Girl Talk on Sidechat | my friend and i had a conversation and i want yall to hear our consensus: so many people think they need therapy when what they actually need is a friend to talk to about their problems. and so many therapists are absolutely shitty at their job.

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Girl Talk 5w

my friend and i had a conversation and i want yall to hear our consensus: so many people think they need therapy when what they actually need is a friend to talk to about their problems. and so many therapists are absolutely shitty at their job.

Anonymous 5w

I agree. I think “get therapy” is also a cheap cop out for not caring about others. I made immense progress with my mental health simply talking to friends about it, and how they can help me help myself. You can’t improve your mental health long term when you only work on it for an hour a week with a stranger, and can’t apply that to every day life.

Anonymous 5w

I think there is truth to your statement but also I believe in a perfect world every human would have access to routine mental health care/checkups. Like talking to a therapist should be like seeing a doctor even if you don’t need it you still have to go once a year and make sure everything’s working right

Anonymous 5w

What if you have no friends or your friends are just bad influences 🧍‍♀️

Anonymous 5w

It’s hard when your friends don’t give a crap though

Anonymous 5w

yeah it’s true, though like another commenter said it’s hard when your friends don’t give a shit. i had a very traumatic year and have been in therapy but i feel like ive made no progress partly because i can’t talk to any of my friends about it

Anonymous 5w

i think everybody should go to therapy at least a few times a year sorta like a checkup

Anonymous 5w

Yes but no. Too many people trauma dump on me about real serious shit and i can’t handle that nor do I want to. It’s cool to vent to a friend here and there but by no means should you be talking to a friend about all your problems and expect answers. Therapists go to school for this shit they are trained professionals. There’s some not so good ones but that’s the same with every profession. You just have to try different people out.

Anonymous 5w

you know what. you’re on to something. i’ve been jumping from therapist to therapist for a decade when all i want is friends. therapists simply cannot fill the role of friends

Anonymous 5w

THISSSSS🔥🔥🔥not to mention 99.9% of therapists are unqualified and may even have a hidden agenda!!!!

Anonymous

#1 5w

At the same time, therapy CAN be helpful for certain people. I think people should at least try it if they’re able to, but there should be no expectation of sticking to it if it’s not helpful. Also, your therapist isn’t there to observe your daily life. I actually just helped a friend come to terms with an addiction problem because I see how it affects him and his relationship with our friends. I was able to call it out, a disconnected third party could not. Now we’re all helping him with it.

Anonymous

#2 5w

that’s what i was gonna say in my next sentence but ran out of characters. we’ve entered this world of “i don’t owe you anything” and “don’t ask your friends to help you move” and it feels very capitalist tbh. don’t talk to your friends about your problems, you should pay a therapist to do it instead.

Anonymous

OP 5w

I genuinely hate how apathetic we’ve become as both a generation and seemingly a society at large. I’m all for not selling your soul to a boss who doesn’t see you as a person, but we’ve taken being “a little selfish” way past the point of being healthy and productive for ourselves and others. You’re allowed to take a step back from helping people when you’re also drowning, but always try to use your good times to help your friends get back to normal.

Anonymous

#4 5w

I have been abused by many therapists. What I needed instead of talking to a “professional “ with an intent to power trip was compassion, community, and someone to just… Hang out with. nothing more!

Anonymous

#4 5w

This is a VERY bold take but I’d go as far as to say I am antitherapy. I have seen at least 10 and almost none of them are right in the head - except for the one who takes herself the least seriously and accepts she isn’t gonna be able to solve/ help with all my issues. There’s too many people being taken advantage of and we as a society are manipulating therapist lingo to serve us in the most selfish isolating ways possible

Anonymous

#4 5w

“You don’t owe anyone anything “—> “I don’t owe anyone in my life a response or communication “, No you do actually owe people in your life basic respect.

Anonymous

#1 5w

“looking out for yourself” has turned from making sure you don’t lose yourself and go insane and all your needs are met to putting yourself above all others at any price.

Anonymous

#9 5w

i think it’s pretty obvious that’s not what i’m talking about here

Anonymous

OP 5w

Yes but you’re inspiring some people who have actual issues to go talk to a friend instead

Anonymous

#9 5w

I think you’re being a little disingenuous. OP clearly isn’t talking about people with severe issues that need a professional evaluation and treatment. She’s talking about every day things like shitty partners, work stress, experiencing loss, etc. which are all things a friend should be more than able to help with. It makes me think of exes who would throw “get therapy” at me instead of working through our joint issues

Anonymous

#1 5w

I would even go as far as to say some severe issues can be helped by non-therapists. I never went to therapy after I was diagnosed with BPD at a psych ward, because my partner helped me do all the work on my own, and I’m so much better than I was then. Obviously not everyone operates that way, but sometimes a therapist truly isn’t as conducive to progress as the people you spend time with.