I think that the experience of having a mental illness for a long period of time will usually give you dysfunctional thinking patterns and ways of relating to people that counseling will help address.
Absolutely. This is such an important differentiation. I think that people miss the fact that you need counseling not because you have a mental illness, but to get over having had one... if that makes any sense.
I was put on medications (SSRIs, gabapentin) that were terrible for me, though please don't take that as me saying they're not good things, and the resulting mania and later extreme suicidal tendencies are things that caused me as much distress as my PTSD and panic disorder. All of it was exceedingly traumatic, especially the suicidal stuff. Disordered thinking and being at the mercy of chemical processes beyond your control have lasting effects that have nothing to do with the underlying illness.
no subject
Absolutely. This is such an important differentiation. I think that people miss the fact that you need counseling not because you have a mental illness, but to get over having had one... if that makes any sense.
I was put on medications (SSRIs, gabapentin) that were terrible for me, though please don't take that as me saying they're not good things, and the resulting mania and later extreme suicidal tendencies are things that caused me as much distress as my PTSD and panic disorder. All of it was exceedingly traumatic, especially the suicidal stuff. Disordered thinking and being at the mercy of chemical processes beyond your control have lasting effects that have nothing to do with the underlying illness.