Men of Reddit…. What made you finally give in to seeing a therapist whether it’s PTSD, Abuse or infidelity; and how has it been since going?

16 comments

1. Girlfriend of 8 years left me due to my lack of emotional availability, mild depression, inability to show affection, etc… It is going amazing wish I did it much sooner.

2. when insurance would cover it.

   guess when I stopped?

3. When I kept asking myself questions about life and wanting to do better but couldn’t make the connection my self

4. When I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I fell asleep without the use of substances or staying up until I literally passed out.

   My therapist helped a lot to cope with my PTSD. Still have the occasional bad days but they’re few and far between.

5. I have on/off relationships with therapy. Every-time I start doing it, I get immensely frustrated with the lack of progress. If anything, it makes my mental health actively worse because it brings up old memories, traumas, and experiences that don’t end up getting resolved in any meaningful way.

   The times I’ve actually grit my teeth and done it were when I noticed severe declines in my ability to control and hide my emotions. Going to therapy functions as kind of a wake up shock to get it together and put the cover back on like it always should’ve been.

6. I didn’t resist it in the first place. As a teenager I was only waiting to finally speak to a therapist. I wished I knew how meaningless it would be.

7. I had a massive panic attack amongst my addiction issues a while back so I decided to give it a shot.

   To be brutally honest, I really don’t know how much it helps, I enjoy talking with my therapist, and I’ve gone through many, but sometimes it seems very counterproductive.

8. Divorce I caused. It’s been 6 months, doing way better.

9. COVID was so bad for my finances that I needed the disability from the VA. They actually said my mom was so bad post divorce with the ‘adultification’ of me, dealing with her drinking, talking care of my younger siblings that it set up my combat trauma. But I think combat was a pale light against my anger towards my mother. And by extension your average divorcée

10. I ain’t ever going to therapy. Cost to much.

11. I could afford it

12. Was about to end up dying alone (and rather soon too) because of my substance abuse problem. Seeking help was the best decision I have made in my life. I can actually be a friend and a family member again and be proud of myself. Do not be afraid or ashamed to talk to someone brothers!

13. Best therapy you can get is at the bottom of a bottle of booze.

14. I set up couples counseling, ex wife couldn’t be bothered to come, so it turned in to Darren counseling. Lol.

    Edit: forgot second half of question. It went well; we worked on esteem and defining and respecting clear boundaries. I realized that I was the common trait with all the overbearing and controlling women in my life.

15. I got into therapy in part because I have positive memories of receiving psychiatric help when I was much younger, and figured it would be much the same. The specific trigger though was having a friend start therapy and then telling me about how well it was going.

    After a couple of years with different therapists, I am no longer in therapy as it’s not proven particularly helpful for my mental health relative to the cost. Pretty consistently I struggled to connect with the therapists available to me, and found that the therapeutic practices were difficult for me to have faith in.

    I expect to resume some form of professional mental health services once I’ve saved up enough. I think I’ll need to schedule sessions with a psychiatrist since I’m reasonably certain that medication may be the best answer to several of my problems, and then it’ll be easier to engage with a psychologist or therapist.

    Edit: I suppose it might be helpful for me to describe my reasons for going in. In abstract, chronic depression, generalized anxiety, executive dysfunction, trust issues, social phobias, and chronic nightmares.

16. I broke up with my partner, and got back together in a couple weeks because I realized that maybe I’ve been my own problem in relationships and life.

    Since then I’ve almost entirely quit drinking, been more relaxed, and more productive too.