Should I go to a psychologist?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rawgreengoddess on November 16, 2009 at 3:08am

ohhh massage can be incredibly healing...as one who gives massage and one who receives from a wonderful healing lady....it works well as part of the healing process yes!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nicole on November 14, 2009 at 5:31pm

Hi. I have nothing against therapists and many of my friends have had alot of success with them. Me personally though, not really.
I have seen two in my life, first at age 14 when my father lost his fight with Luekemia and then again last year when I was having issues dealing with my son's autism. I too have anger issues(another reason I went raw) and on both occasions I found the therapy to be a complete waste of time.
The thing that YB said about friends is so true and sometimes the best friends are the ones we have never seen in the flesh. Going by the replies you have had so far, I have the feeling you may get most of the help you need right here in this community.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by peanut on November 14, 2009 at 5:38pm

Going to a therapist can help you to be clearer with yourself and with others about what's bothering you. But I don't think it really changes how you feel. To do that, I would recommend mental exercises. For example, if you're angry at your parents:

Picture yourself as a little kid, maybe 5 years old. Picture something really bad that happened, something you're really ashamed of. Then imagine yourself, as an adult, helping that kid to feel better.

Now picture a friend as a kid, 5 years old. Picture him feeling ashamed of something he did, and reacting the way he would react. Then imagine yourself, as an adult, helping that kid to feel better.

Now picture your father as a kid, at 5. Picture him feeling ashamed, reacting as he would; picture yourself comforting him. Now your mom.

If you practice this, it can help you to understand your parents as humans, like all of us, just children of different sizes who are learning and who mess up sometimes. Another good one is to challenge yourself to think of things you're grateful for, for 5 mins, 10 mins, whatever. You can do this while you're working out, too.

Good luck!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nicole on November 14, 2009 at 5:41pm

Oh yeah thats good, very Louise Hay. Theres some good ones for self love as well

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Vampirella on November 14, 2009 at 5:54pm

Its like fortune telling. Not a real science, how can it be?
Noone knows others and everyone is different.

Have you ever read symptoms of a mental disease? who has not felt any one of those things? Its so vague and basic and a way to sell people on cures.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by YogaBrudder on November 15, 2009 at 2:57am

Very good. There it is.

We live in a make-believe world.


Have you ever read symptoms of a mental disease? who has not felt any one of those things? Its so vague and basic and a way to sell people on cures.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kim Caldwell on November 14, 2009 at 7:06pm

This from my book 'How Green Smoothies Saved My Life"

ANGER HAS ITS PLACE IN HELPING YOU FEEL BETTER
It is common to be told that “you should not get
angry.” This is not true or possible. When you are trying
to feel better from a place of depression or fear, you
are looking for a feeling of relief. Anger offers this relief
from a fearful mindset and you can really feel the shift if
you are paying attention.
When you go into anger, it is really a self survival
mechanism. This is why it feels so good to get angry if
you are stuck in a feeling of powerlessness. It feels like
you are taking back your power. To feel guilty about
being angry is not helpful. The trick is to understand
your anger and move up and out of it after it has served
you. There is no correct amount of time to stay in anger,
and everyone is of course different. My point is to know
that you went to anger on purpose, that it is serving
you and it is only temporary. The more you understand
and work with this powerful knowing, the better you will
get at moving up and out of anger quickly.
From anger you can move into a softer feeling of
frustration, to a little less frustration, to a feeling of
hopefulness, to a feeling of belief, to a feeling of
knowing that everything is going to work out fine. This is
another Abraham-Hicks teaching.
Once I found this life-enhancing information, I used it
to learn to move up out of anger quickly. It does take a
little practice, but you can do it.
One of my favorite ways to soothe someone when
they get upset is to say “anger is good.” This little
statement makes the person feel better automatically
instead of wasting energy and time feeling guilty for
being angry.
I remember when my children were little it was
common for me to say “don’t you throw a fit and get
mad.” This was because I had been taught that anger
was bad all of my life. I will never forget when I finally
got it that anger was a self survival mechanism. My
children were just doing what was best for them. This
was a revelation and changed everything for the better.
We know on a deep level that it feels great to let off a
little steam when needed. My children needed my
support and guidance, not to be told they were wrong to
go to anger.
Now, everyone in my family knows the power of
anger and how to use it. We know to move out quickly,
at our own pace. Now you do, too. This might take a
minute to sink in, but as you start playing with it, you
can expect to feel better and more in control of your
emotions than ever.
Once you understand the importance of anger, you
do not have to be afraid of it but can actually appreciate
and move it to a better place. Learning to just relax and
accept where you are is a perfect starting place to
getting anywhere you want to be.


Hope this helped
kim
www.togetherpublishing.com

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by aishwarya on November 15, 2009 at 3:05am

this has been one of my favorite parts from your book. :)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Rawgreengoddess on November 16, 2009 at 3:09am

i am getting your book Kim,i have seen it on your page...how do i go about this?i absolutely swear by green smoothies i am never the same without them

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Jasmine.green on November 14, 2009 at 7:49pm

Ok so to reframe the question.. Asking 'should I see a psychologist' is a little like saying 'should I learn something'? If you are asking the answer is already yah, but the more important question imho is What and with whom? There are as many circles in psychology as there are in nutrition or law or anything you really delve into. And like anything else there is a 'mainstream' and there are sidestreams and in psychology this is important because lately in the US mainstream psychology is a lot like psychiatry where they diagnose disorders and prescribe drugs and that can actually be harmful. Instead of trying to figure out -with you- what your feelings mean, they'll tell you you're disordered. Guess what, that doesn't help.

That's why I stress therapy rather than psychology, you're not going in for a diagnosis, you're not going in to be dissected, you're going for healing and healing happens WITH another person, it's how we're wired - and this is a lot like homeopathy, maybe other people are the source of the distress (poison) but they're also the source of relief (remedy). So you want to find someone who will work with you, where you are, and you want to find out about them.

I noticed in your profile you are into foreign mythology so maybe you want to find a Depth psychotherapist or Jungian therapist. Then you want to make sure they are competent in your culture. (For example, I wasted time with psychologists who couldn't understand that in my culture we love our families and extended families and are very warm and that was really IMPORTANT to me so we needed to work through my family issues differently from the way they'd work with, say, a British person.)

And then you just want to make sure the particular therapist gets you, so you can develop a good relationship with the person instead of feeling like you are always having to justify yourself. 'Cause you need to feel good about working through your stuff!

There is a lot of variation is all I'm trying to say. One last thing, if you try to pay for it using insurance -- the person HAS to make a diagnosis and HAS to work the way the insurance company says they should. For example some insurances (I had one, Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO) will only pay for therapy if it's part of 'medication management,' meaning it's done by a psychiatrist. And look, psychiatrists can't do therapy, they're not trained. So if you can, pay for your therapy out of pocket. It will be a completely different experience. 'Cause you're not a diagnosis.

Anyway, I hope this helps!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by coko cavallo on November 14, 2009 at 8:04pm

therapy of the mind, can help you get in touch with your mind, emotions, inner self, roles, and relationships.

sometimes therapists are the only ones who understand family roles, and patterns (your own and your families)
and going to therapy can help you 1) intellectually understand the dynamics going on, both within you and between you and your family

and 2) identify, experience, talk about, and release some of the associated emotions and patterns.

im a huge fan- ive been twice and each time for about a year. and during each of those years i was transitioning and i worked hard.

just the same way going to a massage therapist can help you understand and heal your own body.

god shit, man!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Danny on November 14, 2009 at 8:58pm

Thank you all for the info. I was a little hesitant to posting this but now I'm glad I did & feel alleviated. Wow tons of info. I'm going to be very busy researching this stuff(Borders, is going to love me though) I signed up to this site just for food info. Didn't know I'd get much more than that. Thank you!

▶ Reply to This

• First
• Previous
• Next
• Last