THE HAPPY FEMINIST TAKES THE COUCH

Thank you for your many supportive comments and accounts of similar experiences in response to my last post.  Your empathy and warmth have emboldened me to share yet another new development in my life, one which I would have been deeply ashamed of several years ago but which I now view in very positive terms.  A month ago I began psychotherapy for the first time in my life.  I am not planning to turn this site into a therapy blog, but I am going to discuss it a little bit and also tell you that being in therapy does not warrant the stigma it so often carries. 

Therapy was very much derided in my family when I was growing up.  My narcissist father always talked about it as a self-indulgent pastime for weaklings seeking excuses for their shortcomings or hand-holding because they can't cope with life.  I internalized these attitudes.  I often cringe when I hear "therapy talk" because it sometimes sounds too much like that Saturday Night Live character.  (If you're in the U.S. you are probably familiar with that character who used to look in the mirror and say things like, "I'm good enough, smart enough, and gosh darn it, I like myself!")  Along with a number of conservative types, I have tsk-tsked the feel-good Oprah-ization of our culture. 

But therapy at its best is not about indulging dependence or weakness or self-absorption or feel-good excuses for bad behavior.  Precisely the opposite!   I am only a novice, but it seems to me that the alleviation of personal suffering is only one goal of therapy (and certainly not an unworthy one).  Therapy fosters a clear-eyed, rational view of reality (as opposed to child-like panic, magical thinking, or self-serving rationalizations to give just a few examples).  Therapy encourages independent problem-solving.  Therapy reflects such values as maturity and the confrontation of unpleasant truths-- although it does not encourage needless self-recrimination at the expense of problem solving. Sure, I am imagine that numerous self-serving therapists and manipulative clients have abused the therapeutic process.  But therapy, when conducted the way it is supposed to be, is designed to aid people in becoming happier, more effective, and more responsible. Nothin' wrong with that. 

I first became more open-minded about therapy a few years ago when a close friend insisted that I read a book called Worry: Hope and Help for a Common Condition by Edward Hallowell. The book contained a very simple sentence that made me immediately start crying.  It was something like:  "People who worry suffer."  It was such a revelation!  I was suffering.  And suffering needlessly.  There are all sorts of measures that can relieve excessive worry, like proper nutrition, regular exercise, sufficient sleep, relaxation exercises, rational self-talk, therapy, and medication.  I prefer the idea of solving my own problems without assistance but my rational side has to admit that it is stupid and pig-headed to dismiss the idea of therapy for that reason.  After all, why is it superior to solve problems without assistance than with assistance?

Nonetheless, I resisted the idea of therapy for a long time and, after a sunny 2005, I felt that I had had some success dealing with things on my own.  But in 2006. I kept hitting a brick wall in my efforts to talk myself out of my constant fearfulness.  So I finally gave in and about six weeks ago started seeing a very kind and perceptive psychologist.

It was he who led me to the important discovery, recounted in my last post, that I am the child of a narcissist.  However, consistent with what I said about above about taking responsibility, it must be stressed that this realization is not intended to be an excuse for my own shortcomings.  I am an adult and therefore wholly responsible for my own choices and actions. I nonetheless think it is accurate to view myself as a "victim" of my father's behavior.  Despite the bleatings of those who decry the "victim culture," there is nothing wrong with viewing oneself as a victim if one has been a victim.  Accurately acknowledging victimhood is not the same thing as relieving the victim of all accountability for his or her life going forward. Understanding what was done to me and how it has affected me are necessary steps towards achieving the goals of therapy. 

My diagnoses are Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.  (No, I am not like the stereotype of the wild-eyed Vietnam veteran who has flashbacks wherein he believes that he is reliving past dangerous situations.  Flashbacks are a real symptom of PTSD for some people.  I do not have flashbacks, but I do have lots nightmares of past events and intrusive daytime memories.)  Not so long ago, I would have been horrified at having a "diagnosis," but I think I am over that.  These labels merely describe something that I am actually experiencing.  And I have also come to realize that having a mental health diagnosis does not mean that one is irrational (although one may have irrational thoughts about certain areas of one's life), or incapable of functioning responsibly, or unable to make decisions for oneself or others. 

I assume that if I am ever up for a judgeship or if I apply for a law license in another state, I will likely have to disclose these diagnoses. It doesn't matter though because I think my health and happiness and effectiveness across the board are more important.  And I am honestly at the point where I think I could handle publicly admitting this under my own name if I had to.

Anyhoo, that's the long and the longer of it.  This blog will soon return to its regularly scheduled programming of feminism, feminism, and more feminism.  Cheers!

Comments

[Arwen]

Good for you for taking care of yourself. I agree that acknowledging having been a victim is a far cry from living your life under the rock of victimization. For me, moving into accepting situations in which I was powerless really helped me regain personal power.

[annamal]

Go you!
A friend of mine just entered therapy after more than 10 years of toughing it out through depression. I'm constantly amazed by how much they've changed in such a short time (note they're also on a low dosage of drugs but I believe that it's the combined effects that are really helping).

[ballgame]

Good luck, Happy. There was a time in this country when, for a large segment of people, the typical upbringing was recognized as being toxic so often that 'going into therapy' was practically an honorable rite of passage. It would be hard to imagine someone having been raised by your father without some pretty significant scars, and getting some help in trying to recover from that damage seems like a wise choice.

BTW, I was never a regular watcher of SNL, but I do remember seeing skits with Al Franken's Stuart Smalley character a few times. I thought they pandered to just about every toxic stereotype of therapy and the Unmasculine Male, and represented something of an offkey note in the career of an otherwise brilliant progressive comic.

[hexy]

*applause*

I hope it works out for you. My personal track record with therapy is awful, but I've seen it work wonders for others. The most important part of any mental health treatment is taking the active roll in GETTING treatment, so good on you for that!

[Bluey]

Hey Happy, I've also decided to see someone about my problems. I've been depressed for a long time and spent most of it denying the possibility that I have "actual depression". The service I'm using has a 2 week waiting list and I'm hoping to see someone on a regular basis, but that first move to actually seek help was a huge one, and absolutely a turning point for me. As small a step as it may seem for others, I feel like I've accomplished something huge and am already on my way to realising my full potential. Good luck Happy!

[Richard]

The stigma will go away when intelligent, thoughtful, and very sane people like you do what you just did in this post, that is, say you're giving it a whirl, and without shame. It's easy enough to say we all have our own crosses to bear, but harder to answer what we're going to do about them. I say good for you that you've taken some action.

[David Duff]

I know you will doubt me but this advice is offered in a spirit of 'e-friendship', as it were, so when considering whether or not to undergo 'therapy'- *don't do it*! You will be 'feeding the dragon'. By which I mean that your posts indicate, to me at least, a woman with ultra-high levels of self-absorption. You need less of that, not more.

I know you will dismiss that with the contempt you feel it deserves but even so, I do genuinely wish you well - whilst fearing the worst!

[ballgame]

And when I talk about therapy, I know what people think
That it only makes you selfish and in love with your shrink
But Oh how I loved everybody else
When I finally got to talk so much about myself............
-Dar Williams, "What Do You Hear In These Sounds" (from the CD End of the Summer)

[The Happy Feminist]

Thank you for your "advice," Duff. By the way, you're banned from this site. I don't need to put up with your constant hostile speculations about my emotional state or my character (spanning several threads now). Dissent is fine. Repeated insults not so much.

[The Happy Feminist]

Thank you to the rest of you for your lovely and encouraging comments!