Managing

[Schlocko]

10. I can see the appeal

And I would probably enjoy Rogerian therapy if I had the right practitioner. Still . . I’ve never tried extended cognitive or emotional therapy because my family had a bad experience with it. My Dad (RIP) was chronically anxious and depressed, and and the Freudian quack who treated him attributed it to trauma around his mother. (My grandmother, who died when I was three, was apparently not a nice person, but no one has been able to cite any instances of abusive behavior.). That theory messed me up for awhile because whenever I would have a depressive episode, I’d start scanning my memory for unusual or severe trauma and found . . absolutely . .nothing. Which made me feel weak and self-indulgent which only exacerbated the anxiety. Better I should have noticed that if I had a sleepless night or a severe gastrointestinal event, my mood would crater not soon after. Once I did that math, I never felt the need to discuss my feelings with some stranger. I know it helps some people, though.