Alternative to therapy

[Anonymous]

Do you know what I'd like as an alternative to traditional therapy?

I'd like to go see a therapist and play them my phone calls with my mom.
Show them my text messages with my sister.
Replay a fight or two with my husband.

I'd like to tell them that I think my mom is starved for attention and uppity and unable to connect authentically due to self esteem issues.
I'd like to tell them that my sister is nuts for a variety of specific reasons too long to explain here.
That my husband is a really good guy but hung up on perfectionism and black and white thinking due to his relationship with his dad.

And I'd like them to tell me I am right.

And then I'd feel better about all of this and probably more able to accept things and have more sympathetic and less irritating relationships.

I'm not claiming I'm perfect. But I am saying I have some recurring frustrations that are challenging.

[Anonymous]

You can definitely find someone to charge you $250/hr for this.

[Anonymous]

I'm happy to do that for you. LMK and I'll give you my email.

[Anonymous]

In all seriousness I did have a convo with my therapist about something my MIL did and how I was trying to have a better reaction to her.... my therapist told me I had a right to my reaction and she would have been annoyed too. It was SO satisfying and I wasn't as hard on myself after that.

[Anonymous]

I do that by myself, and don't need to pay money to anyone else, OP.

Cut out the middleman!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I do that by myself, and don't need to pay money to anyone else, OP.

Cut out the middleman!

Agree with this.
Do a great workout and feel the truth. That is you are a bada$$ who can take anything life throws you. So far, you have.

[Anonymous]

I do that with my therapist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you know what I'd like as an alternative to traditional therapy?

I'd like to go see a therapist and play them my phone calls with my mom.
Show them my text messages with my sister.
Replay a fight or two with my husband.

I'd like to tell them that I think my mom is starved for attention and uppity and unable to connect authentically due to self esteem issues.
I'd like to tell them that my sister is nuts for a variety of specific reasons too long to explain here.
That my husband is a really good guy but hung up on perfectionism and black and white thinking due to his relationship with his dad.

And I'd like them to tell me I am right.

And then I'd feel better about all of this and probably more able to accept things and have more sympathetic and less irritating relationships.

I'm not claiming I'm perfect. But I am saying I have some recurring frustrations that are challenging.

Congratulations.

You are ready to leave therapy, and do your own brainwork.

[Anonymous]

Therapists are supposed to teach you how to cope, not listen to every detail of all the other people in your life who you are coping with.

This is the other side of the retort to your friends telling you to go to therapy because they don’t want to listen to this stuff, either.

No one does past a certain point.

[Anonymous]

A really good friend can do this for you OP, legitimately.

Also, I have frequently resorted to just handing my phone to my therapist so she can read the text messages/emails/hear the voicemail. It shortcuts things for sure. Almost always her response starts with "Wow, they are really sick." It's incredibly helpful and validating for me to see her impartial reactions.

[Anonymous]

Not trying to be snarky, but what about your friends? I feel like I could vent to my closest friends about this kind of stuff over a glass of wine and they’d 100% tell me what I wanted to hear.

[Anonymous]

Friends. I learned to lean on them and just share more in my 40s. The relationships grew stronger. It’s a win for everybody.