5 ms·
"One piece of advice I have for you is to not take on the role of mental health professional in your relationship" So much this. My first husband was schizo-af
by Broken_Hippo 10y ago
"One piece of advice I have for you is to not take on the role of mental health professional in your relationship"
So much this. My first husband was schizo-affective. I often felt I was in the role of caregiver and part-time mental health professional, all while trying to work to supoprt us both. And this was while he had medications to help him and very regular psychiatrist appointments.
Looking back, I should have insisted that I was ill-prepared to do all the stuff. I should have insisted on some therapy for myself as well, and asked for more help from the mental health services, possibly wellness checks and other such things. It is so much easier to say this stuff now in my late 30's than it was in my early to mid 20's, however.
- xahrepap 10y ago> I should have insisted on some therapy for myself as well Yes. So much this. I suffer from pretty serious anxiety. And just a few months ago I was fighting through the worst of it. Looking back at how much my wife was doing and how stressed she was... I feel like she could've benefitted from therapy almost more than me. I wish we as a culture can get over the therapy stereotypes. Both my kids see a therapist on a regular basis and have been for years (adopted through foster care. Lots of trauma). We've been trying to help them learn how helpful it is. It's fun to see them ... brag(?) ... about going to therapy. They are excited when I ask them after work about their day and how they got to see their friend, the therapist. When talking to other people who feel like they need therapy but are too embarrassed, and just tell them about my kids. Ask them if they would judge them for going. Talk about how much they love it. One day therapy will be more common!
- jsprogrammer 10y agoMy problem with "therapy" is that the word is woefully undefined. Sticking an ice pick up a person's nose, into their brain, and just moving the pick around has been counted as therapy.
- dom0 10y agoWasn't that done through the eye socket?
- echlebek 10y agoThey're talking cognitive behavioural therapy.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- freehunter 10y agoYeah and leeches used to be called "medicine" but if you shy away from doctors because of what the profession practiced in the past (things that are illegal now) you're not exactly doing yourself any favors. Therapy these days does not mean lobotomies.
- jsprogrammer 10y agoOk, so therapy has moved from lobotomies to... As I said, therapy seems to be devoid of any real definition.
- digler999 10y agopsychotherapy is a form of treatment for many psychological disorders as defined by the DSM-V. The treatment varies based on the therapist's style and patient preference, but it always centers around talking to a licensed professional about the patient's feelings, behaviors, thoughts, dreams, fears. Through talking, the therapist can spot patterns of harmful and destructive beliefs and thought patterns. To use a bit of jargon, they can deconstruct a patient's defenses and suggest changes in thoughts/actions that - if followed - may often alleviate some or all of the symptoms. Perhaps the thing that bothers you is that it's an inexact science ?
- atsaloli 10y ago
- Broken_Hippo 10y agoI actually hope that regular mental health checks are as common as physicals. One way to reduce the stigma, anyway. Until then, suggestions to folks that are intersecting the system would do well - on top of actually having enough trained professionals to do so. The last bit might be one key to it: Sometimes folks have trouble even finding an free practitioner. The problems get even worse in the US if you are low-income since not everywhere will take medicaid.