captainlezbian

Therapist notes can be subpoenaed. In ohio i would absolutely ask for a therapist to maintain minimal notes on sensitive topics. Really anywhere in the US I'd ask that, but especially in a red state.

Source: am mentally ill former ohioan

Then you probably want CBT, what you're describing is a mental shutdown in response to anxiety. CBT will basically have you start responding better to such feelings so you're able to function through them and cut off anxious spirals before they're far enough along to debilitate you. It's very much a "you'll start feeling better when you're responding to your emotions better" rather than a "lets rehash, reframe, and recontextualize your life and what's gone wrong in it" like talk therapy.

I did self guided CBT and it worked wonders, but I highly recommend anyone who can get the professionally guided kind. It's only if you can't access a professional or actually won't that self guided is worth the effort. I used to have frequent panic attacks and spiral over all sorts of shit, and years later I rarely even have to consciously apply the techniques, I just habitually do shit like ask myself what negative consequences are realistic and what is in my power to change.

I'll also add, I know everyone hates stoicism bros, but getting into CBT got me into the actual philosophy of stoicism and it's really helpful. It's all about letting go of what you can't impact and focusing on doing the right thing among the options available to you. It doesn't actually involve not crying.

I disagree with you about CBT and good listeners, at least done right. Talk therapy is like a good listener, but CBT is more about retraining your thought patterns. I think a big part of the problem is that a lot of therapists mix the two and try to use one where the other is better.

To compare it to physical therapy, talk therapy is more like exercises meant to safely and healthily push through stiffness and pain, whereas CBT is more like the "yeah you do these things wrong and it's hurting you, we're going to retrain you to do them the healthy way" style of physical therapy.

There's also DBT which for those who need it, nothing else suffices. It's like CBT but especially designed for people with BPD and works wonders on people whose emotional issues result in destructive behavior.

You're allowed to decide a therapist isn't a good fit for you and go for a new one. You should be aiming for a therapist you feel you can trust.

Therapy is mostly just awkward at first. It begins with learning to talk about how you're feeling, and from there it's largely just being gently nudged in different directions.

Results are often slow, but sometimes you have breakthroughs. Different types of therapy have different speeds though, and they'll feel different too.

Personally my therapist doesn't write much down specifically so that nothing can be subpoenaed. She told me that from the start. You're allowed to ask about it and if they get mad you can thank them for their time and find someone else.

I honestly can't imagine thinking this is what one wants to do with their time. Like, I accept that I can't understand this sort of racism and such, but like, even if I was a bigot I can't imagine deciding that what I'm going to do with one of my afternoons is drive around threatening a child's birthday party.

But also, it amazes me that white Americans manage to feel aggrieved by black Americans even today. We're the ones who keep fucking them over not the other way around.

Around 2010 I realized the more I saw of my casual acquaintances the less I liked them and quit. I didn't make many great decisions at 16 but that was one

You need to find social hobbies. I'm an extrovert, but my wife is an introvert. She still got herself together and went out to engage socially and that's how we met. It'll take time and effort, but if you show genuine interest in people and spend time with them you're likely to eventually find someone

Nobody's kicked me off yet, you'll be fine

I guess I do. I'm mostly in favor but not like super firm about it. Except in the context of as automation reduces the amount of work needed I believe it's one of only a few options without which society is at serious risk. The other main option is to drastically reduce working hours without changing pay to increase number of jobs. I actually prefer the latter.

CW: you will probably cry and be furious and haunted for this boy's sake

Proof by proof: the bread rose therefore…