Did therapy help you?

by gutted 19 Replies latest jw friends

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  gutted

  I am considering going to a therapist. Even though I believe I have gotten better and made some progress (it has been roughly a year since I stopped attending meetings, doing anything JW-wise), I still have a lot of negative self-talk which is hard to overcome, especially during off days like today.

  I find the hardest things for me is low self-esteem and social interactions/anxiety. I'm sure some of you can sympathsize, and though I am not fully blaming my issues soley to my JW upbring (born-in) I know it compounded those issues.

  If any of you have been to therapy after leaving, can you let me know if it was positive or negative for you?

  Thanks
• 

  blondie

  Yes, it did very much. My therapist was always astounded but then not. It seems he came out of a cultlike religion and had dealt with some of the same problems I was experiencing.
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  Snowboarder

  i was recommend for therapy, i don't know if i should go my doctor said it's good, but then it's odd for me to go to a hospital. i feel kind of guilty, don't know why, i feel if i want to give my freedom for peace and to have a clam life, but my inner self does not let me when i dream it haughts me to go after me dreams, but then i love my parents and my sister she is 3 and i if i don't want to be a JW then my parents told me they won't talk to me and i won't see my sister anymore. the JW are blackmailing me!
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  Snowboarder

  Are my goals selfish to be in the Olympics? what's wrong with it? can't i get my chance to do what i want?
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  Georgiegirl

  Funny thing, therapy. I went because I was deeply depressed and almost non-functional...first session was the typical background stuff (and I was still very much in, then). Second session my therapist said, "I know you said being a Witness wasn't the issue, but I can just ask a few questions?" ...aaaaand as they say, the rest was history.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Therapy has been immensely helpful to me. My problems were much deeper than coming out of the JW's, but that was a huge part of my current problems. Most therapists have no (or little) experience with cults, but they deal with relationships, traumatic experiences, betrayal, family dynamics, divorce, obsessions, stuff like that. You will find that well-rounded typical therapists can deal with common issues from getting out of the JW's from their other training.

  My first therapist worked out for me, but I understand that sometimes they don't. Don't feel obligated to keep going to the same therapist if you don't mesh well. Try to figure that out early on so you can move on to someone else.

  I shopped around the same way I would for a new car- extensive internet searches for someone that takes my insurance and has a background in some areas important to me, and I searched for some positive feedback. That's not always available, as people don't tend to brag on their therapist by name, revealing both themselves and who they go to. But negative feedback would show up if they were not very good.
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  Band on the Run

  It has helped me. I viewed therapy as therapy when I started. My major problem is the negative self talk. Several mds told me they could not treat me if I were an active Witness. No one has ever said "great religion." I've done a bit of everything.

  One thing that impressed me and works quickly is behavioral/cognitive therapy. It seems so easy reading the book but not that easy to apply. It focuses on maladaptive thinking patterns. It would focus on my negative self talk by engaging in negative self talk to the negative self talk. One thing that would greatly help a Witness is the teachng of social skills. Details of how to ask for a date, assertiveness training, a whole host of things most middle class Americans share but not JWs.

  I realized the poverty of my social life and it hurt exquisitely. My overcompensations hurt me. These skills are merely skills that can be acquired.
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  designs

  AA was good, family counseling was good, and meeting with some xJW and xBible Students Fellowship was good.
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  brizzzy

  It helped me a lot. And I refused to go for a really long time. I wasn't comfortable talking about myself, much less with a stranger. Then I finally caved and tried it and it ended up doing a lot for me.
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  ohiocowboy

  I am in therapy now, and have been for the past 8 months. It does really help tremendously! It does take a lot out of me sometimes to the point that I have to go right home and go to bed because of how it exhausts me, but it is a good thing, and it shows how much it works because I delve into the deepest recesses of my mind and work through the issues that I have. Even though it can be emotionally draining, it makes me feel better in the end because I am able to understand why I feel the way I do, and I learn how to control my anxiety, as well as find productive ways of handling bad things that come my way instead of keeping everything inside of me.

  Try it at least and see how it goes.

  Best of luck on your journey!

  CJ