Even if you don’t think you need therapy, you should go at least a couple of times to give it a shot.
You never know what advice could potentially give you a new outlook on life…
But that doesn’t mean it’ll all be good. Not by a longshot. Therapists dish out all kinds of advice and it runs the spectrum from great to awful.
Let’s dig into these answers from AskReddit users.
1. Are you awake yet?
“When I was in first or second grade, the school counselor fell asleep when I was describing a bullying situation that I was in.
I was so young that I didn’t know how to respond, so I just sat there in his office until he woke up.”
2. That was helpful!
“Was talking to my school counselor about some mental health issues and told him that I like playing card games to take my mind off of it.
The man literally opens his cabinet and pulls out a briefcase full of Yugioh cards (I’m a massive nerd) and says “Sooooooo….. wanna play” ?
Don’t get me wrong but this guy had a lumberjack beard, was fit and looked more like a athlete than a counselor so I was shocked. Got over my problems and played every Wednesday against him!”
3. Can we talk about me?
“I paid and sat through an entire session of therapy during which my therapist ranted as to how great of a career he could have had as a stand up comedian and how much he regrets his current profession.
I kinda agreed with him near the end.”
4. Got it all figured out.
“I had a therapist tell me when I was a teenager that she didn’t know what else to do to help me because it seemed like I already understood everything pretty well.
This was after my overbearing and crazy helicopter mom dragged me in for being depressed. Then she switched to therapy-ing my mom and my mom quickly was in tears because she has the emotional strength of a child and wanted it to be about me when it was actually all about her.
I knew exactly why I was depressed. I was stuck by myself in the middle of nowhere with her crazy ass. No personal space, no ability to get away, not being able to say no, her getting jealous of my friends when I spent time with them. It would make anyone depressed.
She didn’t even let me sit with the therapist by myself.”
5. Go to the ER!
“My therapist once abruptly ended our session after telling me I needed to go to the ER.
I had been in a car accident the day before and had an undiagnosed concussion that was pretty bad. I was so out of it I didn’t even realize I was out of it.
He later told me I was talking about inappropriate topics (I was so embarrassed I didn’t ask what I specifically talked about–i didn’t want to know at that point) and wasn’t making much sense.
I’m just glad he recognized I was off that day and helped me get to the hospital.”
6. Uhhhhh, weird.
“First time I saw a counselor, he was looking over my paperwork and said he could tell from my handwriting the I was good in bed. I kid you not.
I was so caught off guard all I could say was “uh, I think I am.”
So young and not assertive at all. Found out he got in trouble for an inappropriate relationship with a client.
But it really screwed me up for a bit him saying that because I have problems setting boundaries with men.”
7. Good advice.
“She said, “You don’t HAVE to forgive someone, especially when they were so cruel and are not sorry.”
Shocked the hell out of me as every therapist before that tried to get me to forgive, but I can’t.
I live with it and I don’t think forgiving them would bring me any kind of peace.”
8. End on a high note.
“My therapist and I would end every appointment with a discussion of the latest Game of Thrones while it was airing, a great way to end things.
Even the shitty end of the show got plenty of lighthearted ribbing. It was great bc it wasn’t too personal and after talking about sex abuse for an hour I could leave without being such a sad sack.”
9. Sibling rivalry.
“I was in my second ever session, which coincidentally was right after my nans funeral.
I was talking about some stuff that had happened with my sister (who I had already said was probably my biggest issue) and he asked ‘why is this person in your life?
Why do you want to continue a relationship that hurts you so much? Do you actually want this relationship?’
I was floored. It had never occurred to me that my sister didn’t get a place in my life by default because family. I cant tell you how much this improved my life.”
10. PTSD.
“I’ll never forget my first day of therapy.
My therapist asked me if I had ever been abused as a child. I replied, “No, I had a normal childhood. I had everything I needed- food, shelter… I mean, my mother slapped me and would tell me to kill myself, and my dad would drag me by the hair everywhere and pull my hair out… but no, nothing abusive or anything.”
There was at least 30 seconds of dead air between us as I watched her blink while trying to figure out how to respond to what I said.
Eventually she put down her file, crossed her legs and said, “My dear, that IS abuse.” My world came crashing down all around me at that moment.
For so many years I had buried my feelings about what they’d done so deeply that I’d managed to convince myself that what they’d done wasn’t wrong.
Less than a year later I was diagnosed with PTSD and panic disorder from the trauma, and I cut off all communication with my parents.”
11. Me, too!
“My most recent therapist experience lasted for 2 sessions only. Both times, every time I’d discuss an issue i was having, my therapist would say, “OMG me too!”
Like, I’m here for you help me. If you’re just gonna say that I can have this conversation on my own.
The last session the therapist said, “if we met outside of this scenario we’d be really good friends.”
That was it for me.”
12. True, but…
“During my first and only session with a particularly memorable child psychologist, he referred to me as a “miserable bitch”.
It was true, but he didn’t have to call me out like that.”
13. A good tip.
“Had a therapist tell me to make a fuck budget. Hear me out lol!
He said you only have so many fucks to give before you blow, so just like with money you need to budget it out, start with things you have to give a fuck about, kids, work, health and then cross the things you dislike giving a fuck about, like people’s opinion of what you wear, off the list and don’t give a fuck about that shit!
This was an older gentleman who was cool but for the most part very well spoken and didn’t cuss. Hearing him say I needed to stop spreading my fucks so far made me die of laughter and immediately feel better.
To this day I still have a fuck budget that I do every month religiously and it has taken so much stress off my shoulders.”
14. Gee, thanks a lot.
“When I was in high school I was hospitalized for being suicidal.
My doctor there told me some really brilliant advice that totally cleared things up for me, basically just fixing me on the spot:
“You just have to be a normal boy”.
Lol.”
15. You’re too happy!
“I had been suicidal every day for over a year.
When I was 14/15 I started seeing my first therapist. After a few sessions she told me I was “too happy” to be in therapy and kicked me out. And it messed me up a lot lol.”
16. This is bad.
“Went to a psychologist when I was probably 13, I had depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder and they often manifested in bad panic attacks and anger.
After seeing him a few times and telling him everything, he brought my parents into the room and proceeded to tell them that I was fine, I was just angry at my parents and seeking attention. I tried protesting and explaining myself but he refused to listen and tried arguing with me.
Needless to say, I never went back there and my parents took me to a new psychologist. It definitely fucked me up a lot, and even thinking about it makes me angry.”
Have you ever had a particularly interesting session with a therapist?
If so, please tell us all about it in the comments.
Thanks in advance!
