How does talking to a professional about your problems help you in any way? I’ve been in and out of therapy for years and I simply don’t find any use in it. I just tell the therapist about my emotions and my life, they try to be understanding and offer some very basic advice I already knew about. Why is therapy often recommended more than medication and thought of as a better solution when it’s literally just normal discussion that can’t change brain chemistry?
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Throwing one more analog:
Let’s say you get into an accident and seriously injure your leg. After getting the leg out of a cast, it keeps hurting when you walk due to issues with muscles.
Option 1: Take painkillers. They alleviate the pain, but the pain starts again when the effect wears off. You also risk side effects and having to need a bigger dose in the future.
Option 2: Go to physical therapy. (Or rather, first go doctor, who checks if the physical therapy is a solution for this case, then if yes, go to physical therapy, prolly you also get a recommendation what kind of physical therapy.) In physical therapy, you are given practice to strengthen your leg and adjust your walking so that it doesn’t hurt as bad. It may be more expensive in the short term, it is unpleasant, it takes a lot of work. However, over time, your leg adjusts so that it doesn’t hurt (at least not as much as before). You may still need pain killers, but not as much.
I don’t think I need to explain how this compares to antidepressants and psychotherapy.
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