When I first went into therapy, it was because I had become extremely depressed and anxious but didn't really understand what was happening to me. I was young and had just left a sexually abusive situation, so I was sort of living in a fog. So, I was already headed downward when I entered therapy -- I can't really say therapy caused me to get worse. It was more a matter of already heading in that direction and that condition combined with the focus on what was going on with me internally led to my condition continuing to decline.

Now that I think about it, that was the case each time I entered into therapy. I went into therapy knowing I was heading into a situation where I needed that additional support.

Yes, my symptoms increased in therapy. I don't think that is particularly unusual when you start facing your demons head on instead of masking them, suppressing them, avoiding them, staying dissociated from them.

What I do know is that if I had not had the support to get through those dark times, I would have taken my own life. I would not have made it. But I did get through and actually got beyond my past. It took many years of therapy to get there, but I am very mentally well now. It took a willingness on my part to walk through that darkness to get there though. It would have been very tempting to run from the work and the pain, but I know the only place I would have run to would have been my own demise.