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Have you ever thought to undertake a psychotherapy? Don't get me wrong, a lot of people consider this to be something only for "mad" people, but this is not tr

Have you ever thought to undertake a psychotherapy? Don't get me wrong, a lot of people consider this to be something only for "mad" people, but this is not true. When your belly hurts, you go to a doctor. Why not ask to a doctor when something in your head hurts? Good psychotherapists can work miracles. I have some good friends that got some great benefits from this. They are very smart and absolutely cannot be classified as mad or even disturbed. Just normal people with some personal problems that a good "doctor of the mind" helped untangle and solve.

sailormoon 17y ago
I have been thinking about this too. Mental problems are maligned and taboo, but a lot of the time, all we really need is someone to talk to. Someone who understands what we are getting at. You might be surrounded all day by people, by colleagues, girlfriends, maybe even kids, but none of them capable of having the type of conversation you need. The longer I live the less I respect the popular stigmatisations that prevent me from going the simple, obvious way to get what I need - buy it from someone qualified and willing to provide it. A psychotherapist might well be a good means to an end. Who gives a shit, if you end up getting the results you want. Draw your own conclusions about which other urgent "blocking" requirements, in need of quick solutions, this principle can be applied to.
DEinspanjer 17y ago
I have to agree here. I'll project some of my own history which seems likely to be similar to your situation. You might have some insecurities regarding your skills or abilities that cause you to avoid getting a project far enough along to prove those fears right (or wrong). If this is the case, the fears conflict with your passion for creating things and cause you stress and unhappiness. Reaching out on this forum for help is a start, but a good psychotherapist can help you figure out how to see these fears when they are hiding in your psyche and give you tools to overcome them.
Estragon 17y ago
This is good advice. As sensible as the suggestions in this thread are, probably no one is going to be able to help you without a fairly detailed understanding of the emotional issues which are holding you back.
Eliezer 17y ago
> When your belly hurts, you go to a doctor. Why not ask to a doctor when something in your head hurts? Because when your belly hurts, science understands what the possible causes are. Your real medical doctor may be able to diagnose one of those causes and treat it. When your mind hurts, the existing base of installed psychotherapists belong to a wide variety of non-evidence-based "schools" where "non-evidence-based" means "some guy made up some convincing crap and some other people believed him".
- j_baker 17y ago
  That's simply not true. Psychology is based on evidence. The problem is that the human mind is a lot more difficult to understand than the stomach. As such, a good psychologist is a man with one eye in the land of the blind so to speak.
  - DeusExMachina 17y ago
    Psychotherapy is even based on more evidence, since a psychotherapist is a doctor and not only a psychologist, and understands the psychological part as well as the physiological one.
    - akgerber 17y ago
      You're probably thinking of a psychiatrist. My dad is a psychotherapist and has an MCSW.
      - DeusExMachina 17y ago
        Uh, sorry, I'm thinking in terms of italian definitions. Probably in other countries these are a little different.
  - Eliezer 17y ago
    Okay. Give me an example of a psychotherapeutic technique and cite the evidence it's based on. I know of one form of psychotherapy that has some evidence behind it. The rest has been repeatedly tested and found to work no better than talking to a sympathetic intelligent person with no psychology training.
carterschonwald 17y ago
this is a very good suggestion, and for all you know, it might turn out (for example) that the crux of the issue is something like mild adhd, and half the challenge with such issues is being aware of them so that they can be managed
cpr 17y ago
Yes, in many cases it's just a matter of discovering and learning to turn around bad mental habits, not a matter of mad or disturbed. (Though "madness" can be seen as the limiting condition of bad mental habits.) We're all clearly disturbed in some way or other, some worse than others, and it's a matter of finding help in functioning in spite of bad mental structures, and learning how to work with/around them, eventually perhaps overcoming them.
- DeusExMachina 17y ago
  > We're all clearly disturbed in some way or other Sure, and the fact that we somehow manage to go on, does not imply that we would not be better understanding what weighs on us. I have a younger friend that is studying surgery, and one of her professors once told to the class: "the best present you can give to yourselves is a good psychotherapy". Obviously this professor isn't "the truth", but she believes (and I agree) this to be a good advice nonetheless.
deleted 17y ago
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sailormoon 17y ago

I have been thinking about this too. Mental problems are maligned and taboo, but a lot of the time, all we really need is someone to talk to. Someone who understands what we are getting at. You might be surrounded all day by people, by colleagues, girlfriends, maybe even kids, but none of them capable of having the type of conversation you need. The longer I live the less I respect the popular stigmatisations that prevent me from going the simple, obvious way to get what I need - buy it from someone qualified and willing to provide it. A psychotherapist might well be a good means to an end. Who gives a shit, if you end up getting the results you want. Draw your own conclusions about which other urgent "blocking" requirements, in need of quick solutions, this principle can be applied to.

DEinspanjer 17y ago

I have to agree here. I'll project some of my own history which seems likely to be similar to your situation. You might have some insecurities regarding your skills or abilities that cause you to avoid getting a project far enough along to prove those fears right (or wrong). If this is the case, the fears conflict with your passion for creating things and cause you stress and unhappiness. Reaching out on this forum for help is a start, but a good psychotherapist can help you figure out how to see these fears when they are hiding in your psyche and give you tools to overcome them.

Estragon 17y ago

This is good advice. As sensible as the suggestions in this thread are, probably no one is going to be able to help you without a fairly detailed understanding of the emotional issues which are holding you back.

Eliezer 17y ago

> When your belly hurts, you go to a doctor. Why not ask to a doctor when something in your head hurts? Because when your belly hurts, science understands what the possible causes are. Your real medical doctor may be able to diagnose one of those causes and treat it. When your mind hurts, the existing base of installed psychotherapists belong to a wide variety of non-evidence-based "schools" where "non-evidence-based" means "some guy made up some convincing crap and some other people believed him".

j_baker 17y ago
That's simply not true. Psychology is based on evidence. The problem is that the human mind is a lot more difficult to understand than the stomach. As such, a good psychologist is a man with one eye in the land of the blind so to speak.
- DeusExMachina 17y ago
  Psychotherapy is even based on more evidence, since a psychotherapist is a doctor and not only a psychologist, and understands the psychological part as well as the physiological one.
  - akgerber 17y ago
    You're probably thinking of a psychiatrist. My dad is a psychotherapist and has an MCSW.
    - DeusExMachina 17y ago
      Uh, sorry, I'm thinking in terms of italian definitions. Probably in other countries these are a little different.
- Eliezer 17y ago
  Okay. Give me an example of a psychotherapeutic technique and cite the evidence it's based on. I know of one form of psychotherapy that has some evidence behind it. The rest has been repeatedly tested and found to work no better than talking to a sympathetic intelligent person with no psychology training.

carterschonwald 17y ago

this is a very good suggestion, and for all you know, it might turn out (for example) that the crux of the issue is something like mild adhd, and half the challenge with such issues is being aware of them so that they can be managed

cpr 17y ago

Yes, in many cases it's just a matter of discovering and learning to turn around bad mental habits, not a matter of mad or disturbed. (Though "madness" can be seen as the limiting condition of bad mental habits.) We're all clearly disturbed in some way or other, some worse than others, and it's a matter of finding help in functioning in spite of bad mental structures, and learning how to work with/around them, eventually perhaps overcoming them.

DeusExMachina 17y ago
> We're all clearly disturbed in some way or other Sure, and the fact that we somehow manage to go on, does not imply that we would not be better understanding what weighs on us. I have a younger friend that is studying surgery, and one of her professors once told to the class: "the best present you can give to yourselves is a good psychotherapy". Obviously this professor isn't "the truth", but she believes (and I agree) this to be a good advice nonetheless.

deleted 17y ago

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