[doyoutrustme]

I'm afraid I'm going to be a lifer.

Part of the reason I wound up in therapy was because after doing med management with some therapy snuck in on a weekly basis (my doctor does a full 50 mins for med management), we got the dosing figured out and I figured I would go monthly.

I made it three weeks before I realized that medication alone wasn't gonna do it.

Fast forward to now, I did improve a lot in many ways, and in others.. worse.

I feel like the therapeutic relationship messes with my head. If therapy upsets me somehow I will have an uptick in suicidal thoughts, or anxiety.

I tapered off my anti-depressants, and I definitively am noticing a lot of my symptoms are back, though I would still not consider it as bad as when I started. I am on the fence about going back on the meds.

I love therapy, but I feel like its an addiction at this point. I know termination would mean we would basically become strangers and I'd miss my doc. I'm not sure if I'm gonna end up having a very expensive friendship.

Given that my doc is super ethical, if I get better I know it will wrap up and not become a paid friendship. And I feel like I'm at a point where I don't want to get better so I won't have to terminate. I think. I can't be sure though.

sigh.

[Miswimmy1]

Its tough. I think you're gonna get a lot of different opinions here. For me, I guess I would say that as long as you feel like you are getting something out of your sessions, it doesn't matter how long you stay in therapy. Although it does sound to me like you may have some attachment to your therapist, which may be something to talk about with him/her.

I actually had this talk with my therapist at our last session, and she was explaining how some people choose to stay in therapist indefinitely, not because they necessarily need it, but because it has become part of their daily lives and they still find it very helpful (just to have someone to talk to). She said that long term therapy isn't necessarily a bad thing, and that even if you aren't working on something major in every session and may not be seeing drastic evidence of improvement, therapy can still be useful. She said it was nothing to be ashamed about.

[CantExplain]

I expected to be a lifer, and I was OK with that. After all, I'm already going to wear glasses and inject insulin for the rest of my life.

[harvest moon]

My T always says that the point of therapy is for it to end someday. At 4+ years, I think I'm at the second half of my journey... I still have some major issues unresolved, I am still depressed (but stronger) and I still don't want to lose him, ever!

[Syra]

Originally Posted by doyoutrustme

I'm afraid I'm going to be a lifer.

Part of the reason I wound up in therapy was because after doing med management with some therapy snuck in on a weekly basis (my doctor does a full 50 mins for med management), we got the dosing figured out and I figured I would go monthly.

I made it three weeks before I realized that medication alone wasn't gonna do it.

Fast forward to now, I did improve a lot in many ways, and in others.. worse.

I feel like the therapeutic relationship messes with my head. If therapy upsets me somehow I will have an uptick in suicidal thoughts, or anxiety.

I tapered off my anti-depressants, and I definitively am noticing a lot of my symptoms are back, though I would still not consider it as bad as when I started. I am on the fence about going back on the meds.

I love therapy, but I feel like its an addiction at this point. I know termination would mean we would basically become strangers and I'd miss my doc. I'm not sure if I'm gonna end up having a very expensive friendship.

Given that my doc is super ethical, if I get better I know it will wrap up and not become a paid friendship. And I feel like I'm at a point where I don't want to get better so I won't have to terminate. I think. I can't be sure though.

sigh.

I don't imagine you, or me, or anyone else, would ever get to a point where they don't have any issues. Therapists, good therapists anyway, stay in therapy as part of their job (separate from supervision). If I was rich and didn't have to worry about how to pay for therapy I might stay forever. I like it. It's helpful. I'd miss it. I imagine I'll stop when the cost doesn't seem to justify what I'm getting. When I'm good enough to do more of the work by myself, or with friends.
If your doc is super ethical, I doubt he would ever let it become a paid friendship. To me, a friendship would involve more reciprocal sharing. Ethical therapists won't do a lot of personal sharing. So long as you are talking about your stuff, even if it's not as urgent as it once was, it still seems like therapy to me.