|
Unfortunately, based on my experience, your experience is more common than you may know, because everybody like you is trying to hide their mental health issues, too. And again, based on my experience in today’s world, that may not be such a bad idea.
I had an eating disorder as a teenager 50 years ago and was inpatient hospitalized for that, so the fact that I had mental health issues was not hidden. Instead, my family and I made a virtue of being honest about it – that was in the 1960’s and “worked” in those days.
I recovered from the eating disorder, went to college, started a career, got married, had 2 children, focused on them while working part-time. Went to counselors off and on for depression but looked and functioned apparently normal. 14 years ago my husband died and after 3 years of looking for help while spiraling down, I crashed.
At that point my “outside” matched my inside – a wreck. Unfortunately, I did not find much help in the MH system, even the private insurance route. Tried support groups, they helped some. After staying away from therapy for two years, I went back to trying to find some help, some something that might help, but it’s been very difficult.
It has been so miserable and seemingly impossible for me over the last 11 years especially that I don’t want ANYBODY to have to do that again, although I expect that will continue to happen until we get more effective ways to handle and “correct” this kind of thing. There’s some good literature out there, which you are probably familiar with, about “narcissistic” families and the “false self”. But that just presents things intellectually, at least it did for me.
Fortunately, I’ve been with a trauma specialist therapist for 3 years now and am making good progress. But I educated myself extensively about “the self” and (horrors!) personality disorders, and having my own intellect to help observe what is going on in therapy has helped. The attitude you expressed in a previous post, seeing and finding a therapist and a pdoc who respect you and are willing to work with you as a partner – that may take you a long way, too.
Last edited by here today; Aug 21, 2013 at 07:47 AM.
Reason: format
|