[LostOnTheTrail]

Hi all,

A conversation I just had with a relative brought this poll to mind. If you talk about your experience of being in therapy with family, or friends, or those around you...do you feel shame or discomfort creeping in?

[ElectricManatee]

I said that it depends on the context. I don't feel any shame or discomfort if I'm having a deep or intense conversation and/or if I'm talking with somebody close to me who understands me and my life. I do sometimes feel a little odd in casual conversation when I mention something my T said or the fact that I'm in therapy. I think it's good for me to try to be a little more open, though, and I also like reducing the stigma by making the fact that I'm in therapy something that I don't generally try to hide.

[CharlieStarDust]

I mention therapy every chance I can. I’ve benefited from it greatly, I have a fantastic rapport with my T, and and I’d venture to say, I have a qualified therapist.

[ruh roh]

Not at all. I am not causing anyone harm, and I am improving the landscape, which in my neck of the woods is currently littered with a lot of drunk, drugged, mean and dysfunctional people.

People learn how to think about therapy by how it's discussed. I don't want the only view out there to be that people who have a therapist have something to be ashamed of.

[Echos Myron redux]

No and I do talk about it, I don't feel responsible for other people's response to that.
I go in the deli near my T's house every week and they know me really well. One week after I had been going for a couple of years the owner asked me what brings me there every week. I was like " my therapist lives in the village" and you could see he didn't know how to respond. I'm not ashamed at all and other people are responsible for their feelings about it.

[malika138]

I don't really talk about it. Family seems too interested in it, which creeps me out !

I am very open about being in therapy. I don't think it is anything to be ashamed about at all and feel like most people could benefit from it in some way. The only time I hold back is when I am talking to someone who has responded negatively about how long I have been in therapy and even then I make sure they know that it takes time to overcome a lifetime of trauma and neglect. These things don't happen overnight.

[annielovesbacon]

Definitely depends on the context. With my closest friends (who are all in therapy themselves) it's very easy to discuss therapy. In fact, all our therapists know us by name because we all talk about one another in our own therapy sessions

I've gotten better at the workplace. I used to say, "I'm sorry, I won't be here for about an hour on X day, I have a doctor's appointment," but now I am more honest and say I will be gone for a therapy appointment, not a doctor appointment. I hope that I am helping in a small way to normalize therapy as an important thing just like a regular doctor visit.

With family it's the hardest. I would like to be an advocate for mental health awareness, especially for specific diagnoses I have, but it's hard to be so public about it on social media where my family follows me. For some family it's just uncomfortable; for others they will think I'm "crazy" and treat me differently; and for my grandparents (who are friends with me on FB) they would probably just worry and I don't want them to worry about me.

I do not talk about it.
Not because of shame, but because its private. My whole life is public. Therapy is my one thing I get to keep to myself.

[GeekyOne]

With friends and family, I am open about being in therapy. How much beyond that I say depends on the relationship. Close friends and chosen family I might share topics discussed or something funny to say to /said by my T. My FOO knows I'm in therapy, but that's about it.

At work, for reasons out of my control, management knows that I am mentally ill, but I prefer to tell my co-workers or visitors that I have an appointment or doctor appointment at X time. I don't joke about it like I do with friends/chosen family. I do, however, speak up against mental illness stigma when it comes up at the office (in a general way though, not a personal way).

There was time when when only my husband knew.
I guess, I had discomfort about it.
But I've spoken about it to the girls at work of late because of their struggles they were sharing.
They were really interested.
I still feel some discomfort with some people, so I don't mention it. More so because Im not as close to them and don't trust them. Don't feel I want to be that intimate with them.

I feel no shame or discomfort. I will bring it up in any relevant conversation with anyone. A casual "my therapist says" or "the other day in therapy" and so on. I can tell one of my husband's friends was super uncomfortable today when I went up to hubby in front of him and talked about my session in a quick update. I care not. It's part of who I am.

[maybeblue]

I'll tell most people that I am going to therapy. However, I don't tell many people why or what I talk about. Sometimes I'll tell my husband or a close friend something funny or useful the therapist said, but mostly I keep it to myself. Occasionally my husband or someone will ask "what'd you talk about?" So I usually say "You mostly." That usually gets the point across.

I decided to be open about going to therapy with my co-workers (a very small office) because I needed to take off an hour early once a week or so. I figured if I didn't tell them and said it was a "doctor's appointment" they'd imagine I was really sick or something. It's just easier. I figure most of them could use some therapy themselves, so I don't feel shame about it.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

It depends with whom I talk and about what exactly. I would never even think of telling my parents anything. But I know some friends who don't have issue with me telling whatever I want from therapy. And I usually like sharing, it helps me feel more connected to people. But some topics I feel are very private, and those I just won't share with anyone, at least nobody who knows me in real life.

[skysblue]

There's a stigma about psychotherapy and therefore I am not shy about admitting that I see a therapist. I want therapy to be normalized in our society and not perceived as something that only 'crazy' people pursue. Unfortunately, 'crazy' is a word used by many and it is wrong. Maybe some people will see me as 'crazy' but I believe most will see me as an example of someone who takes self-care seriously.

[weaverbeaver]

There is still a lot of stigma around mental health and therapy in general here where I live so the very act of talking about it does induce shame. See, people still think that there is something wrong with you or you are nuts if you need therapy. It’s very old fashioned way of thinking so a lot of people don’t talk about it which further stigmatises it.

[88Butterfly88]

No, I've learned to accept I need therapy and most people around me accept me for who I am.

[Lemoncake]

I told my mother that I stopped seeing my T, I don't feel like she understands it all. I talk about it mainly with just my brother now or 2 others who have told me they have been in therapy themselves. I do't feel very close to any of my class group.

It’s not about shame. It’s about the knowledge that ultimately you will be seen as weaker by those you tell them about it

[starfishing]

I'm generally uncomfortable talking about it, but I try not to shy away from mentioning it when relevant, as a way of fighting stigma and normalizing the decision to be in therapy--at least in my personal life; the stigma risk is too significant in my work life.

I very rarely mention it to anyone beyond things like "oh, I have therapy until 6 but I'm free afterwards," but my partner and some of my closest friends occasionally get glimpses of info about what I've been focusing on in therapy recently, or things my therapist said or did that I found amusing.