Hi Inkblot,

I think that your advice to yourself is very good. Yes, it's easier to give it than to take it. And it is interesting as a psych patient to talk about the methods, etc. As I have been studying psychology again I got to the point where I could identify and analyze the techniques that my T was using with me. Also I was picking apart all the things that were done less than ideally by all the past counselors that I have seen, and discussing it with my T as well as with my professors. We also talked about things that are likely to be problems for me as I take on my own clients, such as that I might relate to my clients too much and/or worry about them all the time, and how to deal with those problems.

But even though you know the right things to do, taking your own advice isn't easy. That's why it is so important to have people who will support you and help keep you on the right track. My sister who is a psychiatrist says that if she had depression again herself she would see someone about it, and she tells me that I should be monitored by somebody, probably indefinitely. Your judgement can go out the window when it comes down to yourself, no matter how much you know about your problem and how it should be treated.

It's important to be honest with your T about how you really are and what you are doing. Do you have a friend who can check up on you in between sessions? Maybe someone at work? Maybe you could make a deal with somebody about an improvement that you will make in taking care of yourself. If they are asking about it and you know that you have someone to report to, you will be more likely to do what is better for you. If you don't want to have someone in real life do this, you can report to us here. What would you like to work on first?


<font color=orange>"Everyone has a need for significance; and if we can't make that possible, or even probable, in our society, then it will be obtained in destructive ways." -Rollo May</font color=orange>