Today I had my first experience seeing a therapist. She has a lot of experience working with diabetics since she used to be the social worker at my diabetes center. Just like the movies, I sat on a leather couch next to a box of tissues and a potted plant. She sat across from me in an arm chair scribbling notes. I began with the story of my diagnosis and then talked about everything - my mother, my childhood, my parent's marriage, college and major, how I cope, what I was most afraid of with diabetes, my relationships, what's most important to me in life and what I want to accomplish, where I grew up, my old job, my new job, my a1c... Near the end of the session she asked me what I wanted to get out of therapy. Funny, because that was precisely the question I wanted her to answer.
Key take aways for me: Everyone copes differently. Therapy is just another resource. Use it if I think it helps. If I see a therapist, it doesn't mean I'm mentally weak. If I don't see a therapist, it doesn't make me a better or worse person. Just because I don't think I need therapy now doesn't mean I can never turn to it in the future.
It's unfortunate that there's such a strong stigma in our society about seeing a psychologist. I can't say that I'm not guilty of buying into some of it (just read my blog yesterday), but I'm glad I met with her today. She reaffirmed a lot of my thoughts and emotions. She said that I am doing an amazing job and handling everything the best that could be expected and that I should be proud of how I've dealt with hardship. My therapist said that things will get easier with time. We can all use that kind of encouragement every now and then.
In praise of my great support system, I would like to make a few acknowledgements:
- Thank you for reading my blog and for those who have encouraged me through your comments, emails and kind words
- Thanks to those awesome individuals thus far for supporting the superthirsties and the JDRF walk to cure diabetes. Especially thank you dad for your contribution because now I may have a chance to beat justin who apparently has an amazing talent at fundraising
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Glad to hear that things went well at your visit.
I believe that for dealing with something like diabetes, a therapist is a critical part of your care team.
Even if it's just maintenance appointments and having someone you can go to if you have a need pop up.
I have a lot of issues around my diabetes, and how I accept it. I think that being diagnosed at such a young age (5) that I never went through some of the grieving and acceptance stuff that needed to happen. So, I need to work through that now.
As with almost everything else - it's different for each of us.
Post a Comment