Has anyone had therapy? (Or quit without it)

[myfoodisnotshared]

I wanted to know from people who have gone to counselling if it helps. I've been considering telling my parents I'm stressed about school in order to get them to pay for it, but I know it'll bring on a lot of questions. My dad is going through one of his worrying sessions, and I know he'll insist on talking about it - but I have no intention of telling anyone in my family or my friends that I cut.

So how did you find it? Was it useful, or do you just pay a huge amount to have someone nod and ask deep questions? Is it worth the exposure to my parents? Did it make anyone actually feel worse?

What about the people who quit without it? Could I get the same effect from writing in a journal or something similar? I'm working through the ways to not cut thing, but I wanted to know if there's anyone out there who's quit without ever telling anyone, and what that was like.

Thanks so much, and sorry for asking so many questions:-)

[Tarannosaurus]

I've just started therapy and I'm pretty sure it's free. I got referred through a GP so you should check that out and see if you can do it that way :) there hasn't been much done so far but I've only been doing it for about 5 weeks. They can't do much about it until they find out what's wrong so don't expect it to help much for the first few weeks if you go ahead with it. I quit without help but I relapsed after a year.

[Gigablue]

I have a lot of experience with therapy. I've seen at least four different therapists/psychologists for various issues. I don't know how applicable my experience is to your situation, but I'll try to give some advice.

A few years ago I have severe depression. I was miserable all the time, and self injury was the only way I could manage to function. I had some therapy, which didn't really do anything. I eventually saw a psychiatrist (expect very long wait times if you choose to see one), which made a world of difference. Within about a week on medication, my symptoms started to go away. After about a month, I was completely back to normal. These results aren't typical. While most people will respond to medication, it usually isn't as dramatic.

My psychiatrist also referred me to a psychologist for therapy. I had fairly severe OCD at the time. I still have OCD, but therapy vastly improved my symptoms. I needed about a year of therapy, and it wasn't easy, but my life is much better now.

I didn't have a problem stopping my self injury. As soon as a got treatment for depression, I stopped self injuring. I don't really think that you should try to stop self injury. Rather, I think it is a better idea to fix the underlying disorder.

I'm in therapy currently for generalized anxiety disorder. I have had it for most of my life, but it was only recently diagnosed. I am getting better slowly, but I will probably have to get a fair amount of therapy for it.

TL;DR Therapy can be extremely useful, but it shouldn't be the only thing you try. It would probably help to get a referral to a psychiatrist as well.

[myfoodisnotshared]

I have a lot of experience with therapy. I've seen at least four different therapists/psychologists for various issues. I don't know how applicable my experience is to your situation, but I'll try to give some advice.

A few years ago I have severe depression. I was miserable all the time, and self injury was the only way I could manage to function. I had some therapy, which didn't really do anything. I eventually saw a psychiatrist (expect very long wait times if you choose to see one), which made a world of difference. Within about a week on medication, my symptoms started to go away. After about a month, I was completely back to normal. These results aren't typical. While most people will respond to medication, it usually isn't as dramatic.

My psychiatrist also referred me to a psychologist for therapy. I had fairly severe OCD at the time. I still have OCD, but therapy vastly improved my symptoms. I needed about a year of therapy, and it wasn't easy, but my life is much better now.

I didn't have a problem stopping my self injury. As soon as a got treatment for depression, I stopped self injuring. I don't really think that you should try to stop self injury. Rather, I think it is a better idea to fix the underlying disorder.

I'm in therapy currently for generalized anxiety disorder. I have had it for most of my life, but it was only recently diagnosed. I am getting better slowly, but I will probably have to get a fair amount of therapy for it.

TL;DR Therapy can be extremely useful, but it shouldn't be the only thing you try. It would probably help to get a referral to a psychiatrist as well.

Thanks a lot! I never considered a psychiatrist, but it's a good idea. My worst nightmare is going to a therapist and finding it doesn't help, so it's good to know there's other options, hard as they are to get.

My sister went to therapy, so I know it can work, but I don't want to be a trouble for something that wouldn't work for me.

[AlexOnToast]

School therapy, sort of, I'm not sure if that counts or not. I was given a few opportunities to se a real one tho but never went

[Oath]

No it's a waste of time and money. No shame on people that have had success on it. But I'm not gonna pay to talk to someone who doesn't give a damn about my problems.

[ksdnfkfr]

What happened with me is my cousin found out and then told my folks, so that's how it started.

I got CBT cognitive behavioral therapy. The idea of the therapy is to bring the problem to the surface, examine it together and work out a system to deal with it in therapy and then on my own. It made me feel worse at first with all the stuff being dredged up, but then huge relief later.

I always recommend counseling and or therapy, because of how well it helped me. Your mileage may vary.

I'd already had so much therapy stuff with my autism and other neurological jazz, this was just one more thing, so don't know about cost or anything like that. Just all part of the Ezra problem child package.

[HayleySucks]

I went through two years of Counselling + Psychiatrist visits and it is worth it. Even though my treatment wasn't for my self-harm issues at the time, just speaking to others and confirming I wasn't crazy was enough for me. During this, I managed to stop self-harming on my own and I haven't done it since :)