5 ms·

On therapy and intrusive thoughts

64 points by steve_w 11y ago

NickHaflinger 11y ago
Has this place suddenly turned into the Dr. Phil show ?
- Jemm 11y ago
  If you look at the mind as a complex system that can be hacked with things like CBT and such, then you might find a place for it here.
- dang 11y ago
  > Has this place suddenly turned into the Dr. Phil show ? Please don't post dismissive comments to HN. There's a place for the occasional personal article like this on Hacker News. For one thing, it provides a thread where people can compare their own experiences. Struggles with what the author calls intrusive thoughts are common to many of us here. Obviously the subject is not to everyone's taste, but what is?
  - NickHaflinger 11y ago
    OK, sorry for the factious response. My solution for when you can't switch off is to take up keep fit. Running on grass (not concrete), swimming, weights etc. You'll be so busy, you won't have time for intrusive thoughts. And of course you will have to do without your usual chemical cosh. So not only will you feel better, be more efficient at work, but think of all the money you would have saved.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
toothbrush 11y ago
Unfortunately it's not displaying for me in Firefox, even when i whitelist the domain in NoScript, and allow ajax.google.com as a cross-site destination. EDIT: Here's the article text on Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/apMGGHQs http://pastebin.com/apMGGHQs
- pflanze 11y ago
  The problem is from "body * { opacity: 0; }" in: http://steveworsley.com/assets/css/styles.css http://steveworsley.com/assets/css/styles.css (It didn't display in Chromium without JS either; right click "inspect element" on the middle of the page, turn off opacity: 0)
  - steve_w 11y ago
    Thanks for spotting that! I'll sort it out.
wdewind 11y ago
> It’s taken me a few weeks to write this post. Not that I was really afraid of putting myself out there, but that I needed to write it in such a way that it wouldn't scare people or make them worried. This really is a major part, if not the biggest part, of the stigma associated with therapy now. It's hard to get mental help without it being a Big Deal. Which is stupid because everyone should go to therapy. Therapy is great. It's like strength training for the mind. You don't have to have some kind of specific reason to go, you don't need to talk about that remark your parents made when you were 11, you don't need to be crazy. It just gives you a toolkit for understanding and dealing with every day emotions. It is expensive, but if you are an engineer you likely have a medical plan that covers some kind of mental health. Do yourself a favor and check, seriously the best decision I've ever made was going to therapy.
- oneJob 11y ago
  I'll second that. I first went to a therapist years ago for a visit precipitated by a professional "crisis" (not that crisis-y in retrospect). I found therapy to be so helpful I resolved to continue going after that was worked out. I was very into body and life hacking, and found so many unexpexted benefits. I explain it to people as "maintenance mode", which is the only way I've been able to word it which garners consistently positive responses. Think check-up versus emergency care. Few people would advocate relying solely on emergency care. That makes sense to people, that I go when I'm "normal" so that when I really "need" to go I already have that support system in place and a great relationship with my doctor. That is not a process you want to deal with in the middle of dealing with real issues; it can be difficult finding a good doctor who is a good match for you, and a bad match can do more harm than good. I believe I benefit every visit, not just visits dealing with drama, but that explanation seems to click with people. I just know it is healthy to have an external bull-sh-t meter to run things by. Forgot who said it, but, "Trying to define one's self is like trying to bite your your own teeth."
- viewer5 11y ago
  Would you mind elaborating a bit? I've heard the same sentiments as yours, but without any more elaboration. What kind of tools does it provide you, for example?

64 points by steve_w 11y ago

NickHaflinger 11y ago

Has this place suddenly turned into the Dr. Phil show ?

Jemm 11y ago
If you look at the mind as a complex system that can be hacked with things like CBT and such, then you might find a place for it here.
dang 11y ago
> Has this place suddenly turned into the Dr. Phil show ? Please don't post dismissive comments to HN. There's a place for the occasional personal article like this on Hacker News. For one thing, it provides a thread where people can compare their own experiences. Struggles with what the author calls intrusive thoughts are common to many of us here. Obviously the subject is not to everyone's taste, but what is?
- NickHaflinger 11y ago
  OK, sorry for the factious response. My solution for when you can't switch off is to take up keep fit. Running on grass (not concrete), swimming, weights etc. You'll be so busy, you won't have time for intrusive thoughts. And of course you will have to do without your usual chemical cosh. So not only will you feel better, be more efficient at work, but think of all the money you would have saved.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

toothbrush 11y ago

Unfortunately it's not displaying for me in Firefox, even when i whitelist the domain in NoScript, and allow ajax.google.com as a cross-site destination. EDIT: Here's the article text on Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/apMGGHQs http://pastebin.com/apMGGHQs

pflanze 11y ago
The problem is from "body * { opacity: 0; }" in: http://steveworsley.com/assets/css/styles.css http://steveworsley.com/assets/css/styles.css (It didn't display in Chromium without JS either; right click "inspect element" on the middle of the page, turn off opacity: 0)
- steve_w 11y ago
  Thanks for spotting that! I'll sort it out.

wdewind 11y ago

> It’s taken me a few weeks to write this post. Not that I was really afraid of putting myself out there, but that I needed to write it in such a way that it wouldn't scare people or make them worried. This really is a major part, if not the biggest part, of the stigma associated with therapy now. It's hard to get mental help without it being a Big Deal. Which is stupid because everyone should go to therapy. Therapy is great. It's like strength training for the mind. You don't have to have some kind of specific reason to go, you don't need to talk about that remark your parents made when you were 11, you don't need to be crazy. It just gives you a toolkit for understanding and dealing with every day emotions. It is expensive, but if you are an engineer you likely have a medical plan that covers some kind of mental health. Do yourself a favor and check, seriously the best decision I've ever made was going to therapy.

oneJob 11y ago
I'll second that. I first went to a therapist years ago for a visit precipitated by a professional "crisis" (not that crisis-y in retrospect). I found therapy to be so helpful I resolved to continue going after that was worked out. I was very into body and life hacking, and found so many unexpexted benefits. I explain it to people as "maintenance mode", which is the only way I've been able to word it which garners consistently positive responses. Think check-up versus emergency care. Few people would advocate relying solely on emergency care. That makes sense to people, that I go when I'm "normal" so that when I really "need" to go I already have that support system in place and a great relationship with my doctor. That is not a process you want to deal with in the middle of dealing with real issues; it can be difficult finding a good doctor who is a good match for you, and a bad match can do more harm than good. I believe I benefit every visit, not just visits dealing with drama, but that explanation seems to click with people. I just know it is healthy to have an external bull-sh-t meter to run things by. Forgot who said it, but, "Trying to define one's self is like trying to bite your your own teeth."
viewer5 11y ago
Would you mind elaborating a bit? I've heard the same sentiments as yours, but without any more elaboration. What kind of tools does it provide you, for example?