Can talking really change me?
It’s a strange phenomenon that when we’re talking with another person we don’t always know exactly what we’re saying or what we mean. An interpretation, offered by a therapist, is a piece of common sense that doesn’t happen to occur to you. This bit of illuminating and surprising knowledge feels confirming, and can prompt a change in your capacity to think, understand, and grow.
I’m busy, how long will it take to feel better?
It’s a sad commentary on the human condition that suffering and living are often companions, albeit with uneasy relations. No one escapes without some trauma from living. We explain this unwanted reality by telling ourselves a story, but an inaccurate clung-to explanation is one that has timed out. For everyone, it takes the time it takes to understand and experience the world in a new way… not a very pleasing answer, but a truthful one.
Why does talking sometimes hurt?
We humans try our best to avoid pain. We don’t want to feel embarrassment, guilt, or shame because it hurts. We guard our secrets with ingenious diligence to protect ourselves. It’s hard for us to imagine the compassionate being who can listen without judging, can genuinely empathize rather than criticize, and can think with us to give new meaning to our fixed states of mind. This is what a therapist can do. And when we finally decide to enter the conversation, we’re surprised that our pain lessens.
What’s the magic in ‘The Therapeutic’ relationship?
This vital ingredient seems to appear and flourish when two people agree to engage with each other in a creative process where one person can help discover the source of suffering in the other. To be curious linked with the urge to know the truth makes learning from this experience feel quite satisfactory.
Are my symptoms treatable?
For many symptoms, talking with a therapist is the most effective way to achieve relief. Treatments that target only the biological body and ignore the emotional and historical understanding of the symptom frequently result in disappointing relapse. In too many instances, no singular medication or a combination of medications have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration, as with trichotillomania. It also makes sense that some symptoms don’t respond to this form of treatment.
Are my dreams important?
In my opinion, dreams are remarkable because they’re new information. And, while they’re confusing, strange, frightening, or exciting, they’re always imaginative. Dreams are the mind’s way of resolving conflict that may be internal but affects our everyday behavior. If we can notice the underlying emotions and think about our dreams as useful communications about ourself, we have another source of learning from experience.