![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Waterlily on February 27, 2004, at 17:02:55
I haven't posted lately because I've been doing really well. Just a brief overview: I'm the daughter of a depressed alcoholic father who commmitted suicide when I was 14. Mom was pretty good, but relied on me heavily for psychological support after my dad died. I maybe had low-grade depression through high school and college, but first experienced a major depression deep enough for me to seek treatment after the birth of my second child when I was 25. I've been more or less happily married since age 20 and am now 35. I have been on antidepressants for 9+ years now continuously and have tried on occasion to get off the meds. My 12 year old daughter has been diagnosed with depression, OCD, and ADHD. My 9 year old daughter has none of these problems.
I was told by two psychiatrists that I did not need psychological therapy, but three years ago asked my current psychiatrist for a referral to a psychologist, at the urging of my husband. My therapist first told me that she could get me to the point where I no longer would need medication. I've experienced some major dips within the past couple of years, most recently this fall when I experienced a fairly significant depression. I've never been hospitalized. I've been doing wonderfully since the addition of Luvox in December. My mom tried to put me on a guilt trip for not letting her take my kids far away for two weeks, but I didn't feel guilty at all. I felt great. I also put my foot down with my eye doctor because he's having me use an extremely expensive medication that isn't helping (trust me when I say I'm not doing any damage to myself by not using cyclosporine in my eyes - I'm continuing to follow up with another eye doc on this matter). It felt good to stand up for myself that way. It's not been very long since the depression , so I was a little surprised when my therapist brought up the idea of ending therapy when I saw her last week. There was a time when this would have scared me. There was a time when I worried about how I would deal with ending therapy, but I was thrilled when she brought it up last week. I told her that I wanted to be done with therapy. That seemed to be a bit of a shock to her. I told her that I thought I'd still need to see my psychiatrist for medication, but that I didn't have anything more I felt needed to be dealt with in therapy. I could be wrong, but I think there's a difference between psychological issues that I deal with and psychiatric problems. I can usually tell what the problem is. She agreed that I should continue to see my psychiatrist and we have arranged for a final three once monthly therapy sessions, with options for more if needed. I'm so happy. I don't feel like I'm abnormally different from other people now. I feel like a regular person who has a right to occupy space on this planet. I'll still deal with everyday problems and I still may deal with psychiatric issues from time to time. I may even need a psychological "tune-up" from time to time, but I feel like it's time to end therapy.
Just thought I'd share the good news and hope I'm not writing back anytime soon eating the words I just typed.
Posted by obSession on February 27, 2004, at 19:35:36
In reply to Three years of therapy, almost finished finally!, posted by Waterlily on February 27, 2004, at 17:02:55
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MUST B GREAT TO BE THERE......brilliant!i would sugges "closure" and also the option of having a session now and then if u do happen to need it not saying u do but just so u know its there!
Posted by tinydancer on February 28, 2004, at 2:57:41
In reply to Three years of therapy, almost finished finally!, posted by Waterlily on February 27, 2004, at 17:02:55
What an inspiration! I am so happy for you. An amazing accomplishment. Just keep keeping on and remember that emotions *are* part of living....Experiencing sadness or depression doesn't mean you need therapy....Everyone experiences these sometimes. Good luck to you!
Posted by gardenergirl on February 28, 2004, at 14:21:47
In reply to Re: Three years of therapy, almost finished finally!, posted by tinydancer on February 28, 2004, at 2:57:41
Waterlily,
I'm so happy for you. We are close in age and there are other similarities--low grade depression to start, alcoholic parent, etc. You give me hope. It sounds like you had a great experience, and that you have a good plan for the future.Take care of yourself, and enjoy your space on the planet. I'm sure many, many others enjoy it, too.
gg
Posted by Waterlily on March 1, 2004, at 18:16:10
In reply to Re: Three years of therapy, almost finished finally!, posted by gardenergirl on February 28, 2004, at 14:21:47
Thanks for the kind thoughts. I feel like my therapist spent a lot of time instilling security in me, especially in the context of therapy. She let me know that she'd always be there and that she had no plans on going anywhere. I appreciated where she was going with that...I was left with a deep sense of insecurity after what I went through during my childhood, so not worrying that she was going to up and move away on me or terminate therapy before I was prepared for it was important. I had several set-backs in therapy and more than once worried that I was getting nowhere.
This might sound a little weird, but one thing she said in January made a big impact on me. She said something to the effect that I often felt like I'd like to be invisable. A lightbulb went off in my head. It was true! I'd walk in a store and hope no one would notice me or come up to me. I'd try to be inconspicuous as possible. Now, it's easy to see where that came from. My dad was very unpredictable and I would try to not be noticed by him. Also the typical teasing by other children. I obviously have no need for this anymore and I cannot make myself invisable no matter how hard I try. Fact is that I exist and people will have to deal with that even if they don't think highly of me. Ever since she said that I've been holding my head higher. Like I said, it's useless to try to shrink, so I'd might as well stand up and be myself.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Psychology | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.