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Mental Health Seen So Many Therapists- Doing Therapy Yourself

llama112

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Nov 26, 2010
Messages
4,471
I've been seeing therapists for six years. CBT, DBT, Gestalt, mindfulness, a mix of a bunch. DBT has helped a munch as my main issues are BPD and anxiety. However there aren't really a ton of great therapists left. I honestly think I went through all the therapists in my city.

I'm not trained. I work with computers. Psychology is interested but I'm not trained in it. I have DBT book. But I want to work on this myself or even find some like-minded people and chat about it and go through some books or something. I just feel like there's no other way to be successful in getting through everything because the therapists are not helping enough.

Ideas?
 
Hey!!

It's indeed very difficult to find a therapist with whom you "connect" and trust. I'm lucky to have found my therapist, I've been seeing her for the past 15 years (with some intervals between the years) and I'm totally honest and open to her. Her approach is "psychotherapy", which is totally different from CBT, for example... I saw a CBT therapist for 6 months and I found this method to be more "invasive", she would rather give me answers to my questions and she would not focus on what was behind them, in order for me to have a better understanding of myself - which is more like I'm used to in psychotherapy... You mentioned a book and one of the things that CBT psychologist recomended me was a book which I found really helpful to rationalize and understand my feelings, it's this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Over-Mood-Change-Changing/dp/0898621283

Keep trying to look for a therapist which makes you feel comfortable!
 
Hey Herby,

I was delighted to hear not too long ago that meditation techniques on the level of mindfulness just scratch the surface of what one can accomplish meditation, how deep one can go. Hope that starts off a fruitful search for ya!
 
Hi! I can relate to a lot of the things you said. I used to have this great psychiatrist that was also my therapist and was willing to talk about God in our sessions, which I loved. But sadly he moved to another city so now I have a new psychiatrist and therapist, and my therapist feels like a robot. My psychiatrist is basically just a pill pusher. I don't know what CBT is, but I did a little DBT but then stopped. I can't exactly remember why. I think it was partly scheduling issues and having to drive 30 miles to get to my class multiple times a week, but I think I also had a minor relapse around that time. But while I was in DBT, I LOVED it. And I love bluelight cause there are tons of people like you and I that want to understand the human mind more and become more aware of ourselves and others. If we can find some more people that are interested in talking about this stuff, or even if we don't find anyone else, let's totally talk about it sometime.

You should read my bio -- I think you'd find that we have some things in common. The thing I struggle with the most these days is sleep anxiety/insomnia, but anxiety in general has been an issue for me for a long time. I also still use, but for the most part I just stick to my own prescriptions and Kratom. That way I can get my fix without breaking the law, cause I have a little daughter and if I was ever caught drug dealing which I used to do, my baby would get taken away from me. I enjoy psychology to a degree but I REALLY enjoy neuroscience and neuropsychology. I also work with computers, btw. I mean, my job doesn't involve much computer work, but when I'm home I enjoy programming. I'm currently taking an online course on developing video games using C#. I'm fairly familiar with coding in general.

I tried posting to a thread earlier about dealing with anxiety, but my internet was being flaky and I don't think the post went through. But I covered so many ways to deal with anxiety. I feel that health/fitness, journaling/talking, and building confidence are three of the most important things when it comes to dealing with anxiety. Just a warning, when I type I tend to type long messages, but if you're okay with that then maybe we could start by PMing each other and talking about DBT and anxiety stuff. I don't enjoy following curriculum books very much, but I would enjoy being taught what you've learned through DBT, and I wouldn't mind following you through a book. It sounds like you kind of want to be a teacher/therapist for this kind of stuff. You could be my therapist :) I can almost assure you that you'd be a better therapist than my current one.

I barely completed a quarter of DBT. But when I started it, I was so excited! I felt like I had finally found the kind of program that could help someone like me. I'm a sensitive person and while I did DBT, I felt my sensitivity being empowered. I no longer feel unmanly being a sensitive man. I feel like it's a positive thing being sensitive.
When I stopped taking DBT it was around the time we were talking about "should'ves" and "could'ves" and how I shouldn't use words like that because it's counter-productive, or something like that. I didn't get to finish learning about that, so maybe we could start there. That would actually be awesome, cause I want to do DBT but the DBT programs in my area are pretty far away, and I'd much prefer to talk about this stuff with like-minded people from BL. If we find a couple other people that are interested, maybe we can even start an email chain or something, just to kind of keep us all on our toes, if you get my meaning.

Let me know what you think! I'm always full of ideas and I love helping and talking to people here on BL. I'm no therapist, but I have a lot of drug safety and self-care info that I can share with people. And I'm particularly educated in how to handle anxiety and use health and fitness therapeutically, though I don't have any degrees or certifications. Just experiences and many past, brilliant teachers.
 
DBT is Dialectical Behavioral (or Behavior) Therapy. CBT is Cognitive Behavioral (or Behavior) Therapy. It is essential to find the right therapist for your needs. I am speaking from a professional point of view. Therapists, like everybody else, have their own personalities, and finding the right personality match for you is important. Keep at it and you'll find the right match for you, but don't give up on therapy.
 
Don't worry, I haven't given up :)
Like I said, my previous psychiatrist was also my therapist and we often talked of religious things. He was my ideal therapist.
I think I might meet another therapist like that one day.
 
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