Can therapy help solve really deep seeded issues in my life, or am I fucked?
Most people consider me a well adjusted, successful person. Deep down, years of abuse by my parents and the way I grew up have messed me up something bad, I feel.
I was a very fragile, kind child, and I've found outside inspiration to be a good person, but at every turn I struggle with anxieties, alcoholism, and a difficulty letting people care about me. I tried therapy in college, but it was mainly to try to keep my scholarship and deal with general depression.
Therapy is a vague word. If you mean speaking with a therapist, then no, it isn't guaranteed to solve every issue. There are other forms of therapy. Anything that provides a sense of healing is therapeutic. Some people find therapeutic benefit in performing a physical exercise, or following a hobby, or taking a class. Even just taking the time to smell a flower or pet a dog can be said to be therapeutic. The point being, nothing is guaranteed to provide healing. I recommend that you try many different things until you find what truly helps you.
It sounds like you have a grasp of what you believe is 'wrong'
so try it out and go from there
>>17142183
this. have done therapy, self-help, writing, art, exercise, meditation. all of them have helped in their own way.
I have even found it helpful to occasionally go back and rewatch a show or reread a book from when I was a kid, it helped me get back into the mindset of when I was younger and forming my ideas about the world. not to say that media necessarily warps kids or anything like that. just a way to look back on my formative years and see how I got to where I am today.
Get. Therapy. Switch therapists until you find one that helps.
>>17142202
oh god please no. DO NOT DO THIS. This is the advice that makes people think therapy doesn't ever work. You just get people jumping around till they find a therapist who is generally flattering of them. This is why the whole "Accept who you are" therapy shit is so popular now instead of actual change. Every liscenced therapist should be qualified to help you get the change or acceptance you're looking for. If things don't feel like they're working TELL THE THERAPIST.
>>17142202
>>17142244
agreeing somewhat with both of these. you should not just change therapists like you change underwear. unless you actually get a bad vibe from the therapist, stick with them a while. if it's not working out, tell them. they may be able to take a different approach. that being said, therapists are people, not interchangeable tools. they should be versed in different types of treatments. but they will also have slightly different approaches, personalities, etc.
or they may be competent in other areas but not very strong in your particular kind of problem. I know a therapist who is smart as fuck, knows his shit and is very personable. but somehow his one-on-one therapy style didn't always click with me. but I also went to him for premarital counseling with my husband, and that went amazingly well.
and then occasionally you get one who's just kind of a dumbass but is able to hide it just well enough to keep from losing clients too quickly or getting fired by the head of the clinic.
TLDR change therapists if you need to, but don't do it til you're sure you need to.
