Graduation
Date Friday, March 29, 2024 - 03:17 AM PST
Topic Experiences


So today I “graduated” from a 6 week therapy program thingy. I was in group therapy for about 9 hours a week. That is a lot of time to spend in a room with people drawing on whiteboard. Especially if you aren’t getting paid for it. But I did learn a few things that I want to share.


I hate professional victims. I don’t know if it is because they like me or because they try to ride on my coat-tails or because they have perverted their personal power from strength to powerful weakness. I do know that when I meet one, I want to hit them or run away.

Whiteboard markers stain. At least they do when you don’t get the cap back on and put it in your pocket. Happily, someone else demonstrated this truism and gave me something to laugh about.

Pets are at least as important as siblings. Like this needs any clarification.

I like Italian girls. They bring me almond cookies and hold my hand. Lots of them are Catholic, but nobody is perfect.

It is important to talk to yourself and even more important to listen to what you say to yourself. I was surprised that some people say things like “I am stupid and useless”. If you do this, stop. You are wrong, not stupid. You are wasting energy hating yourself that could be much better used creating something changing something, or even planting flowers.

If I ever have to sit in a small room with people suffering from serious depression and anxiety, I will not joke about sick, twisted, violent things. It makes them cry.

It feels great to say “I don’t like you and I don’t want to be here” in a calm voice. It is more fun than yelling it. Try it sometime.

Hot tea makes boring meeting go faster and doesn’t fill your bladder as quickly.

Mental health is all about accepting where you are and coping with where other people are. It is not about “getting better” or “being sick” or “being crazy”. It is about being yourself with joy and passion and laughter and love. (And chocolate!)

Don’t bother wearing make up to places where you are expected to cry. Looking like a shaved raccoon won’t help your self-esteem. And you get Kleenex caught on your lashes, which looks really funny.

When you start to panic, accept that you are panicking, forgive yourself for getting worked up, and wait it out. Don’t try to fight it or you will make it worse.

Read the directions on your medications carefully and make sure you take them in the right order. People on their nighttime meds during the day tend to drool a lot and blink slowly.

And lastly, Benadryl is sometimes used as a sedative by the medical community, or at least the part of it that makes you sleepy is available as a separate pill. It has a side effect of muscle tremors and cotton mouth, if you are very unlucky. Like me. *sigh*

But the most important thing that I learned in group therapy was that I don’t have depression, bi-polar I or II, anxiety disorder, a personality disorder, or any of a zillion other mental health diseases. So I don’t get the good meds.


This article comes from Shmeng
http://www.shmeng.com/

The URL for this story is:
http://www.shmeng.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=811