Interesting Links for 25-04-2012

[andrewducker]

• In Therapy Forever? Enough Already
  (tags: psychology counselling therapy )
• I read about the woman who gave her 7-year-old a breast-augmentation voucher, and now the screaming in my head won't stop.
  (tags: women PlasticSurgery children headdesk society )
• Even positive stereotypes can hinder performance (removes locus of control)
  (tags:

Comments

[bart_calendar]

I don't think that long term therapy is a bad thing. I've been seeing my shrink for about four years and can see that I'm making progress (really dramatic progress between where I am now and where I was four years ago) but, you know, life constantly throws new challenges at you and sometimes causes setbacks and I'm still learning more about myself over the course of time and finding new ways to handle situations

[andrewducker]

I don't think it's bad for everyone - there are always people with a massive amount of baggage, neuroses, and other problems which aren't going to shift quickly (if at all). My own counselling took about a year and a half.

But (from my understanding) a lot of people are just a bit miserable because they're stuck, and could be helped to move out of their rut reasonably quickly, but have therapists who are more interested in hanging on to them than actually helping them get better.

[laplor]

I think the big issue is that there are people who are in therapy for years. You've had ongoing steady progress.

It's even apparent to strangers from across the ocean that you are better than you were a year ago. Some therapists see patients for a really long time with no noticeable result.

[bart_calendar]

You can actually tell from my blog that I'm better?

That's cool!

[laplor]

Yes, absolutely.

There is less talking of the things that frighten or upset you.

You mention self-medicating (and glorification of) drinking and smoking much less.

You now talk a lot more about 'healthier' things like your relationships, your work, books, movies, and TV.

And even when these things upset you it is in a normal way. There is less paranoia and your responses are much more appropriate and healthy.

The recent health issues in your family and the bullshit they brought up might have once sent you into a tailspin, but you got just pissed off and worried enough and got over it.

You seem less afraid and more positive about your choices, work, and loves. Your therapist is still a gem.

[bart_calendar]

I think her biggest skill is just calling me on my bullshit.

(Trust me I do still self medicate with booze and cigs, though not seven days a week anymore. Monday night is TV night and I stay in and watch a week's worth of television instead.)

[laplor]

Oh I know you do. But I think there was a time when you might have had a very hard time staying in even that much. It's easy to see that it isn't your life quite as much as it once was.

Maybe someday you'll be eating healthy food, using those smokeless cigarettes, and going for bike rides.

Or not :)

[bart_calendar]

Fuck bike rides.

Fuck whoever invented the wheel.

(I'd probably switch to smokeless cigarettes if they changed the laws so I could smoke them in bars and on planes. As it is my local tabac charges 10 euros for one of them and it's very unclear how long that one would last and/or where I'd be able to smoke it. If smokeless cigs become both more cost effective and practical I have nothing against them. For me the difference between a tobacco cig and an e-cig is as marginal as the difference between a shot of vodka and a shot of tequila. But since the smoke Nazis have so far treated e-cigs exactly the same way as regular cigs the tobacco shops here have to charge an arm and a leg for them because there is no volume profit for them like there is on regular cigs and there is no clear advantage to them yet.)