# Anyone improve after stopping therapy?



## moretimeleft (Oct 8, 2008)

I haven't seen a therapist since June and have improved dramatically. I look at myself as a "normal" person who doesn't need a paid professional to pretend to understand my problems.

Therapists only prolong depression. 1 of 2 things happen: 

1.)They identify or pretend to identify with you, and you think "Wow they get it...why can't the rest of the world think like they do?" You use the sessions as a way to vent. Therapists thrive on this and they won't stop you because as long as you keep venting they keep getting paid. They don't have to point out that your negative thinking makes your problems worse.

2.)You feel like they don't understand you, in which case you think "Even a professional doesn't get it" and you feel worse.

The problem is, not just people on here, but people in general who see therapists like feeling sorry for themselves. They don't want to go on medication not because they're afraid of masking the problem but because they enjoy their depression. I was there myself for a long time. Therapists won't tell you the truth: That you're using them to blow off steam and that you already know the answer to your problems if you want your life to change. You have to make the decision that you want a better quality of life. Having a paid friend isn't the answer.


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## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

*I have to agree with a lot of what you said. I think that we make the mistake of thinking the therapist will solve our problems. Instead, they can offer insights and point us in the directions we need to go emotionally or intellectually. But ultimately it is up to ourself to look for insights that offer that internal hope that feeds us like invisible food. THIS IS FUNNY. I misread your TITLE and thought it said. ANYONE IMPROVE AFTER SHOPPING THERAPY. haha. :lol*


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## kev (Jan 28, 2005)

Yeah, they are like a paid friend. I don't think it's so bad but there is the inevitable moral dilemma... do they really care about you or are they even supposed to? Therapists serve a purpose but they aren't miracle workers. I'm sure advancements in both psychiatry and therapy will be made within the next 50 years. I feel bad for the therapists that have a conscious (which I think is a lot of them) because I'm sure there are a lot of patients they just can't help. Like a student who doesn't want to learn, there are patients who don't want to recover and the therapist really can't do anything about it if the patient doesn't want to improve. But unlike the (presumably mentally healthy) student, the "defiant" patient can't actually help himself. He doesn't want to get better because he is ill and he is ill becuase he doesn't want to get better. 

Until psychiatry can solve the paradox (assuming it is even solvable), the industry as a whole will continue to come under attack. I'm not "anti-therapy" but there are so many ethical and practical problems with it.


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## heyubigrockstar (Jul 15, 2008)

i've seen 9 therapists in the past couple years and not one of them has been able to help me.


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## Nottalkin (Nov 12, 2008)

moretimeleft said:


> I haven't seen a therapist since June and have improved dramatically. I look at myself as a "normal" person who doesn't need a paid professional to pretend to understand my problems.
> 
> Therapists only prolong depression. 1 of 2 things happen:
> 
> ...


I dunno it might just be that you had bad luck with therapists.

Mine at the moment is pretty good, and I have improved a lot.

Also you might have a therapist that has a completely different style then what you need.

I had this happen to me a few times.


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## MeganC (Nov 23, 2008)

I agree with much of what has been said. I think that therapy actually hurt me more than it helped. My therapists almost had me convinced that my life was beyond my control. If I was having a difficult time with school or work, it was forgivable because I have a "mental illness" and I was doing my best:roll 
I'm not denying that I have a problem and that it was very severe for a long period of time, but using your problem as a crutch only exacerbates it's severity.


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## fizzywater (Jun 21, 2004)

I think therapy works well when the patient is committed and motivated to change, and the therapist has a specific treatment plan with an end in sight. I used to work at a mental health clinic for a couple of years, and I was amazed at how many people saw the same therapist for years and years and never seemed to improve. I remember one therapist telling me right before he retired (he had been practicing for close to 40 years) that even after all his years of experience, he still doubted the effectiveness of therapy for most people.


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## Gerard (Feb 3, 2004)

For me I always ask, "What is insight? And how does it occur for me, for you, or for anyone else?"


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## milo001 (Nov 26, 2008)

i just started my cbt and i agree with most of what you guys said.but i find mine pretty good.when i talk to her it's like talking to a friend that understand me and let me rant for a long time.lol.and thanks to her and the other psychologist that i seen before i found that going out in public is not as scared as what i think.since i quit my job last year,i feel so embarrassed to even going out because i scared i'll meet my ex-coworkers again.i still avoided going out on saturday sunday but at least not normal days.because my family is not that rich and that makes me argue with my parents alot then when i tell her she make it to fortnightly instead of every weeks.i have her email too.so i can email her anytime if i have problems.they cares about money of course but some of them care about us too.they want us to be better because this is what they're suppose to do. 

but i did agree with everyone what the doctor can do is to give us confidence and let us know that we have been thinking negative thoughts for all this time.we still need to overcome it by practice what our doctor told us.so far my social phobia problems seems a little bit better now but i still can't control my anger.haha,i'm doom next monday.seriously i don't know how long i need to see her (social phobia,anger,depression) but no negative thoughts.


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