Quote:
Originally Posted by atisketatasket
Often on the boards posters say they find therapy addictive or they need their fix from therapy.
I'm curious as to the nature of the addiction. (Addiction is not being used in a negative sense here.)
Is it the therapist? (attachment, transference, etc.)
Is it the therapeutic process? (being heard, accepted, etc.)
Is it something else?
I don't find therapy addictive; it just seems helpful at times. The only thing I really find addictive is exercise, and that's because it makes me feel so whole and vital physically and emotionally. Therapy doesn't make me feel that way.
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I voted yes, because of the therapeutic process, but wanted to also check yes, because of the therapist. For me, the two are inexplicably connected. I'm in transference and am also attached to my T, but s/he also hears me and validates my feelings when warranted. I've also become addicted to the experience of feeling something...anything. My isolation was so complete for the past six to seven years that cognitively, I'd done damage to my brain. (Who knew brains need other brains to survive?) Abandonment and loss, along with trauma aside, therapist and the therapeutic process are rewiring my brain. How could that NOT be addictive?