Your experience?

[quitter333]

A lot of members here go to therapists.

Care to share your experience? Perhaps we can learn some methods or what works or not from your particular experience. I never went to one, as I just love forcing myself through life with raw willpwoer, but that probably is not the most effective way to feel good. A friend of mine has anxiety/panic attacks (from looks of him you would't tell. huge bodybuilder dude with good business and nice family) and said therapist helped him A LOT. from the very basics of calming, breathing, to changing his thinking behavior/patterns.

What are the principles your therapist uses? What has helped you most?

[Hidden]

I have been seeing a therapist for many years and she has been very helpful. Often I have left therapy feeling grounded and able to forge ahead with daily goals which include exercising. I have also been through many times where I have 'fired' her, which has actually been therapeutic in the long haul because of the psychological dynamic of 'projecting', meaning projecting feelings onto someone else (the therapist), rather than

admitting or dealing with the unwanted feelings yourself. Lots of times I projected my anger on her, but fortunately have been able to stick with it and work through a lot of rage I had concerning family stuff. She also uses cognitive behavior therapy, or CBD which basically teaches you how to replace negative thoughts with positive coping statements.

She practices what would be called non-directive therapy meaning the client has the control over which direction they want to explore. It does not mean the therapist is completely passive, rather they are a well trained listener, knowing what responses or questions would be helpful. This kind of 'talk therapy' has been useful to me.

Understand that the kind of therapy I do may fall into the category of psychoanalysis,

which is like an overhaul of your psyche and is time consuming. Of course it all depends on what your goal is for therapy; you may just want some short-term goal directed therapy to address a few things. Then there is also a plethora or self-help books to choose from.

(If you have depression, I would recommend David Burns book, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, basically CBD.) There is also DBT- Dialectical Behavior Training, skills developed by Marsha Lineman you might check out. My god, have I overwhelmed you, wishing you hadn't asked? It probably would have been better to suggest to simply call some therapists, feel them out, ask them what how they practice counseling. The most important thing about therapy is really connecting with the therapist, having a trusting relationship. If I have given you way too much information, I apologize, I didn't realize what a therapy junkie I am.

[quitter333 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the answer. The more the better. I think this all is very important information for this whole community. I don't easily get overwhelmed, just in case

[snflwrgrl]

I have also benefited from seeing a counselor when I was suffering from anxiety attacks. The counselor and I went through an anxiety workbook together and it taught me to talk myself down instead of up into a full-blown anxiety attack when I first felt the anxiety coming on. I was able to learn to control my anxiety this way. I have been to a number of counselors over the years and I have learned that they are not all the same. It’s worth looking until you find the right one. The best counselor I have ever had was a Christian counselor. He gave me good, sound advice that changed my life.