What is your view on therapy and mental help?

[KatonRyu 1,033]

13 hours ago, You said:

TBH, I would advice to try out group therapy then. I made interesting huge progress there I wasn't doing in one-on-one.

Honestly, I doubt that would help me. I care about my friends' problems because they're my friends, but having to listen to the issues of total strangers...no thanks. Besides, none of my issues are bad enough that they really disturb my day-to-day life. The only reason I ever tried any therapy at all was to see if it could give me any new insights into why I do or think certain things, but all it ended up doing was frustrating me because it was just too slow for me.

[TBD 17,254]

Well like any professions, they're here to do their job as a psychiatrists. However, I can be a bit skeptical when it comes to seeking for professionals thinking they're here to "heal" your mental  state.  I understand it's good to have a stranger to talk about your problem without getting judge compared to if you were talking to someone you know. But I just don't like the idea about you having to pay the sessions to seek for help and advice. Let alone paying a psychiatrist for diagnosing, let say, depression, when the patient come here to see them because they're sad. It's like this,

Sad patient coming in.

Psychiatrist: "you're diagnosed with depression."

 "well no fuckingduh Sherlock. So what’s your intake on my existential crisis?"

"here's your med to help you that. And also that would be $1,000 for the diagnostic”

“But I’m not even  here for the diagno-

“Have a good day and see you again"

See where I'm getting at? 

[Splashee 28,564]

I haven't needed any help, and I don't have the experience to deal with it myself. That's my view on it

[Samurai Equine 51,741]

I have no problem with therapy and taking the time to improve your mental health. Sometimes, we all need a little bit of help and support.  Therapy is a service that is often quite necessary, to the point where people take for granted how much of a positive difference it can make.

Although, I will say, I did learn something interesting about therapy in Japan!  It's been hard for me to find enough research material about this, so take what I say with a grain of salt. And also know that times may have changed. However, if you feel like getting international for moment...

Spoiler

Typically speaking, Japan doesn't have therapists.

When it comes to common courtesy and traditional morals, many Japanese people are taught to never burden anyone with their personal troubles. Basically, it's the "Don't bother other people" lesson, but taken to the extreme. If something is beyond your control, that's one thing. But if you have a problem that is purely personal, it's your personal responsibility to fix it yourself instead of whining or dragging other people into it. Therapy goes against these beliefs because you're basically unloading your personal mental problems onto someone else, and that's why being a therapist isn't a common-place occupation in Japan.

HOWEVER! There is hope.

Medical doctors are a thing. Medical problems are often considered beyond your personal control, so there is nothing wrong or taboo about medical doctors. And because of this, there are many doctors who double up and secretly offer therapy services. They'll say it's part of your medical exam, of course. In a way, they aren't wrong. Mental health can and often does effect your physical health. These two things are not completely divorced from each other, as many believe. I'm not sure if every doctor in Japan understands this, some might just be doing it as part of a standard practice thing. Regardless, it has helped. Even school nurses/doctors often act as counselors while doing their medical duties. And this is why house-call doctors were a popular thing that continued for a long time in certain parts of Japan.

However, I believe the concept of therapist doctors is slowly becoming more common place in Japan. It's in plenty of pieces of fiction, especially stuff imported from other countries. So it's not like the idea of therapy is completely foreign to them, even if they regard it in a different light than we do. So maybe therapy is slowly becoming a professional practice on its own in Japan, maybe not. I can't say for sure. But I do think it's necessary, and many patients of medical doctors that receive therapy are often better off for it.

 

Edited July 25, 2020 by Samurai Equine

[ExplosionMare 18,064]

I think it’s important to get help if you find yourself in a lot of situations you feel you have no control over or you generally feel negative and can’t shake the feeling easily.

[Ittoni 538]

I think it helps if everything aligns for you to get better, including the therapist.

I recently had therapy and it was good to be able to talk about a lot of things and get into childhood stuff and shit but also my money was flying out of my wallet faster than water between my hands. I also had specific concerns at the start and two years later I got zero improvement on them. Whatever issues those were I had to work on them on my own like always because time is a thing that eats my life away constantly. And on top of things last time I was there and decided to end the treatment I was said that they were only there to help me discover what I had to do on my own because that's the best course of action. Bitch I come to you and pay for your services so you can guide and help me! I don't come to do what I've been doing my entire life on my own! And yeah, that theory might work for none critical cases but I'm really bad and I need actual help!

... 

*Sigh* either way... You gotta keep searching what fits you better. Sometimes you just have to keep going and see if it helps and if not then keep looking for alternatives

Edited July 25, 2020 by Ittoni