I'm just curious - in half the threads in this forum, everyone is always suggesting therapy and medication to people, and yet in my experience I've never really heard of therapy success stories. same with medication - any modest success stories are outweighed by stories of side effects worse than original symptoms. Anyone have any therapy/medication success stories?
I am by no means saying getting therapy and medication are bad ideas, because I certainly don't have any better ones. however, I've been to a number of therapists over the years to treat depression and relationship issues, and while it's nice to have someone to talk to, I've never had a therapist tell me anything that wasn't flamingly obvious - and they charge so very much for that 'service'. medication - pretty much the same thing. tried several antidepressants over my years, and while some might have slightly relieved depression symptoms, they all pretty much made me feel weird and not myself.
I'm not really looking for advice per se, I would just love to hear some testimonials of therapy making a world of a difference for someone. I would be less surprised to hear of medication making a huge difference, since I understand there are some people who simply could not function without medication, but as far as run-of-the-mill depression goes, the helpfulness of medication seems a little more nebulous...
Posts
Then again, my dad got put on anti-anxiety meds and it's one of the scariest thing I've seen.
Therapy + medication have alleviated my PTSD to the point where I can function normally, and therapy helped me figure out ways to combat my depression without needing meds. Talking with a therapist and going through group therapy helped me figure out the roots of a lot of the self-esteem issues and expectations that send me into downturns. Even just speaking out loud to another person can be useful; everyone has things that they know but try to keep buried, and dragging those things out into the light, as uncomfortable as that is, lets you work on dealing with them.
Making a therapy success story is going to depend on how much you put into it, and also finding the right therapist for you in the right situation at the right time, something that can be tricky as planets to align.
I've been in some different therapy situations.. mostly maintenance therapy so that I can continue to hold down a job or school or whatever longterm thing I have going at the time. It's almost always school, because universities have therapists you can see for free if you're so stressed you want to kill yourself or quit. I saw two such therapists.
My only previous experiences to these two therapists were local, the kind that you go see and hope your insurance isn't going to flake out of paying for, and let me tell you they alternated between being some of the worst, most useless experiences talking to other human beings about my problems in my life. One picked weekly fights with me about pop culture and 'what us kids like these days', which I usually didn't anyway, and one had a five-hour-long packet of yes-or-no questions about my feelings. This was my impression of therapy in general until I had to see people at school years later.
The first woman I saw in Vermont during a foreign language camp. She was nice, and just let me babble for an hour each week about how I was in love with this guy. She only once in a while said anything, and usually that something wasn't very helpful. I didn't have anyone else there I could babble to like that, though, especially not in English, so the sessions were basically a raging success from my standpoint anyway, and not having them probably would have led to some sort of bottle-up-and-break-down situation.
The second was the best. I saw her at a university in Indiana. I had some physical things (thyroid CRASH) and some mental things (I am bipolar), and the medication I was on for depression at the time was either not working or making things worse. I couldn't cope with pretty much anything at all, and spent some quantity of time on my kitchen floor crying. I went into the office a mess, and said "I'm pretty much going to quit school and go home right now, maybe I should talk to somebody first" and the woman agreed and set me up to see someone right then.
The woman I saw was amazingly nice and so non-judgmental. She gave me actual real advice and observations about my behavior that I have taken with me to other things. She helped me find a different medication, one that really worked better for me, and she made sure I was okay taking it. I only had about another year at the school, so she said I could see her for the rest of the time I was there. Her insights were not replaceable.
I am no longer on medication for various reasons, but the time spent speaking with the school therapist in Indiana is still useful beyond measure because when things get bad it helps me see what I'm doing while I'm doing it, and identify the thoughts behind it.
I started on Lexapro and began therapy. After the initial side effects of the Lexapro (nausea and intense fatigue for 3 days or so) it definitely helped. This was a low dose and I didn't feel a dramatic difference; the world didn't suddenly burst forth in color and glory. Rather, it moderated my mental/emotional state so that I could more easily interact with the world. The only long-term side effect was decreased libido. The therapy gave me some strategies for reframing situations so that I could deal with them more productively and also taught me how to give myself a break about failures.
I didn't really gel with my first therapist, I was with her for only about 6 months. Some time later (a year and a half or so) I started with another therapist who worked more effectively for me. He was interested in cognitive therapy, so we didn't spend much time on deep emotional issues, rather we discussed my thoughts and ideas. It worked well and after about 8 months we decided that I didn't need the therapy anymore.
At this point I am off the medication and no longer in therapy, though I reserve the right to go back if I feel it's necessary. I think it was worthwhile.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
Therapy has helped me as well, with depression and anxiety issues. Without it, I wouldn't have a degree right now. Unfortunately due to moves and such, I've jumped around therapists a bit. There was only one I didn't really gel with, but still gained something useful from. It really is about finding the right fit and context. Group therapy was also good experience for me and my depression. Hearing from others and seeing you're not alone and getting support from them was fantastic.
Click. Skim over the Scientology discussion to get to the anecdotes.
Not all therapy is equal however. It is definitely what you put into it, but some therapists just suck. Also, different types of therapy will be more applicable to certain problems.
Mostly it is just a sounding board for me. The difference is that when thinking about things myself, I obsess and over analyze. When speaking to another person somehow it makes it real. I will often have the feeling of immediately realizing what I said is not actually what I feel.
As far as medication I think it has been remarkably successful. Depression led me to suicidal thoughts and eventually self harm (cutting, burning), as well as a number of other harmful behaviors. After starting treatment with Lamictal (mood stabilizer, also anitseizure med) I have not harmed myself and rarely think of suicide. During this whole time I was in therapy so I attribute much of this directly to the medication.
Therapy and meds are not your only option. Ultimately changing your lifestyle is the goal, the meds and therapy are just tools to get you there.
The wife of my Boss takes a mood leveler. She was not functional without it.