Is therapy bullshit?

[The Noise]

I actually sought therapy for suicidal depression a few years ago so I can give an actual answer that isn't based on brainrot from reading fake shit on /pol/.

I remember very little of my time actually spent in the therapist's office talking to the therapist. Most of what I recall from that time was me making better habits, strengthening my relationship with God, and generally doing things to improve my own quality of life. The important thing, though, was actually committing to the therapy appointments so I could go and talk about that stuff and get a measure of my progress from an objective third party.

Therapy is not a magic cure-all. It is not designed to solely "fix" you or be the sole source of your happiness. It is designed to get you back on the right track, because just talking to someone about your problems and being held accountable for fixing them is actually a major help for repairing your mental health. This is why anyone who is in therapy for multiple years (besides stuff like ongoing clinical depression, trauma, etc) is a retard; they don't want to help themselves, they just want their current emotional state vindicated. They are missing the point.

Anyone who says stuff like "just to the gym" is equally retarded; you will not magically fix yourself by trying to ignore that you have a problem.

 

[Rufus Deponia]

Had some shit happen when I was 12, earned myself PTSD. At least that's what it turned out to be.

No treatment at all for 6 years for obvious reasons. Then years of me changing the shrinks, since most of them are plain incompetent. Either spreading some buddhist crap (surprisingly common), or misdiagnosing me & prescribing me meds 15 minutes into the first session (spoiler: none of them worked). One was being downright condescending, and I'd gladly [insert threats of violence] him.

So I had a while to think about everything that happened, and I spent a lot of time alone with my condition and the symptoms, overthinking and handling this shit without assistance. Then I finally found an amazing psychiatrist (that said "no fucking idea what this is" during the first session, did not prescribe anything and sent me to be tested by a pathopsychologist) and started treatment. The meds were fire - not a cure, but quality of life was immediately improved, including my chronic pains fading away. And when I got somewhat better, I was suggested to attend psychotherapy. And after all these years of self-analyzing and overthinking, it turned out to be useless.

CBT (no, not THAT CBT, you bastards) went nowhere since a lot of my thoughts/states were so primal and lowkey schizophrenic at that point, and I learned not to keep myself from acting on them, that neither the cognitive nor the behavioral aspects were present in me to work with. And when I would ask why I have a random urge to cut myself all over, without any direct causes, triggers and whatnot, I would get a reply like, "uhhhh well, those are the results of trauma" -- well, no shit. Great insight. Just because I'm not acting on these thoughts, it won't stop my arms from itching. Hell, it's been years, but they still do.

Then I went for psychoanalysis. And while the therapist was crazy smart and looked exactly like the young Marcus Bischoff from Heaven Shall Burn, there were no particular revelations. During about third meeting the dude asked me what I wanted to talk about, and I realized I had no fucking clue. I understood what the problem is a long time ago at that point, I didn't need help with understanding. I needed to know what the fuck I should do about it, but that wasn't the point of the method.

So the answer is: depends on how fucked you are. If you're lowkey a normie -- well, you're in luck, you'll be just fine. If you have a real issue -- you'll have to spend some time seeking someone worth your time and money. But sometimes they won't help, either, and you'll have to develop a psilosophy that will suit you (existentialism for the win), plus making real changes like improving your sleeping schedule, eating nicely, going for a work, socializing and stuff. It sounds lame, but hell no it's not. Doing all this crap won't necessarily cure you, but NOT doing it will send you into a much deeper pit. So don't be stupid, take care of yourself.