I may come back to this.
Yes, most definitely I would. My Mom suffered issues for years, and had a nervous breakdown before she finally receive the help she needed.- People care way too much about what others think!
@PrincessPowers - we all need a shoulder to cry on. Sin can often be a cause of anxiety or depression. Confession of sin is a step in the right direction. ty.
@mortimerZilch - you seem to think involuntary commitment is an easy thing to accomplish. It's not. Emergency psych holds are normally limited to 72 hours, and long-term commitment is next to impossible to obtain unless you're wealthy or completely indigent. Insurance compnaies won't pay for long-term treatment, and state facilities are closing left and right. So, the chances of someone never seeing the "light of day" are slim to none, unless convicted of a violent crime. You've been watching too many old movies
Pray for help if you want, I certainly am not against it. But if your brain is temporarily broken or diseased, it's best to seek professional assistance, just as you would for any other injury or chronic illness affecting another part of your body.
Of course! If I had a broken arm I'd go have that seen by a doctor too!
I fear psychotherapy because then SPAZ would rule my life and I would not be allowed back into the den of dingdongs!
Psychoanalysis can be very helpful, even if there is nothing outwardly wrong. Many people have deep rooted emotional issues and no real healthy way to deal with them. That being said not all therapy is beneficial, but there is only one way to know for sure if it is going to help or not. Try it. I did. I liked it. It helped me resolve quite a few internal struggles. Still, I think the best therapy, involves ice cream, hot fudge and a Marciano cherry.
@PrincessPowers - The therapist I spent some time with combined psychoanalysis, meditation and prayer in his technique. Being spiritual, this approach worked very well for me.
the fact is they want to get you on MEDS as fast as possible, and/or, if you've got good health insurance coverage to KEEP you hooked for as long as possible. You won't be able to own a gun ever afterward either. Your medical records will be accessible to the government, and you will never get a position of authority, or will lose it if you've got it. And the final control they have is eletro shock "therapy" which will alter your brain and your life forever. forget about it. the psych ward is the LAST PLACE you ever want to see.
@mortimerZilch - I'm on therapist 3 in my lifetime. None have ever even suggested meds.
@mortimerZilch - Most psychotherapy in the states in done by Psychologists that are not M.D.s and cannot prescribe medications. Secondly, your assertion about psychotherapy and gun ownership is incorrect. Google form 4473. There are some currently trying to pass laws that would require a therapist to report patients that are a danger to themselves or others in order to limit gun ownership, however, for the most part 1) those laws have not been passed yet, and 2) the vast majority of people receiving psychotherapy are not considered to be threat to themselves or others - nor have they been adjudicated "mentally" defective. I will not continue to your other points since your first two points were of sufficient inaccuracy to call into question your entire comment.
well I gotta say that sure is NAIVE. about the guns part. also about the psychologists...state institutions have total power to do almost anything they want with you. any psychologist can really screw up your life by referring you to other treatment on whatever pretext. Everything funnels toward the BIG PHARM plan of constant medicine. get hep to what's going on out there.
@mortimerZilch - YOU HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE KID. NONE. Owning a gun can only be DENIED if you have VIOLENT mental illness aka bipolar or schizophrenia. Regular depression NO they can't keep you from owning a gun. Losing a position in authority? HAHAHAHAA I'm about to graduate with my teachers license and i'm In the ODA FOR MENTAL HEALTH REASONS. So my professors know about my mental illness. The school I'm student teaching at KNOWS about my illness. So you are completely uneducated and ignorant as hell. You are believing sterotypes and stigma not fact. My boyfriend sought therapy and they didn't push medication on him. I've also in the past year LOST my good health insurance and my mental health team is BENDING OVER BACKWARDS to help me to stay on medication and in therapy. So it's not just a lets keep you hooked so we can suck insurance dry. You need to stop spreading your ignorance on a site that has very impressionable teenage minds who might be considering taking that step to ask for help.
@mortimerZilch - Ignorance exudes from your brain to your fingertips.
To answer your question Donk... well DUH!
First things first. Seek God. That is a healthy trip. Second, try loving...stuffed animals, pets,hug trees. Third, talk to people whom you think may be wise. Fourth, keep your eyes open and observe other people's lives and see what health is. Fifth, READ about problem(s) like your own. The question raised on this particular xanga blog should NOT be answered by people with problems that require MEDS or that have on-going issues that require seemingly endless hand-holding by people that you pay. They need to shut up and listen. (hear that music-turned-human? if all you do is insult you are doing what every liberal ever does when they have to articulate and think. Try NOT smiling for the camera and see what you look like, just look.) I would like to recommend the book: "Fear of Woman" by Karl Stern, and anything else you can find by the founder of Neo-Freudianism. His motto: "if illness, or harm, was caused by an idea, it can be cured by an idea." Very rarely are problems strictly due to chemical imbalances in the brain.That whole concept is getting pre-historic. Brain wave, rather than brain area, studies are throwing the behavioralist-chemical approach to mental health out the window, but BIG PHARM is resisting to the last stand. So look out. Stay away from Public mental health treatment centers, try private first. Don't let them string you along. Don't let them prescribe MEDS. Try organic/natural therapies and stick with them! herbs take a while, and are more subtle in their effects, better for you. You may consider a CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE as a form of treatment. Don't let people BOSS you around, it's your mind, try your very best to make your own decisions. and Don't lose HOPE, some things just get better on their own if you keep trying to make it better.
Words are powerful, that be the truth!
I would, if money and insurance allowed it!
I'd rather spend the money on chocolate. Sees to work for me!