mjs

Hi everyone...Read some good stuff here and wanted to throw this out for anyone to post on. I am in talk therapy for the first time in my life and am not sure if I should stick with it. I have been going once a week for 8 weeks and I really like my therapist. She is an A.P.R.N.,B.C. and she is very kind,supportive, and understanding. My primary problem is addiction to weed and alcohol and basic depression. I suffered some pretty nasty abuse when I was growing up. My therapist practices depth psychotherapy and I have told her some of my story. She is telling me that until I come to terms with and accept what happened to me when I was a child and stay clean and sober I will never fully heal and will be very tempted to soothe myself. She also asks me how I feel a lot and I have to tell her that I don't feel much of anything except frustrated. Is there more going on than I what I am seeing? Is there anything I can do to better understand the process? Is there really such a thing as the unconscious? Has this been proven in any scientific way? I would greatly appreciate any feedback anyone could give...thanks

tubesk

have you tried anything cognitive or behavioral based?
imo, a lot depends on what you want to get out of therapy... although really my bias is def towards cog/beh stuff. personally I like to set goals & make changes & have help in doing that... whether that means a kick in the rear, empathy... or whatever

charltonwilson

with a WELL trained clinician.

does she tell you how you are going to "...come to terms with what happened to you as a kid..."

of course you are acting out (getting high and drinking) after a horrible childhood. it is called self medicating. it probably has saved your life to this point. the question is, can you both do the work that you have to do and stop using simultaneously so you don't have to drink or use (in effect commit a slow suicide) any more.

a well trained hypnotherapist will give you tools immediately to self soothe in a HEALTHY way.... it is great that your therapist is nice... but then again, nice comes from the Latin root "NESCIO" verb transitive which means to NOT KNOW. think about that a while...

Bozo

I am happy to see you posting in the mental health forums. Unfortunately I can offer no thoughts or advice concerning therapy. All I know is a lot of people benefit from seeing a therapist. I wish you luck in your journey for peace and self knowledge. Mike

ccgirl

How long have you been going? Sometimes it takes a while for personalities to mesh and therapists have to get to know you before they can get down to the nitty gritty. If your gut tells you this is a good therapist, give it time. If not, cut your losses and try another one.

mike_mass

I would stick with it for a while, it took me almost a year before my therapist broke through some barriers. And, as others said, you can always try another. Good luck.

Don W

Hi and welcome to SR. Over the years I feel that talking in group and one on one theraphy has been most helpful. The more I open up and expose the better I feel. The things that bother me most are the things about me only known to me. I spend energy in my attempt to hide these. These secrets turn into the very weapons that have defeated my recovery in the past. The more open you are, I've found, the better you feel. Not always right away but, in the long run. Don W

tryingtolive

It was good for me to read this. I am going for my first appointment tomorrow with a psychologist. It is going to be very hard for me to open up and tell her everything, but I am gonna try.

chriskali

Hi all, I am 4 days clean and sober today! I also suffer from depression and/or anxiety problems. I have taken meds from Paxil to Effexor and everything in between (I am taking effexor now) but found nothing helped!? I have gone to therapy and tried everything with not much success. I was so sure meds were going to help me get back to normal BUT I was taking these meds while smoking weed and drinking and this is the reason I saw no progress. No matter how much you try to convince yourself drugs and/or alcohol willbe okay to take with mental illness meds...no matter what anyone says THEY DO NOT MIX. I convinced myself for 2 years that only smoking a doobie here or there or having a few beers watching the game wouldn't hurt but trust me when I say even in moderation it will not work. I am a perfect example of this. As I mentioned today is only day 4 but the results are incredible! I can feel the difference already and actually have had energy and the willingness to do things again! Life is good! As for the therapy I have found that it does help....before I started the therapy it was like I had a brick wall around me and no one was allowed in. This brick wall was errected due to a rough divorce my parents went through as well as an abusive alcoholic drug addict father but I have slowly learned how to break that wall down and get my feelings out and by doing this I not only get it off my chest but I also came to a lot of realizations that helped me out. I would stick with the therapy and you will slowly but surely see the difference it makes.

: - )

tryingtolive

Glad you are doing better. I do want to ask though, how long were you taking the meds before you decided to get sober? They don't usually work until 2-4 weeks in. I have also tried meds before but they didn't work for me. I was also drinking on them. I would only drink once a week on them but I suppose that was too much. My doc said it wouldn't hurt but I guess he didn't know the amount I was drinking.

Jenni325

I am so seriously happy for you, you sound like your doing so good. I know my aunt is going through a similar situation, she just cant kick it. congratulations, really. keep it going. you're wonderfully strong, and you can do it. keep going, take care, and continue to inspire others. ill keep you in my prayers.

Don W

tryingtolive, Remember to take your time. Think long term. It took years to get messed up. A few sessions won't fix things. I had to learn that changing perspective was the best goal. I couldn't change what happened. In order to protect us our minds put a spin on what took place. The more I talked the bigger the picture got. This changed my perspective. Don W