[elliemay]

I know it's none of my business really, but I'm just curious. I'm not really inquiring about specifics here, just what issues.

I guess you could say I'm in the maintenance phase. I'm consolidating the things I took from therapy in the beginning.

I had a hard go of it early in life. I learned all the wrong things. It took/takes a while to unlearn them.

I probably go too often, but, you know. It's therapy.

What brought you there? What keeps you there?

[junkDNA]

i have issues with my dad dying when i was 10. getting sent to an abusive residential treatment facility when i was 16 and being stuck there for 8 months which gave me ptsd. and then being sexually abused by my former T. it was really hard to go to another therapist after my former T but it has been very healing. i keep going bc my T is gentle, kind, and helps me process my traumas and break down the negative core beliefs i have. also its healing to know he cares a lot but that he would never do anything to hurt me like former T did

[healed84]

I went because of panic attacks, and found that the panic was really a symptom of ptsd and the unpacking of abuse/rape. I stay because I am learning how to deal with ptsd/bpd.

[precaryous]

I started therapy seven months ago as a requirement for weight loss surgery. Weight loss is required to qualify for needed heart transplant.
I have past unresolved issues including depression, PTSD, child trauma, dissociation, sexual and financial abuse by a former PDoc. Trust issues due to PDoc abuse kept me from seeking more therapy for fourteen years.

[Wysteria]

I go to therapy because the emotional pain is just too great to feel/handle/overcome on my own. I no longer was able to thrive or survive on my own as I was trying to do it.

I'm trying to learn how:
-to release some of it, heal from it, and overcome past traumas,
-coping skills for when I am overcome,
-to get up again and again when I fall on my *****,
-to communicate better and relate better to others,
-to let go of what I cannot control,
-to be more present and not in the anxiety of future or the regret/shame/hurt of the past,
-to create a stronger me that can continue life, to let go of coping skills that hurt rather than help,
-to face what I cannot face on my own (for now),
-to learn how to trust someone that is safe and worthy of my respect and heart...
-to integrate the parts of me and re-join my head to my heart and body.
-to find hope when there is despair,
-and to learn about the parts of my MI's that need professional medical treatment.

I think the hardest part for me has been the idea that it takes many approaches and a long time (for me) and that it is a really winding road to healing. I could not do it without really good professional support and a lot of patience and courage. But those are just my reasons and part of my path to the future. Everyone is very different.

Wysteria

[NowhereUSA]

because i have problems with relationships and people and it's probably playing into making my depression worse. oh and i have really bad depression lol.

Adoption, childhood abuse and neglect, rape and alcoholism.

[growlycat]

What originally brought me to therapy in my youth--
Abusive/neglectful daycare experience, which my parents ignored
parents with a hateful/rejecting attitude towards me
depression/suicidality
social anxiety/other phobias

After a million or so years of therapy, I am now working on fine tuning what I've learned, so the focus is on:
Managing my health/taking better care of myself
increasing social opportunities and relationships outside my family
working on my driving phobia
keeping the inner critic/parent at bay
asking for help when I need it

[unlockingsanity]

I went for anxiety initially, which spiraled into depression and then uncovered some PTSD stuff.

[The_little_didgee]

I decided to do therapy to heal from my traumatic psychiatric misdiagnosis, improve my social skills, and discover more about myself.

[kororain]

My boss asked me to go. He was afraid I was going to kill myself.

[Depletion]

I went to therapy organically at thirteen because I was suicidal and depressed. This was brought on by mother's neglect, and eventual abandonment of me.

I'm still dealing from the scars of this and therapy, and working on some obsessive issues that are caused by this problem.

I also still need to process an SA that happened five years ago.

And I guess I'm trying to heal from the damage done by other therapists.

[Hellion]

Because from what i understand it is supposed to help in some way, but thus far I haven't seemed to get anywhere noticeable with it. Not entirely sure what my goal with it is supposed to be...or what exactly its supposed to help with that sort of dawned on me last I met with a therapist(my therapist is pregnant so this is a different one I will be seeing during her leave, and if I click well with them then I will just continue therapy with them rather than switching back).

But yeah they where asking sort of what my goal with therapy was and what not and I found it rather confusing and hard to come up with anything...just vaugly said something about wanting to decrease depression/anxiety symptoms, didn't feel the PTSD would really be helped with CBT and that therapist sort of agrees I'd need more than talk therapy which CBT largely consists of for the PTSD.

I was planning to look for other kinds of therapy, and look into maybe some group therapy or some form of support group for people who struggle with similar problems but i have been slacking on looking into that and actually involving myself in it....I guess I just don't have much genuine hope those things would help so I've been having a hard time motivating myself. I went to one anxiety support group meeting but didn't really like it so didn't go back to that one. I think I am also sort of afraid to address some of the issues head on so in a round about way avoiding it due to that.

Initially though I was put in therapy as an alternative to going impatient in a psych ward, after I attempted suicide when I was 15...stuck to it a while, stopped when I thought I was coping better and could handle things without therapy tried to get back in it after the trauma causing the PTSD but didn't seem to get taken seriously so I decided to forget about it and just focus on graduating and college which kind of back fired and past couple years have been going consistently but having therapists switched on me which just makes it even more chaotic.

[Two89w]

Angry with my youngest son, crying for no real reason especially after being very angry about something.

[guilloche]

Because life kind of sucks, and I don't think it's supposed to.

Because my mother drives me absolutely nuts... and I don't know how to deal with her. She's super social and has tons of friends and everyone loves her, and somehow she manages to make me feel like a piece of furniture. And, she just retired this year, and is eager to come and visit with me... often... way too much.

Because there's trauma in my background that has had a huge impact on me, but I haven't sprung that on new T yet. I'm sure I will have to deal with it at some point, and I feel a tiny bit more ready to do that then I did last time I tried therapy, but... I can't really think about it without falling into a place of totally fear, panic, and non-verbal-ness

Because I'm an anxious mess, apparently, and am afraid of just about everything. Biggest issue is work is going to require me to travel soon for stupid job stuff that I do not care about. I'm in a panic about going through security (b/c of some of the stories I've read). I don't think T gets this, but that's partly my fault, because (no shock) it relates to the undisclosed trauma. Sigh. But, really, it's everything... I could almost feel T rolling his eyes when I was telling him that I wanted my next appt to be at his 2nd office, b/c the left turn into his 1st office (no light, busy downtown location) was too hard/scary!

[OneWorld]

Initially I thought I would just work on coping with anxiety. Then I realized that my anxiety has deeper roots and so we're working on those old wounds.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lrt1978]

I'm in therapy for an eating disorder, depression, anxiety and complex traumatic experiences.

So working through everything.

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[JustShakey]

I've spent most of my life trying to figure out what's wrong with me, why I don't seem to belong or understand this whole people thing. It seems I've tried all the wrong ways of doing it and have gotten myself into some awful situations in the process. Wound up in therapy because of the most recent awful situation. Ran straight into my I-just-don't-get-people-at-all-especially-other-women problem with T#1. Stuck it out and stayed with T#2 because I *will* get to the bottom of this mess. I want my life back, thank you very much.

[RedSun]

I am a trainee T so have to be in therapy throughout training and practice (in UK).
AND I thought that was the only reason I was there, but now dealing with my anxiety stuff which I've had for years, r*p* (can't say it, can't write it LOL) and abuse. so....lucky I've got three years of training ahead of me, haha!

[AllyIsHopeful]

I could write a novel.

[MoxieDoxie]

Originally Posted by Wysteria

I go to therapy because the emotional pain is just too great to feel/handle/overcome on my own. I no longer was able to thrive or survive on my own as I was trying to do it.

I'm trying to learn how:
-to release some of it, heal from it, and overcome past traumas,
-coping skills for when I am overcome,
-to get up again and again when I fall on my *****,
-to communicate better and relate better to others,
-to let go of what I cannot control,
-to be more present and not in the anxiety of future or the regret/shame/hurt of the past,
-to create a stronger me that can continue life, to let go of coping skills that hurt rather than help,
-to face what I cannot face on my own (for now),
-to learn how to trust someone that is safe and worthy of my respect and heart...
-to integrate the parts of me and re-join my head to my heart and body.
-to find hope when there is despair,
-and to learn about the parts of my MI's that need professional medical treatment.

I think the hardest part for me has been the idea that it takes many approaches and a long time (for me) and that it is a really winding road to healing. I could not do it without really good professional support and a lot of patience and courage. But those are just my reasons and part of my path to the future. Everyone is very different.

Wysteria

^^ all that. I am right with Wysteria. I still feel broken though. Trying to find my resilience. Still, when life gets tough, I go back to wanting to die. I get glimpses of confidence and self esteem. Glimpses I would never have had without my therapist. They never hang around very long. I am afraid of myself and I hate how I react to every thing. Embarrassed of me.

[Mactastic]

I'm working to build relationships and get to know myself better. The last guy I dated left me feeling burned and I realized I was terrified to date again. I decided it was a good time to start therapy. That was a year ago and I've made some great gains.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

When I called to make an appointment...I said the reason I was coming into therapy was because I don't trust anyone and I felt like I was either numb or ready to explode...

I stay in therapy because I opened Pandora's box and there was way more in there than I ever let myself remember or see.

[iheartjacques]

Because I'm messed up and and I need to straighten it all out so I don't screw up my own kids.

[PeeJay]

Initially I had no idea why I was there. I was crying incessantly for no reason and struggling not to kill myself.

I learned that I immediately had anxiety and post-partum depression, and for a long time had been suffering from PTSD from the foster care system and abuse. I was consumed with a deep sense of unworthiness and self-hatred, and I thought everyone felt that way and that it was healthy.

My "addiction" all these years to cope was workaholism and perfectionism, which made me successful but masked a lot of my wounds.

We are working on self acceptance, building an emotional safety net, practicing self care, and resolving many traumas.