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cognitive-distortion

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From a teen in the Philippines:  I don’t take Social Isolation for 3 years as a serious problem. But everyone around me begs to differ. By ‘everyone” I meant my mother, as my father works overseas. But nonetheless, I found myself curiously fascinated by my lack of concern for my health, social and physical. It’s not because I don’t care for any of those, but rather the prospect of doing so seem bothersome. Maybe “not caring” and “not bothering” are the same sentences in different context. And maybe it is. I just find the word “not caring” a bit strong, as I do care to some degree, just don’t care “enough” which is one way you can put it.

I just find the word “not caring” a bit strong, as I do care to some degree, just don’t care “enough” which is one way you can put it.

6Should statements

I can’t grasp how many women my boyfriend has been with. My boyfriend has been with more people than I can imagine. He feels rather ashamed of his sexual history. He has had sex with friends, married friends, one night stands, and made friends just to have sex with them. As far as he can “remember,” he did not use a condom with 3 of them (his total number of sexual partners is 15). Since then he has been checked for Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).

My boyfriend has been with more people than I can imagine.

3Magnification

I’ve been depressed since I was 9. I’m 13 now. I’ve always had real bad health problems. And my family has always treated me like a piece of crap. But recently it’s gotten worse. My grandma’s friend told my grandma a lie about me claiming I said ‘I’d cut off girls’ fingers if they came into my room! now this is a total lie. I would actually like it if a girl came into my room xD.

I’ve always had real bad health problems. And my family has always treated me like a piece of crap. But recently it’s gotten worse. My grandma’s friend told my grandma a lie about me claiming I said ‘I’d cut off girls’ fingers if they came into my room! now this is a total lie. I would actually like it if a girl came into my room xD.

3Magnification

I suffer from bipolar and anxiety. I’m a wife and a mother of two. I had seen the same psych doctor for 10 years. Then it got to the point that I couldn’t drag myself to go to my spots. Finally, they booted me from the clinic. I’m still taking the same meds I begged my doctor to change as they were not working. My mother passed away in jan 2015 and my step dad in April 2016. They have me on 3 different meds cymbals, gabapentin n Valium. I started school in March to try to take my thoughts away from all the overwhelming stuff. Well the whole time I’ve been in a brain fog. I feel disassociated with reality. I either sleep alot or to much. I don’t go in public because I get high anxiety or pop two or three Valiums. I sleep to much or to little. Thoughts of suicide come and go. Because I think of all the suicidal lies. I’m scared some days of it but I get threw it somehow. There’s day where I plan out to do it but don’t. I’m not really suicidal right now. I can’t lock myself up as I’m going threw an adoption. I seen one psych doctor ge was weird but made me go up on my meds that I don’t like I don’t feel they are helping. I can’t seem to get out of this brain fog or funk whatever u wanna call it. I feel like smoking pot though I havent. I’m tired all the time. I never feel fully rested no matter how much I sleep and I generally feel overwhelmed in life. What are your thoughts and suggestions?

I never feel fully rested no matter how much I sleep and I generally feel overwhelmed in life.

7Overgeneralization

For as long as I can remember I have been backwards when it come to sleep. Since I was 8 yrs old I stay up until 3A-6A and then sleep during the day. When I was younger I was forced to go to school but during high school I was allowed to do whatever, so I worked in the evening and then stayed up at night.

For as long as I can remember I have been backwards when it come to sleep.

10Labeling

I’m 24. Staying in Myanmar (Asia). I got along well with parents during my school days. I also get good grades in school. When I was in college (in Singapore, not in Myanmar), I started to experience dissociative disorder and partial seizures. I’ve been hospitalized for months and I’ve been on deferment. I’m only two months away from graduation. Those times are like my darkest days of my life. I’m in depression. When I recover from illness, my parents start controlling me. They don’t want me to use phones, my laptop and even control seeing my friends.

2No Distortion

Hi, I am a senior in high school in a small town..I have struggled with depression, anxiety, panic, and eating disorders since I was 13 years old. And my family just doesn’t seem to understand what I am going through,they act like its just something that i can automaticly turn off my emotions and be happy but thats not the case.

And my family just doesn’t seem to understand what I am going through,they act like its just something that i can automaticly turn off my emotions and be happy but thats not the case.

8Mind Reading

From a teen in Australia: This story is incredibly long but I’m going to do my best to cut it down and only include the most important bits. When I was 14 and in a very low place, I met a teacher at my school. She was around 30. I didn’t think much of it at first, but eventually I kept talking to her more and more and seeing her around. We grew close quickly and for some reason I just felt connected to her. One day I received a text message from her as she had gotten my number off another student.

We grew close quickly and for some reason I just felt connected to her.

1Emotional Reasoning

From Poland: I have seen the pattern in some people’s thinking that consists of belief that it is impossible that the person they had known has died by suicide, thus for sure he/she was murdered and everything was, eg., whitewashed by the secret service or mafia. Is it an example of mass psychosis or an example of normal coping mechanism?

2No Distortion

Here’s my story: Married for 12 years with two beautiful children. During their upbringing, the wife and I grew distant of each other. She began to treat me badly with little respect and I began to emotional disconnect with her and stopped providing the emotional loving support that she needs. Looking back – we both were at fault!

2No Distortion

Hello. I am a 35 y/o male diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age 15 and haven’t had many friends in high school and always got picked on and bullied in middle school because I was “different”; and laughed inappropriately. The bullying still scars me deeply to this day. I currently live at home with my parents who are age 58 – 66. I work at a small startup company as a scanning technician since accounting jobs didn’t work out for me. I have been there since June 2012 and everyone there really appreciates my work and currently, everyone speaks to me. The accounting jobs were too complicated due to my autism/social anxiety.

2No Distortion

From a teen in Hong Kong: Since the beginning of secondary school, I’ve been noticing that I’ve been feeling more down. And I also experienced an increase in anxiety. I’ve always been an anxious kid, but this increased and now it has reached to the point where sometimes I can’t eat in public much. Since I am dealing with overweight issues, i feel like anything everyone will be thinking why I’m eating even though I’m fat already. My family don’t understand this, they keep on eating outside while I just want to go home.

I’ve always been an anxious kid, but this increased and now it has reached to the point where sometimes I can’t eat in public much. Since I am dealing with overweight issues, i feel like anything everyone will be thinking why I’m eating even though I’m fat already.

3Magnification

Q. Hello! I come from slightly abusive family (constant verbal abuse and slight physical also) and I have 2 brothers. One of them grew up without seeing any violence before the second one started receiving it. In the past few months, every time someone in the family starts screaming angrily at my little brother (5y-o) and it’s really raging, I get this urge to hurt the brother- push him down the stairs or beat him up. I love my little brother a lot and I could never hurt someone, but I’m so scared of those urges turning into reality. I do blame the brother for what he has done, but I blame others more for raising him up this way; but I don’t understand where the urges come from. I get an image of the situation and right when I snap out of it I start wondering what’s wrong with me, why am I like this. I am a suicidal person, but it’s hard for me to get help right now, but this is only mentioned to maybe get some clearance in my head for why this is happening. Thank you a lot! I really appreciate your time.

I love my little brother a lot and I could never hurt someone, but I’m so scared of those urges turning into reality. I get an image of the situation and right when I snap out of it I start wondering what’s wrong with me, why am I like this.

4Fortune-telling

I finally started seeing a therapist slightly over a month ago and it’s been great and I love my therapist but I’m not really sure to say whether I’ve been making progress or not. I say this because while I’ve experienced a lot of personal growth just within the past month, I can’t help but have some concerns. I’ll start by saying that this year has been a lot for me. I dropped out of college in May due to stress that inhibited me from functioning for months after (to this day I’m still trying to get my life back), after months of persistent mood swings, anxiety, and mild psychosis I went to see a psychiatrist in September (I think) that completely dismissed my concerns by saying I had “mild depression and terrible coping skills”;despite me mentioning I’d attempted suicide over 4 times!; which subsequently sent me into a severe depressive episode after the session. My mood never really lifted, and in November, 2 days before my birthday, I broke up with my boyfriend of over a year. The experience in itself was gut-wrenching and the week following even more so. I had a really bad breakdown one night, broke a bunch of things, wanted to kill myself but blacked out before I could do any damage. I figured things would only get worse until the next week when my mood did a complete 180 and I suddenly knew the answers to life, the fact my ex wasn’t talking to me no longer bothered me, I spent over $200 in 2 days (and the rest throughout the following week) etc. etc. (insert various symptoms of mania here). My therapist told me I seemed more bipolar than just depressed but it seems she dropped the diagnosis as she hasn’t mentioned it since our first session and gave me a diagnosis of “anxiety disorder” upon our second meeting. Anyway, the episode of what I’d call mania lasted for basically a month up to the point I was certain I was god and was considering starting my own religion, but then on Christmas night depression slapped me in the face and I’ve been very down ever since. I feel like I’ve lost all my direction and drive and my hopes for my future are once again slim. (From the USA)

I feel like I’ve lost all my direction and drive and my hopes for my future are once again slim.

3Magnification

Why do people spread rumours about me? I am glad that I found this fourm. All my life I have been the subject of the rumor mill. I am a shy guy who tries to do the right things. I believe in dealing with people as fairly as possible. It has been hard for me to understand why people would spread rumors about me. When the rumors are place side by side that just don’t add up? Let me tell you all of them. In high school and college, I was a virgin. I would like to have had sex with the person I married. I express my views and it was well known. However, some people spreaded a rumor that I was gay. I never could understand that rumor because I like women. I just did want to sleep with them because I wanted a degree and job. I knew that could side track me too much.

2No Distortion

I have been married for 10 years to a functional alcoholic. We have two younger kids. For the last 7 years I have been having an emotional affair with an ex. This man and I have always had a connection that never really went away. He is also married with a young child. He means the world to me. With him I feel so authentic, so safe and most of all accepted. I loved him so much and was heartbroken when we broke up so many years ago. I am torn between being drawn into this man and trying to remain committed to the marriage I am in. I try to convince myself that this isn’t a real connection. I remind myself that it is ridiculous to think that this person is any better than my current husband or any other man, so why would I ruin an OK marriage for a jumble of inflated feelings that likely aren’t real, except I am terrified that I am wrong. There has never been a person in my life that i have felt the same way I have with this other man, it’s the same now as it was almost 18 years ago. The feelings are actually, to me, deeper and more mature than back when I was 19. I need a professional to help remind me that this situation is crazy and a complete fantasy.

2No Distortion

From a U.S. soldier: First off… I would specifically like this question to be answered by a woman, if possible. I am 34 years old, and have been struggling with a mental thought for years now (since I was 15). It drains me of my self esteem, it causes me to breath heavily when I encounter it, I’m afraid to travel, or even go on vacation. It’s my encounter with women.

2No Distortion

We have been best friends since grade 2 (we are now in grade 11) and just recently she has become depressed and is pushing everyone away. She has stopped eating yet won’t admit it and her marks at school are going down dramatically. She kept telling me that she was sad or depressed but she wouldn’t continue and say she’d already spoken about it to someone else (i asked them and she hadn’t). Her mum spoke to me and another friend to say she was worried and we said we were to.

2No Distortion

From the U.S.: My mom is a schizophrenic and will not accept treatment. She has had absolutely no relationship with me in the last 3 years since her breakdown. Before that she did the basics of raising me, food, clothing, school, etc but was verbally and emotionally abusive and occasionally physically abusive. She had a VERY rough childhood and she actually raised me much better than what she had, so I won’t be too hard on her, but it did affect me.

2No Distortion

Dear Doctor: I hope that you can help. I guess my question is how to help me cope with this situation. My partner (f) was diagnosed with PTSD last year following childhood abuse & traumas. In connection with this she does struggle to live her life, but she is getting help, both therapy cognitive and medication including anti psychs, pills for depression and anxiety.

2No Distortion

I have been with my girlfriend for three years. She comes from a broken home; her mother was a schizoaffective cocaine addict who committed suicide when my girlfriend was 12, and her father is emotionally abusive, driving her to move out when she turned 18 two and a half years ago. We have been living together ever since. About two years ago, she was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder after a serious suicide attempt that left her in a coma and subsequent complications that resulted in mild brain damage. She was also diagnosed with PTSD at a young age and recalls being very overly-attached to her mother for most of her childhood.

2No Distortion

From a woman in her 60’s in the U.S.: My husband does not handle stress well. He works at home and at times when I call him, he jumps down my throat and yells at me for bothering him. At other times I may just ask him a simple question and he answers me nastily.

My husband does not handle stress well.

8Mind Reading

I have a 30 year old brother who is schizophrenic. I know this can run in families so I’m concerned that I might be showing symptoms. I’ve read that females usually start showing symptoms in their late 20’s and early 30’s. I’m 28. For the last few years I’ve been having hypnagogic hallucinations.

I know this can run in families so I’m concerned that I might be showing symptoms.

7Overgeneralization

Recently my friend has told me that they are having issues with having the feeling that they want to hurt random people that they do not know. When I asked them about it, they said that they had: – a weird want to hurt people that they do not know. – dreams about hurting others that they do not know. And before I asked them the next questions I reminded them that I was there for them and they could stop my questions anytime that they wanted.

2No Distortion

So I started masturbating when I was about 15. One time I was talking to my dad about–I was going through puberty so we talked about sex and body changes a lot around this time–and he told me about how he liked to masturbate by externally stimulating his prostate. I thought it sounded cool and so I asked him to show me how he did it. At first he demonstrated on himself, but I couldn’t find my own prostate when I tried it, and so he used his hand and did it for me. He only did it for a few seconds just to show me where it was. It felt really amazing, but I didn’t orgasm because he stopped once I started getting an erection and then left for me to finish on my own.

2No Distortion

Greetings, I’m an adult and I’ve been suffering a weird disease that I can’t find cure to, at least not in my country. When I was 10 years old I fell down and broke my leg, I had the cast for about 15 days, and after my first time walking without a cast, I started feeling burning pain in the bottom of my feet, I was thinking it is just normal pain, my leg got cured in a while and I started walking and doing physical activities like a normal person, but after one year the bottom feet burning pain came back and kept coming back every time of the year for about 2 weeks to 4 weeks, it starts really powerfully on the first weeks, but it starts vanishing slowly.

2No Distortion

From India: Initially, I identified myself as a gay, being attracted to boys my age as I hit puberty. With time, however, I lost my inclination towards them and retained the same feelings for boys around that age and even began checking out tween boys.

2No Distortion

My mental health care provider dropped me as a patient. I called to get refills on my medication and was told that they could not refill my medication because I hadn’t been seen in some time. Therefore, I made an appointment for the following week and asked to have my medication refilled until the appointment. They told me that wasn’t possible. I went to the mental health office and asked to see if I could speak to my provider or manager. They refused to let me speak to anyone until my appointment. The manager finally took me in her office and explained they could not give me my refills. When she opened her office door to let me out, two security guards were standing there. They escorted me out of the facility and refused to let me go to the Emergency Room. They stood by my vehicle as I sobbed like a baby, and told me to vacate the premises or they would call the police. When I made it home, I received a phone call from the manager stating that they had canceled my upcoming appointment, and were dropping me as a patient. They sent me a certified letter as well. I asked why I was being dropped and they told me it was my behavior. I don’t understand how asking for refills on my medications accounts for “bad behavior” resulting in being dropped as a patient. I would like to know if there is anything I can do to hold this office accountable.

2No Distortion

This is painful for me to write about, because of the fears i have that i really may be schizophrenic, but here goes! i am a 35 year old female veteran of the US Armed Forces. i joined when i was 25, with no prior history of mental illness. i moved successfully through bootcamp and my schools, although during the last phase of training, and before my first duty station, i became pregnant. i decided not to terminate this pregnancy (much to the chagrin of my family), and place this child with a loving adoptive couple who could not bear any themselves. unfortunately, during the delivery of this child, i developed some kind of “blood infection” which, thankfully, did not hurt the baby, but almost killed me. i was sent home from the hospital before the illness was discovered, and was rescued a day later by my friend who found me vomiting and hallucinating. i don’t remember much of that at all, just waking later in the hospital.

This is painful for me to write about, because of the fears i have that i really may be schizophrenic, but here goes!

1Emotional Reasoning

Hi, I am having a tough go in my marriage. We met when both of us were recovering from a breakup. My now husband was going through a divorce, and hindsight, he probably needed more time to “heal.” We moved in together after dating one year, and then married a year later. A few months before the wedding, I began to notice his irritability with me and his depression. We would fight and argue and never resolve. I felt that I couldn’t talk to him about anything, because he would get defensive and either not engage at all or get very angry. My husband has now started Zoloft (about 3 mos) and he sees a separate counselor. We went to a couple’s counselor for a year, and unfortunately, she thought it best to go to another therapist, being we weren’t getting anywhere and she thought we needed someone more “direct and a structured approach.” Last night, we started with another therapist who is focused on EFT. After the session, I brought something up at dinner, and my husband again got defensive and later angry. It’s easier to not “talk” to him at all. I am torn, being we have only been married for 7 months and the road seems very long. We are not getting our emotional, mental or physical needs met. Would you recommend a certain type of counselor? It’s overwhelming with who to pick. I don’t know if an EFT approach is best for directness and structured? Is it worth fighting for? Thank you for any advice and/or assistance with how to proceed. I am at a loss…

2No Distortion

I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder about 5 months ago by my psychiatrist. But with the help of Zoloft and Risperidone along with psychotherapy, my depression has gotten much much better. However, just a few days ago I’ve been feeling a bit different.

2No Distortion

My girlfriend is paranoid about stuff sometimes (eg. Thinking people are looking at her when we’re in public, likes locks on her doors, makes her Facebook private or deactivates when she sleeps) she is pretty socially withdrawn and will sometimes get into moods where she seems emotionally aloof or depressed (she talks to people on the internet often though) but other times gets into moods to do stuff outside she’s weird about what she wears (only wears black and white cause other colors bother her if she wears them) has a distorted sense of what she looks like often hates how she looks, is pretty impulsive and will randomly want to cut her hair and dye it a different color if she’s stressed. She has social anxiety doesn’t really like to be in public, sometimes will be sensitive to light or smell she says she gets mild hallucinations sometimes (hears mumbling sometimes or her name being called, sometimes sees things in objects or sees a shape for a bit) she was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder and prescribed antipsychotics which she doesn’t wanna take cause the side effects she also has a benign tumor in her frontal lobe. My friend says she’s been like this since he’s known her. my anxiety is making me think of worst case scenarios

my anxiety is making me think of worst case scenarios

4Fortune-telling

From an 80 year old woman in the U.S.: Life will be going normal.Something will happen that I don’t like or disagree with, nothing serious. All of a sudden I feel pressure in my head, maybe like it will burst.I never know when it might happen and there is no warning. I guess it is an anxiety attack.

2No Distortion

For some years I have know to be a little different from the others. I have very little emotions compared to others. I do not comprehend others, nor their problems or pain. I do not care for that. And yet I still have that 24/7 tic in my head that tells me to end them. I visualise killing them and I enjoy it. Yet I understand that taking real actions would only slow me down in achieving certain goals. I’m good at hiding as everyone perceives me to be a charming, responsible and normal guy. (this information is just context) Now, It set me to think that this may not be how everyone else thinks and feels. Psychopathy came to mind and I did some research. I came across the psychopathy checklist (PCL-R) and found that I had a 33/40 score. Of course I’m not a professional so I would like an expert’s opinion on this case.

I’m good at hiding as everyone perceives me to be a charming, responsible and normal guy.

8Mind Reading

For a lot of the time I feel indifferent about everything.  It feels like I’m just floating along through life, not really caring much.  For example, I didn’t really care where I ended up going to college, and I should.  I should care that my best friend is going to be moving several hours away that ‘m going to be graduating in less than a month, and that soon I get to live with my sister, but instead I don’t really feel anything, not sadness or happiness just nothing.  But at the same time, I act the same.  I still crack jokes and laugh.  Life just doesn’t feel like it’s quite real.  Sometimes, I’ll be walking and I’ll feel like I’m shoved back into reality.  I don’t know how else to describe it.  It’s like I’m suddenly reminded that I am not a floating voice, I have feet and a body.  I don’t know how long I’ve felt like this, but it’s probably been at least 2 or 3 years, maybe more.

For example, I didn’t really care where I ended up going to college, and I should.

6Should statements

My boyfriend sleeps in the same bed as his 5 year old daughter. He puts her in her bed every night (after an hour battle) but every single night she gets up and comes into his bed. When i sleep there, she crawls in with both of us but this is difficult for me cause i don’t get a good sleep and will sometimes end up on the couch. The other night she came in and was mad that she couldn’t be beside her dad because i was, so she whjned and punched me in the back until i left. Im wondering if this is harming the relationship between my bf and i that we don’t get alone time even in bed? And has she learned by kicking me out that all she needs to do is make enough noise and she can get what she wants? Am i being selfish to want this alone time with him? Is she learning that me and her dad’s relationship is not important if she can kick me out of my time with him so easily? (From Canada)

And has she learned by kicking me out that all she needs to do is make enough noise and she can get what she wants?

7Overgeneralization

From a teen in Saudi Arabia: while growing up my family was very close to another family consisting of a couple and their son who was 2 years younger than me. i loved them and considered them to be my 2nd family. But when i turned 9 and i started developing breasts, ‘the husband’ began touching me and i thought it was inapproppriate back then. but now that i think about it he never touched me anywhere private. i remember him rubbing and pinching my upper arm which in no way is sexual but it was the expression on his face the made me feel disgusted. another time he put his arm inside my shirt and rubbed my back when no one else was around.

2No Distortion

I believe, and my family members also believe, that I was suffering from serious paranoid delusions for years. I also had repetitive physical movements that I couldn’t control, and some hallucinations. I came out of it spontaneously, without medication two and a half years ago.

2No Distortion

I get a hungry feeling when I think of murder. The blood, the meat, it fascinates me. I’m always thinking of the kill. I’ve never done it though. But I’ve done horrible things that are illegal, cheated on tests, lied and had sex with other women while having a girlfriend, etc. I know I’m insane, nothing will change the psychopathy in my deranged soul. But I’d like to know why I want to shoot people, even children. I was bullied a lot in school though. Maybe that’s it?

I know I’m insane, nothing will change the psychopathy in my deranged soul.

0All-or-nothing thinking

From a teen in the U.S.: I;ve had a feeling for the past few months that something not right was going on with my mother, she was texting someone a lot, calling someone a lot, and leaving the house more often. But at around 11 o’clock last night i was talking to my mom in her room and i while we were talking she got a text from a guy from a home repair service we use,

2No Distortion

Hey i am Ay. from Turkey Istanbul. I will get straight to the point. I used to scare death but this summer i started to not. I dont know why but I actually started to want to be dead. But i was scared that what if i die and nothing gonna happen like all empytness and black screen but sometimes i thought myself maybe i will go heaven and there is god. I searched the internet and i found out that I have anxiety but i dont believe that. I dont know why but i feel like i am going to die. No, i am not going to suicide and never tried that but i kinda feel like it is going to be a traffic accident or someone will kill me. And now i dont fear nothing . I sometimes think of my funeral and ask myself how many people will attempt? I always get sad that my family will cry a lot. My grandma , my mom , my father and my big brother. I dont want to see them sad.I have been feeling these for 3 months and these days i kinda feel like i am in my last days. I am ready to go.

I dont know why but I actually started to want to be dead. But i was scared that what if i die and nothing gonna happen like all empytness and black screen but sometimes i thought myself maybe i will go heaven and there is god. No, i am not going to suicide and never tried that but i kinda feel like it is going to be a traffic accident or someone will kill me.

4Fortune-telling

Hello! Since breaking up with my girlfriend of 2 years I have been having problems with my mental health. It started with a panic attack on the night it happened which included strong paranoia. Since then I have developed a lot of social anxiety. This has come to a crisis point where I have had to suspend my 3rd year at university because I felt very anxious about everyone thinking I was crazy and meetings were terrifying me. Another factor to it was that the place where I was staying constantly reminded me of her, so I felt like I was going mad in it.

This has come to a crisis point where I have had to suspend my 3rd year at university because I felt very anxious about everyone thinking I was crazy and meetings were terrifying me.

8Mind Reading

Hello, I have been biting my nails and biting/picking the skin around my nails since I can remember, probably 8-10 years old. I used to pick at my acne very badly, but I found the cause of my acne and my face has cleared so it’s not a problem anymore. I have tried to stop many times, thinking it was merely a bad habit, but it seems like no matter how hard I try, or how much progress I make, I can’t rid myself of the issue. It’s definitely much better then it was when I was doing it unhindered, but my husband has taken a great interest in helping me stop doing it and supporting me.

I have tried to stop many times, thinking it was merely a bad habit, but it seems like no matter how hard I try, or how much progress I make, I can’t rid myself of the issue.

4Fortune-telling

From Syria: I’m 28 years old female, and I have intense fantasies about being physically tortured (caned, flogged, and burnt), I’ve had these fantasies since the age of 16, I also have an experience with self inflected pain (palm caning and burning to be more specific) or maybe it was my way to fulfill these fantasies, anyway I don’t do that very frequently because it leaves really bad bruises and scars that are hard to cover. basically physical pain is the only thing that makes feel excited. So I have two questions to ask A- Would you diagnose that as masochism or self injury disorder? B- Should I seek professional help? Thanks for your time

2No Distortion

I am wondering (& def believe) stepdaughter lengthy ongoing issues stems from psych problem but no diagnosis yet. We are desperate for help since this has been going on for over 15 years. My 31 year old stepdaughter has had drug problems for 15 years &  just up & left yet another rehab while on Vivitrol. She goes into detox hospitals and then gets transferred to residential recovery houses, which she stays at for a couple weeks then up and leaves and then loops through this process again and again. I know she has said she is empty inside and has talked abt hurting herself, but it’s hard to tell if she actually is being honest about that or is using that to get back in rehab places after she has left. She doesn’t seem to have reasons for leaving any of these places. Though, she acts very immature and does seem to struggle with authority and taking responsibility for anything. She has been in trouble with law, and while once she cared very much for her looks, she now has covered her body in tattoos. She has a young daughter, who she OD’ed in front of (she no longer has custody) & parents who are desperate to get her help and finally get her on the right path. But she seems to easily disconnect from what she’s done and does &  doesn’t seems to care how much she is hurting and worrying everyone. . With all these hospitals and rehabs she has been in, she has gotten some counseling, but i very much believe she has an underlying mental health prob that has not been diagnosed that could be at the root of this. I am hoping you could advise on anything you might think it could be. Thank you so much!!! (From the USA)

But she seems to easily disconnect from what she’s done and does & doesn’t seems to care how much she is hurting and worrying everyone.

8Mind Reading

My husband hired a female worker on January 19, 2015, and admitted to him via text that she is in love with him. She is aware that he is married with kids, yet she is still trying to pursue him. Sadly, my husband seems to like it when she flirts with him, causing him to flirt back.

2No Distortion

From India: I Don’t know what has happened to me suddenly. I used to be curious about life ; things ; had tons of interests..life seemed very bright to me as i’d many dreams too.. but now just all of a sudden i feel so dumb, i’ve no opinions, slow in studies; in fact, i just can’t concentrate in class. I forget even things i have heard 1000 times. I am not able to talk. My brain seems not to work  like a proof, nothing seems to go inside my head-i tend to forget most of the things that the hear or read.

but now just all of a sudden i feel so dumb, i’ve no opinions, slow in studies; in fact, i just can’t concentrate in class.

10Labeling

My 2 best friends have been ignoring me for the past 4 weeks and I just spoke to both of them. They both said they don’t want to be friends anymore. This all started because they thought I was around them too much. One friend even said that dealing with me is stressful and bad for her health. I’m currently on the floor crying because I did nothing to deserve this and we were all fine the day before. I simply hung out with one friend after school twice and she got annoyed with me and wanted to be alone yet didn’t tell me. So in 30 minutes of speaking with both of them, I have lost 2 of my closest friends. Also we all have the same friends because we are all in the same friend group.

2No Distortion

From a young man in South Africa: What is the emotional issues caused by my mother passing about 2 months after my birth. Simply stated in facts is that I was born in August. 1980. My father(not married or interested in me or my mom) passed away that September from diabetes. My mother then died after an horrific car accident on her way to fetch me from a state owned foster care, also in September. She was banned from her family because of me being born out of wedlock.

2No Distortion

About a year and a half ago, I experienced (what I think was, but was never actually diagnosed) a period of depression lasting almost six months. Almost every day, I would drag myself out of bed, go to school, and then come home and go back to sleep. While at school, I found little to no enjoyment in the company of my friends and I could barely stand to sit through class and take part in the tedious and pointless activities. I often thought about suicide, but eventually decided that I would be too scared of failing and ending up worse off to try it. However, I distinctly remember feeling as if I wouldn’t mind if a car were to hit me while crossing the street. I pretty much never ate during the day; I would fast from the time I woke up to about 10:00 pm when I was so hungry that I would often binge on anything I could find. It was also during this time that I began to habitually self-harm.

However, I distinctly remember feeling as if I wouldn’t mind if a car were to hit me while crossing the street.

0All-or-nothing thinking

I have been dating this guy for about three months now. In the beginning of our relationship, everything was perfect and I trusted him whole-heartedly. Up until recently I’ve been very suspicious and my trust just keeps going down. I started to lose trust when finding a text message in his phone from someone calling him “babe” on Valentines Day. He said it was nothing like that, and I asked to see the rest of the messages from that person but he said no because he thought that would change the dynamics of our relationship and that I am supposed to just trust him, so I let it go. Ever since that occasion it’s been so hard for me to trust him like I did in the beginning. He’s constantly texting some person in his phone and I’m 99% sure it is a female, which does not bother me. But what does bother me is that for some reason I have this gut instinct that this female he is constantly texting is someone he is involved with. When I sit and ponder on that idea I think to myself, “He doesn’t even have time to spend with other women, he’s always so busy.” But I almost feel like I’m convincing myself because I just have this feeling inside. On top of all of this my mother and a few of my close friends don’t really trust this guy or particularly care for him too which makes it even harder for me as well. I’m wondering how you feel about this situation? Should I end this relationship before I get hurt or wait it out and see if it can really become as good as I thought it could?

everything was perfect and I trusted him whole-heartedly. Up until recently I’ve been very suspicious and my trust just keeps going down. I started to lose trust when finding a text message in his phone from someone calling him “babe” on Valentines Day. He said it was nothing like that, and I asked to see the rest of the messages from that person but he said no because he thought that would change the dynamics of our relationship and that I am supposed to just trust him, so I let it go. Ever since that occasion it’s been so hard for me to trust him like I did in the beginning. But I almost feel like I’m convincing myself because I just have this feeling inside. Should I end this relationship before I get hurt or wait it out and see if it can really become as good as I thought it could?

9Mental filter

I’m 14 and in the 9th grade. I’m failing and I’m not sure what to do. I stopped going to school in the 8th grade because I became very depressed and I had a lot of issues with the other kids. I hated school (and still do). I ended up going to court for truancy and all of that. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder. I felt like my life was crumbling but I acted like it was okay. I got into a lot of bad habits. I didn’t have a single friend and if someone wanted to hang out I’d make an excuse to ditch them. I just couldn’t handle being around people. I started a high school September of 2014. It was alternative and I thought it would work but once again I stopped going because I was afraid and I couldn’t handle the kids. In about October of 2014 I started going to an online school. Right when I started I knew it wouldn’t work out. And now I’m here, failing the 9th grade, completely friendless, I’m on medications and I’m going to therapy but I still can’t get my life together. I try my best to forget about by responsibilities by playing video games or watching TV. But it’s just becoming horrible. I feel terrible about not doing school and I’m so sad and distracted that I can’t focus on what I’m doing. Every time I do anything I feel like failure. I’m scared of failing but I have no motivation to not fail. It’s just so bad, and I want to go to a real school but I’m scared to go back because of all my old friends and stuff. I feel like I can’t do anything. I just lay in bed all day and feel sorry for myself. I feel like if I don’t fix this I’m not going to pass high school. I really need help. I’m considering asking my parents if I could go to a hospital. But that’s also very scary to me. Please give me some reassurance. (age 14, from US)

I didn’t have a single friend and if someone wanted to hang out I’d make an excuse to ditch them. I just couldn’t handle being around people. And now I’m here, failing the 9th grade, completely friendless, I’m on medications and I’m going to therapy but I still can’t get my life together.Every time I do anything I feel like failure.

10Labeling

In January 2009 my ex boyfriend of nine months broke up with me when i didn’t expect it. we had an interesting relationship, it started out mostly physical then developed into something more but he was always difficult to open up, which he blamed on his depression. I fell very hard for him and he fell only a little. We started having problems when he began pulling away and not contributing much to the relationship and i addressed it. At first he said he was afraid to get close because he was leaving for Italy for six months, which i accepted and decided to work on..but later that month i confessed my love for him and he said ‘he didnt know” which means he didn’t love me, and i knew that. but he did not want to break up so i didnt ask him to, because i didnt want to be without him.

2No Distortion

1 – Speaking ill of someone’s past to a total stranger 2 – ignoring the girlfriend of your friend when they first meet 3 – calling the girlfriend of a friend irrational 4 – boasting about achievements 5 – faking another mental illness 6 – taking a position of high responsibility 7 – excluding a newcomer from a group 8 – using sarcasm towards the girlfriend of a friend 9 – belittling others publicly 10 – using the boyfriend of the girlfriend to lie for them and call them irrational on their advices

2No Distortion

From the U.S.: my daughter is currently 15 and lives with grandma and papa since age 3 with limited contact with me. My family has a history of mental health issues and there are big people in my family. Child is 15 and struggling with weight she’s 220lbs. Grand parent don’t believe in mental health problems and won’t let her be seen for depression.

2No Distortion

Can you point towards resources for navigating rare cases of carefully considered, consensual, post-therapy romantic relationships between client and therapist? Very rarely, there are legitimate cases of two people wanting to be above board in their pursuit of a relationship. Should we not have resources and guidelines for such situations?

2No Distortion

From a 16 year old girl in the U.S.: Hi recently I’ve been confused about my sexual orientation.In the past i always knew I was straight and orientation never really bothered me. I had crushes on male selebs and some boys from my school. Girls always seemed to be only friends or enemies.My fav characters always were girls, cause I wanted to be strong or pretty like them.

2No Distortion

I began feeling depressed in 2005. But the worst thing in my life was getting panic attacks. Wherever I had one I stopped going there. Went to see the psychiatrist and gave me anti-depressant and Xanax which helped. But I became so scared of having panic attacks I have shut myself in my home and can’t go anywhere. Is this still due to depression, panic attacks or something else. Thanks.

But I became so scared of having panic attacks I have shut myself in my home and can’t go anywhere.

4Fortune-telling

I feel like I have no one to turn to. My friends and family are too emotionally envolved. I am engaged to be married in 11 days. I have been with my fiance since February of 2007. We just became engaged this January. I have had feelings of doubt and dread the whole time. I feel as though I’m planning my own death instead of my wedding. Any thought or conversation about the wedding makes me sick to my stomache. I recently got up the nerve to tell my fiance that I thought it would be best to postpone the wedding. I told him I was feeling so much stress and pressure that I felt overwhelmed, like I was drowning. He knew that I had been depressed and crying alot. He told me that it sounded to him like I was having doubts and if that were true then we should just end the relationship altogether, so I backed down.

I have had feelings of doubt and dread the whole time. I feel as though I’m planning my own death instead of my wedding. Any thought or conversation about the wedding makes me sick to my stomache.

3Magnification

From England: Okay so ever since I was very young I’ve had a problem with zoning out. When I was about 4 my parents became very worried, I zoned out in the middle of conversations and I could be walking from one room to another and end up walking into a door or wall because of it. I have two older siblings and neither of them ever did this so my mum was ready to bring me to the doctors but my dad thought it was just my age as well as an over active imagination. My older sister has aspergers syndrome so my mum feared the worst but when I was older (around 6-7) I got checked for this and like my other older sister, I was fine. I still did well in school, it never really affected that but I did zone out in class occasionally. It never went away but was less frequent after around 10 years old however now I am 15 and for at least 6 months now it seems to have been becoming more and more frequent. I’m zoning out more and more and when I finally snap back into reality I’m not even sure how much time has passed, its kind of like being in a trance. Its not like it only happens when I’m bored, I can be doing something I really enjoy and then I just zone out. I’m also developing a strange liking for a little bubble I’m starting to create, which is totally separate from the zoning out as I actually feel conscious during it. I just go into a kind of ‘bubble’ and begin imagining different things, I find this really comforting but I’m concerned about how much I’m enjoying it, I could do it for hours on end and it feels so much better then real life. I’m more concerned about the zoning out more though as I’m not actively imagining or thinking during it, I’m just kind of not there and I cant stop it happening, it just happens whenever. I definitely don’t think I have ADD or anything, I would just like to know whether I should be concerned about this behaviour or not.

2No Distortion

From the U.S.: I have been married to my husband for 3 years. His family is out of the country and visit us for 3 to 4 weeks every year. He has a younger sister who is very attention seeking and comes and lives with us for a month every year. She never tries to get friendly with me and is very clingy to her brother – my husband.

He has a younger sister who is very attention seeking and comes and lives with us for a month every year.

10Labeling

As of a few months ago (2 or 3) i’ve been feeling really bad. actually it’s been a really long time since i felt not so good about life, but it got worse around this time. i decided to take to googleing my possible problems when my friends started saying they think i’m bipolar, because i have periods of extreme niceness and other occasions of being really mean or down in the dumps… sometimes i feel like everyone thinks i’m ugly and dumb and other things, and other times i feel like i’m totally awesome.

sometimes i feel like everyone thinks i’m ugly and dumb and other things, and other times i feel like i’m totally awesome.

8Mind Reading

My fiance and I were together for 7 years. We had the storybook romance: we were always happy, never argued, never tired of each other, and all of of friends and family looked at us as having the perfect relationship. Life could not be better for the two of us.

We had the storybook romance: we were always happy, never argued, never tired of each other, and all of of friends and family looked at us as having the perfect relationship

10Labeling

I feel like I have too many issues, I don’t know what to do anymore. I think to try to type out my problems in a box might be a little difficult. I will be very thorough as that is what needs to be done to understand me. I live with a single mother, and my younger sister. My father abandoned us when I was 3 years old which I never got over. My mother tried to replace him with drug addicts, alcoholics and pedophiles. I, being so young, and helpless was caught in the way.

2No Distortion

Hi, I’m a female from the U.S. and since I was little I have had this belief that I could broadcast what I’m doing into other people’s minds, it’s been with me since I could remember. I’ll do crazy and spontaneous stuff because of it and I’ll also get heavily paranoid. I got put on antipsychotics because I was having hallucinations, paranoia and delusions. I don’t have mood congruent hallucinations, paranoia, delusions etc… I have done my research but I refuse to self-diagnose. During these episodes I am not aware I’m acting out of the blue and I have been told by others I have disorganized speech that I jump from topic to topic. Why is any of this happening? I’ve abused drugs (amphetamines) in my past and I had grandiose delusions of being the most intelligent person that was gonna be a big thing. When I went off of them I finally had a psychotic episode and it went untreated until recently. I no longer abuse drugs and I ’m pretty healthy. Why is this happening? Some paranoia seeps out even with medication. My hallucinations are mainly: Walls moving, whispering, shadow people, random lights, letters moving around on phone, or this bloody girl. Delusions: Paranoid that I’m being monitored by a group of people through brain communications, or thinking people have been replaced by imposters

I’ll do crazy and spontaneous stuff because of it and I’ll also get heavily paranoid.

10Labeling

Hi, I am 24 and my sister is 22, and she has got to be the most selfish person (family wise) that I know. Anytime anyone from our immediate family asks her for a favor she is too busy or looks at us like she can not believe we are asking her for a favor. A few examples would be our mom had an eye appt and she needed a ride home because she could not drive after, she asked my sister to pick her up and my sister of course was too busy because she was going to go and meet some friends so our mom had to find another way home. When my mom got home my sister seemed like she was so offended that my mom found an alternate way home and didnt call her for a ride………yet she told my mom that she was too busy to pick her up. Another example would be our youngest sister was arriving at the airport and instead of taking a cab home she asked our sister to pick her up, of course again she said no she was going camping so our youngest sister found an alternate way home. My sister who was going camping, then felt she had the right to be upset because she went to the airport to pick her up and she wasn’t there, even though she was too busy to pick her up when she was asked for the favor.

Hi, I am 24 and my sister is 22, and she has got to be the most selfish person (family wise) that I know.

10Labeling

From a 13 year old boy in the U.S.: So I started talking to myself when I was about 6 or 7. I’ve always felt a little bit psychic. Which has nothing to do with this I think. But everytime, a week before a loved one of mine dies, without notice. I get a dream, which I wake up crying and the dream tells me I should start treating this person right, and outta nowhere. EXACTLY a week later the person dies. On from that, I have always talked to myself.

I get a dream, which I wake up crying and the dream tells me I should start treating this person right, and outta nowhere. EXACTLY a week later the person dies.

5Personalization

From a young man in Chili: I was diagnosed with depression about 3 years ago and followed treatment for about 1.5 years and everything was fine… But this year I think somehow things have gone worse… I don’t find any joy in things that used to make me feel happy, I’ve been constantly day-dreaming and distancing myself from reality a lot, my self-esteem is on the ground…

But this year I think somehow things have gone worse… I don’t find any joy in things that used to make me feel happy, I’ve been constantly day-dreaming and distancing myself from reality a lot, my self-esteem is on the ground…

3Magnification

For a few years now, I have been suffering mentally. I won’t go into great detail but I will say I have horrible social anxiety. I want to be able to speak and express myself to my friends and my boyfriend so that I won’t lose them. Now, the problem with that is, I am so scared to ask my parents about letting me see a psychologist or a therapist. It just feels like they might not take me seriously or think I’m seeking attention. And I don’t want them to look at me differently like I’m some psycho because I have anxiety. I want to tell them, but I just can’t. I don’t feel like I’m worth their time.

It just feels like they might not take me seriously or think I’m seeking attention. And I don’t want them to look at me differently like I’m some psycho because I have anxiety. I want to tell them, but I just can’t. I don’t feel like I’m worth their time.

8Mind Reading

So much has happened in the last month I am not quite sure where to start, but here it is. Over the Christmas period my boyfriend was slightly distant, we live together but for Christmas day he went to his parents and I went to mine. He then came to my parents on Boxing day and although we all had a lovely day I noticed he was distant. Things seemed ok after that, however before Christmas he complained of an upset stomach and had not eaten much at all the week before Christmas. We put it down to a stomach bug as there seemed to be a lot going round but he was reluctant to go to the doctor. This ‘stomach bug’, however, then continued after Christmas.

2No Distortion

It’s been a year since I’ve been getting these thoughts (they aren’t external). But recently they have been getting more and more violent. They make me hit myself or I will jerk my head and scream “no” when the voice decides to bother me. Usually it will make me do things, or else something bad will happen. Other times it will make me hurt myself. These thoughts give me horrible anxiety but I’ve never gotten actual mental health. My brother is already in therapy from our traumatic experiences, but my parents just think I’m copying my brother’s behavior. I don’t want to self-diagnose, but I don’t want to sound greedy if i beg for help. What are these voices, and what should I do?

These thoughts give me horrible anxiety but I’ve never gotten actual mental health.

3Magnification

From the U.S.: About 2-3 months into our relationship, my boyfriend continued to press me to tell him the number of men I slept with. At first, I tried to deflect the question but I had to answer him. I lied and gave him a very low number, because I knew he was a jealous man. But I felt so guilty when he said he was really glad I waited for him, so a few days later, I decided to tell him. But when I sat down to tell him, I couldn’t tell him everything so I revealed to him that there was one more. He had a very tough time dealing with it, and he made me promise him that there was no more. Months went by without me feeling so guilty about it.

I lied and gave him a very low number, because I knew he was a jealous man.

10Labeling

I am diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and I am currently taking celexa (Citalopram) as prescribed. I have been having issues with med compliance lately. About a month ago I started to feel a low mood coming on and I stopped taking my medication for a about a week. It was horrible, I was a tearful, agitated, exhausted, aggressive, and I called in sick for work A LOT. I resumed taking my medication and it improved 100 percent. Recently I have been starting to feel like I am coming down again, and I know that stopping the medication is definitely not a good idea but I find myself wanting to. I feel like it’s a natural cycle and while I’m feeling “happy”, I feel like it’s fake happiness. I feel like I miss being depressed. Like I lost my comforting best friend by taking this medication. I know my life is terrible without the medication but I like to feel even if it’s pain, and I feel like the medication makes me feel nothing. I know it sounds strange but I’m unsure of what to do. I guess I’m just looking for an answer as to why I feel like I miss it and also if there are other medications maybe that might let me have feelings without getting horribly depressed.

I feel like it’s a natural cycle and while I’m feeling “happy”, I feel like it’s fake happiness. I feel like I miss being depressed. Like I lost my comforting best friend by taking this medication.

1Emotional Reasoning

From Albania: Hello and thank you for reading this. Last July, my brother got married to the love of his life. They had been together for 10 years (since he was 20 and she 19), lived together for 2. She was the first and only girl he ever dated and was completely committed to raising a family with her. In November his wife started a new job, and in March this year she left him. He is completely devastated. When it happened, he cut off all relationships and we were not able to see or talk to him for a whole month. At that time he was still hoping that she would go back to him, and was waiting for her at their home. When it became clear that she wouldn’t come back, he moved back home with the family. For 2 weeks, he would just lay in bed staring at the ceiling, and couldn’t sleep at night. My mother and I stayed close to him and whenever he wanted to, we would talk and discuss what had happened with him. At least he started to go to work. He is a very introverted person, and he had invested so much in that relationship at the expense of other relationships in his life. He has very few friends and he is not really close to family members. It seemed that things got a bit better. He started going out at times, and he started sleeping again. It has been 3 months since, but he is not capable of moving on. He has shut down again, doesn’t want to talk to us, doesn’t go out, has no interest on anything. We are trying to convince him to see a psychologist, but he won’t go. He feels that his life has no meaning any more and he feels like he is suffocating in this life. He thinks now, that the only solution would be to move to some other country and start a new life. How can we help him? What else can we do to make him see that there is still life ahead? What can we say to him? Thank you in advance.

2No Distortion

Lately I’ve been having mood swings where I’ll get really hyped and confident and encouraging and then I’ll get angry and whenever my boyfriend says to calm down it’s like a switch and it’s as if I never felt anything to begin with. At any other point I’m either at a low point or feeling normal/stressed.

Lately I’ve been having mood swings where I’ll get really hyped and confident and encouraging and then I’ll get angry and whenever my boyfriend says to calm down it’s like a switch and it’s as if I never felt anything to begin with

0All-or-nothing thinking

From a teen in the U.K.: I’m not really sure where to start, so I’m going to vent. All my life I have felt disconnected and as a child I barely used to talk and kind of drifted my way through my school years, not feeling sad, but empty, waiting for it to end. I had no sense of direction or purpose (and at the time mental illness was never a thought that crossed my mind) but what upsets me the most thinking back is that there were clear signs that something was up with me and I wish someone would have stepped in.

I had no sense of direction or purpose (and at the time mental illness was never a thought that crossed my mind) but what upsets me the most thinking back is that there were clear signs that something was up with me and I wish someone would have stepped in.

5Personalization

I’ve recently been feeling really overwhelmed and just overall down especially about myself. Anytime anyone says a bad thing about me, I feel insanely guilty and burst into tears either right there or later by myself. I’m constantly worrying about everything even if I have no control over it and tonight, I cut myself. I’d thought about it for a while, but tonight was the first time I actually did it and, to be honest, it felt good. I’m worried, but I don’t want tell my mom. She’s always stressed and has to deal with my two brothers who both have issues and are seeing therapists which are expensive and we don’t have a lot of money. My mom is also seeing a therapist. In my personal life, my dad’s getting remarried to an uber-Catholic woman (I’m agnostic, leaning towards atheist and both of my brothers are atheist) with four other children! We’ve recently moved into their house and now my mom is suing for full custody, so they’re fighting even more. I’m in a rigorous school program and I am constantly worrying about grades and whether I’ve turned in my work even though I know I did. I just don’t know what to do anymore.

I’ve recently been feeling really overwhelmed and just overall down especially about myself. Anytime anyone says a bad thing about me, I feel insanely guilty and burst into tears either right there or later by myself.

5Personalization

I’m writing because my boyfriend and I have a lot of problems in the one year we’ve been together. Six months ago we went on a “break” because I wanted to live with him but he didn’t want to live with me. Even though I didn’t want to end it, the arguments we had over the living together issue seemed to push him to the point of wanting to leave.

Even though I didn’t want to end it, the arguments we had over the living together issue seemed to push him to the point of wanting to leave.

8Mind Reading

From the U.S.: Why don’t I feel any desire at all for physical contact with my boyfriend of 3 years? We are both divorced, in our 40’s, have kids from previous marriages, and are both Christians. We decided early on not to have sex, but after a month or so, we gave in. This lasted a few months, then we backed off.

2No Distortion

I took up smoking as a form of distraction due to my depression. My father caught me three times and I promised that I would stop all three times, but somehow, I still couldn’t stop myself. It was my way of curbing my depressive episodes and the suicidal thoughts that never cease haunting me. However, when I try to explain depression to him to make him understand depression from my angle, my father refuses to understand. He keeps telling me that other people have it far worse than I do and I should appreciate it. How do I explain to him that it is not that I’m not grateful for my life, it’s that I have this monster in me that is telling me nothing is worth it no matter how good my life is? How do I let him know that I am only smoking because I couldn’t find any other way to curb these feelings? And believe me, I have tried to stop smoking, but when the thoughts come, nothing seems to matter more than to put those thoughts to a stop no matter what. And in my case, it is by smoking. (From Malaysia)

2No Distortion

Hi, for awhile I’ve been thinking I have a stress or anxiety disorder but I’m not able to see a therapist or counselor. I often become stressed or anxious easily about things I can’t control also small inconveniences or events make me very upset. I’ve been noticing I don’t sleep well and I’m often tired, I find it hard to focus on anything for a long period of time and almost everything in my life causes me to become stressed or anxious. Since I’m a minor and my parent doesn’t think I have any mental health problems I haven’t been able to see a therapist. I’m not sure what to do in this situation and I feel my mental health isn’t getting any better.

I often become stressed or anxious easily about things I can’t control also small inconveniences or events make me very upset. I’

3Magnification

From a teen in Brazil: This is a non-life threatening or dangerous in any way problem, but I simply don’t know how I feel about someone and it’s been bugging me a lot. Basically I met someone who I very much admire, to the point where I want to be more like that person, I always find it enjoying to talk to him and am personally proud of knowing him and being his friend, despite the fact that I’m not sure whether he considers me a friend or not. I genuinely want to get to know him more and spend more time talking to him, despite not knowing how to go about that (but that’s another issue). I also highly value his opinion and advice, and I trust him a lot for some reason. I’m also overwhelmingly sure it’s not something romantic and I struggle to even find a word to describe what I feel towards him: admiration, respect, friendship?

2No Distortion

My 32-year-old bothers is a former Meth addict. He has been clean for few months. He’s been recently arrested for driving on a suspended license and for possession of a controlled substance. After he got out of jail he showed up at my house uninvited and demanded me to support him because he was homeless! We live in a rural area and I could not ask him to leave on foot in winter. I am disabled with early onset dementia, seizures, autoimmune disorder and PTSD, and my husband has military related PTSD. We are on edge constantly because my brother says he will not leave our house even though he has a misdemeanor warrant. He is a pathological liar, and blames me for being a bad sister, because I would not help him get off the streets after our parents died! He has been smoking weed since he was 15 years old, did mushrooms, drank and now Meth. He used my husband’s credit account without permission, put us in 10k debt, he blames me for not helping him with money and I left him homeless. Last year I broth him to my house tried to help him, I bought him brand new clothes, but he stole at the store. So I drove him back to CA. See, my parents use to take care of him financially, he lived with them and now he wants me to support him. We can’t afford him! calls me names, hits himself on the head when mad. He tells me to shut up when I tell him to turn himself in for his warrant, he constantly yells. He refuses to listen and disrespect me. My husband won’t throw him out, because he is family. I don’t know what to do. We live in NV and his warrants are in CA, so he says he won’t go back, because he doesn’t want me to leave him homeless there! I really don’t want him at my house! We have been estranged for years and now he wants to make me feel like I am a bad sibling and it is my duty to take care of him. I’m too sick to think straight! I feel like everyone is taking advantage of me because sometimes I forget things. I feel like a victim. Am I wrong for not wanting him around? Thank you!

We have been estranged for years and now he wants to make me feel like I am a bad sibling and it is my duty to take care of him. I feel like everyone is taking advantage of me because sometimes I forget things.

8Mind Reading

About 5 years ago, I started seeing a therapist weekly to do CBT for my lifelong anxiety. However, my anxiety quickly latched onto the therapy itself. I found myself worrying constantly about what the therapist thought of me and whether I was doing therapy wrong. Going to sessions became a major anxiety-inducing experience, and everything the therapist said felt like criticism. I eventually worked up the courage to talk to the therapist about the issue. She said she understood. We discussed it several times and challenged some of my beliefs about it. But it didn’t help. So, a year later, I discontinued regular therapy. I learned a few useful strategies for anxiety but also came away feeling worse about myself. Last year, after experiencing some stressors in my life – which caused extreme anxiety – I went to see a new therapist. I thought this time would be different. I told the therapist right at the start about my therapy anxiety. Yet now, a year later, I find myself in the same pattern. I feel that my anxiety about the therapeutic process itself, and my relationship with the therapist, is getting in the way of therapy. The therapist is well aware of the issue and we discuss it frequently. She suggests things for me to do – ways to ground myself during sessions, exposure-based approaches to accept the uncertainty – but I’m unable to do them, which makes me feel even more anxious and frustrated. Sessions have now turned into a huge performance anxiety thing for me because I’m so afraid of how they’ll go. My therapist doesn’t *feel* like an ally to me (but I know it’s not her, it’s me). I’m at a loss. Again, I feel worse about myself now than when I started therapy. I do okay in my life despite my anxiety – I have a full time job and a good long-term relationship. I would still like to find ways to reduce the amount of worrying I do … but I can’t seem to be able to overcome my anxiety about therapy to make therapy useful to me. Do I quit and accept that therapy has too many side effects for me to be useful? Are there other ways to overcome my therapy anxiety?

Sessions have now turned into a huge performance anxiety thing for me because I’m so afraid of how they’ll go. I would still like to find ways to reduce the amount of worrying I do … but I can’t seem to be able to overcome my anxiety about therapy to make therapy useful to me.

1Emotional Reasoning

I’ve had paranoid OCD for 17 years- but those issues were always based in the real word- that people were lying to me or out to get me. In recent months, I’ve started to believe that I can sense a shadow dimension, where beings that feed on fear have been causing my anxiety issues. I know it’s absurd, but I can’t shake this belief. My understanding was that delusional people don’t know they are delusional, but I am aware that all of this makes no sense, and I want it to stop. I never thought I would say this, but I miss my regular old paranoia!

I know it’s absurd, but I can’t shake this belief.

6Should statements

Hi, for a while now since my mother’s death i’ve been suffering with health anxiety and i now began suspecting myself to have a schizophrenia. I have also been called neurotic which made more sense to me when i looked it up even though this term is not used much anymore

2No Distortion

I am 25 years old and married and I currently have my 27 year old sister living with me. She is the nicest person you will ever meet but we have a few major problems. I sometimes think that her mind is stuck back in Jr High/High school. Most of the people that she makes friends with are of high school age, and she tends to look up to them and identify with them and is almost obsessed with television shows that depict the lives of school aged children. Where most people our age would worry about their jobs, bills, retirement and so on, she is only concerned with makeup, hair, music and her friends. She is also extremely gullible. She will believe anything her friends tell her but will never, and I do mean never, listen to the advice of those who love her.

Where most people our age would worry about their jobs, bills, retirement and so on, she is only concerned with makeup, hair, music and her friends. She is also extremely gullible.

6Should statements

From the U.S.:  I have been in a relationship with my boyfriend for 6 years. I do not trust him. I caught him talking to another girl last year but all he says they did was just talk on the phone. He gets angry over everything. Nothing I do or say is ever right.

Nothing I do or say is ever right.

5Personalization

So around 2 years ago I was diagnosed Bipolar 1, PTSD, and social anxiety… But I’ve been getting a lot of hallucinations, delusions, issues with communication, etc.. Like right now for instance, I can’t stop laughing and quoting songs or lines from movies…or saying obscene things like “my vertabrae feels like a carnivorous dairy product”. Yes, this obviously could be mania, because I’ve been having problems with that for the past couple months, but I’m also hearing and seeing things, too. I keep hearing people talking bad about me, usually my friends’ or family’s voices, saying things like “you’re worthless, stupid, pathetic, ugly, blah blah blah”. A lot of the time I hear it when I’m alone and no one is there, which scares me. OR I’ll hear random voices I’ve never heard before, but I can’t make out what they are saying.

I can’t stop laughing and quoting songs or lines from movies…or saying obscene things like “my vertabrae feels like a carnivorous dairy product”. Yes, this obviously could be mania, because I’ve been having problems with that for the past couple months, but I’m also hearing and seeing things, too. I keep hearing people talking bad about me, usually my friends’ or family’s voices, saying things like “you’re worthless, stupid, pathetic, ugly, blah blah blah”. A lot of the time I hear it when I’m alone and no one is there, which scares me.

8Mind Reading

Back in April my live-in girlfriend of over 2 years and I went through with an abortion. Consequently, we drifted apart until the beginning of September, when she said she couldn’t do it anymore. The whole summer we were pretty much doing our own thing, trying haphazardly to cope with what happened.  I sank into a deep depression without even realizing it. I would numb my senses with alcohol and gambling on the daily. I didn’t tell a soul about anything. I didn’t care about anything – not even myself. I hated myself for a very long time. I sank deeper and deeper until she told me she was done sinking with me, that I’d never change. That was my breaking point. I opened up to a couple of people about what happened. I stopped the drinking and gambling and began to realize the gravity of the situation I had put myself in. I worked on myself for my own sake because I realized I had lost everything.

I worked on myself for my own sake because I realized I had lost everything.

3Magnification

My brother was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder about 10 years ago. He’s 35, lives with our father, he’s dependent, unemployed, doesn’t really leave the house at all unless to go to therapy because he has a lot of issues with social anxiety, all his groceries and meds are brought to him. I know it’s not an ideal situation but I have no control over his treatment. He’s pretty well enabled to just watch movies and smoke cigarettes all day.

2No Distortion

Back in 6th grade, my best friend and I (both guys) would mess around and play truth or dare. We would always end up doing sexual things to each other. We didn’t tell anyone except one more guy who we played the game with once. In 8th grade I stopped playing, because I wanted to force myself to be attracted to girls. I am now in 12th grade, and I still do not get sexually aroused by girls. However, more bothering than that, I do get aroused by younger boys. I don’t know if it is because of my middle school experiences or what, but I don’t know how to change. I started hanging around a freshman boy at the start of the year, and we have done a few sexual things. I don’t think he is gay, but then again nobody would think I kinda am either. I have lots of friends, play sports and have had girlfriends like any other high school guy. I hang out with the “popular” people in my grade, and my future looks pretty good if it wasn’t for this gay/pedo problem. I look at other people classified as pedophiles, and I do not fit the category at all, except I have the same feelings towards boys. I will never kidnap or rape a kid, that’s for sure. But I want this weird arousal to go away, and I need to be attracted to girls. Any help would be very appreciated! This has been a very big problem for me and if you could please just give even a little advice it would mean a lot! (age 17, from US)

But I want this weird arousal to go away, and I need to be attracted to girls.

6Should statements

My mom and dad recently got divorced. I have one sister who is 19 and lives 2 hours away at college and they told us together in January when we were visiting her that they were getting a divorce. I am fine with that my sister didn’t speak to our family for a month or two and this march I thought my mom was up to something and I told my dad my suspicions and he tried to dismiss them but I couldn’t let it go so I dug around a bit. I suspected she had cheated on my dad and was still with this guy. I drove by my mom’s house one night and saw a random car there around midnight, and it was still there at 5 AM the next morning. I noticed this about 6 other times. I hid a voice recorder in my mom’s house and played it back and I heard things no child should hear. His name is Rick and he is getting divorced too and he and my mom are in a relationship. That and a few unmentionable things are what I learned from the recording. I told my dad and he said he found out earlier in the year from a PI he hired and when they signed the divorce document my mom told him everything. He told me what he knew and my mom has been seeing this guy for 10 years and she isn’t planning on telling my sister or I, nor does anyone on my mom’s side of the family know… they never will. SO basically, my mom doesn’t know I know and my dad only disses my mom with me and I don’t show anyone how bad it hurts me. I can’t tell my sister because she would literally leave my family and it’s not my place to tell her, but secretly I wish she had gone through it too so someone could feel the pain I feel and so I could have someone to talk to, I know that’s awful. My dad can’t see it hurts because I have to be there for him. This divorce broke him and he has become my bff through it and I can’t be weak I have to be strong for him. I can’t stand my mom now that I know the truth. She lies about EVERYTHING and its so easy to see the truth. I think my sister has the “ignorance is bliss mindset” but I get in moods where I flip out and cry because of this and have Panic attacks. Please Help. There is still alot more I feel but only so many words are allowed. I have all ot these bottled up feelings and I have to be strong around everyone and im tired or being strong. I’m just so tired.. life is so tiring I cry at the slightest thing and this is affecting all of my relationships and im constantly sad and mad but I try so hard to never show it. (From the USA)

I’m just so tired.. life is so tiring I cry at the slightest thing and this is affecting all of my relationships and im constantly sad and mad but I try so hard to never show it.

3Magnification

Ever since the start of my sophomore year, I have slowly drifted away from my friends and classmates. It is to the point that we do not even say “hi” in the hallways anymore. I am unable to find the motivation to talk to others and often have periods of sadness. This loneliness has been going on for months. I only talk to people when I am forced to, such as class group assignments or extracurricular activities. There is only one person that I am willing to talk to — my boyfriend.

2No Distortion

Hi, I am a 14 year old girl, and I think I may have a problem. It all revolves around my father. When my mother was eight months pregnant, she discovered that my father was cheating on her, and the other woman was pregnant too. My mother gave birth to me and asked him to come back, but he decided to remain with the other woman and marry her. After that, my mother married my second father, who was a drunkard.

2No Distortion

When people honk their horns I think they are honking at me. I scream at people for teasing me. I assume people want me dead when they give me criticism. I sent a nasty email after being dissed by a coworker. I said that a football teammate is my least favorite team mate because he made fun of me in front of my teammates. I am currently in treatment and the only thing that changed is my blood pressure levels which changed for the better. I walk on eggshells around my coworkers even though they personally never harmed me. I wanted to tell a scammer who was trying to scam me to go screw herself after I found out that someone was trying to scam me. I was bullied as a child and in my teenage years and that is giving me a lot of problems.

I assume people want me dead when they give me criticism. I was bullied as a child and in my teenage years and that is giving me a lot of problems.

8Mind Reading

My girlfriend seems to always have something wrong with her. As soon as one thing stops hurting, the next day something else hurts. 4 months ago she started getting very queasy when she ate anything, and would vomit it up, eventually. She was only able to keep food down once a week or so. It got worse, where she couldn’t hold down water even. She stopped eating altogether. 5 trips to the emergency room only resulted in treatment for dehydration and instructions to feed her light or clear food. She still couldn’t eat. She’s lost 85 lbs. (She’s overweight to start with, but still unhealthy). We got a hospital to admit her, but nothing physically is wrong. But now she has become paranoid and psychotic, she’s sure everyone is plotting against her, even myself and her daughter. She’s been in the hospital 14 days now, transferred to the psych ward, and is on a hold for at least 2 more weeks. What’s happening? How did it get to this? Her physical symptoms seem to have gone away, maybe, but the psychosis is scary.

2No Distortion

My mum and dad divorced when I was around 9, and for years he took it all out on me and did things like starve me, hold me to the ground and lock me in my room for days. I don’t see him anymore, and I still feel guilty. I feel as though I could have stayed there longer, could have been less prideful and tried harder.

I don’t see him anymore, and I still feel guilty. I feel as though I could have stayed there longer, could have been less prideful and tried harder.

5Personalization

I have bipolar disorder and have been on treatment for 9 years. I have recently switched mood stabilizers (doctor’s orders) and I am also going back to college to get my bachelor’s degree at the age of thirty. Between the daily stress with the kids and running a household and the stress of a major life change, my husband is taking every good mood as a sign of mania. He is hyper-vigilant for it, which is great that he cares so much. He is, however, also driving me nuts. The thing is, I myself am not sure when I need to seek help for a manic episode. My episodes tend to be very mild and rather rare. So how do I know that it has gotten bad enough that I need a doctor’s help now as opposed to waiting a day or two till I can talk to my therapist? Anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

2No Distortion

I’ve been diagnosed with psychosis since birth and depression/anxiety. I was in a mental hospital twice for suicide, and i’ve gotten treatment but i stopped and also gave up on therapy. In replacement, i was given herbal chinese medication which seemed to make me much happier yet very angry and sometimes very suicidal. I used to have really bad delusions and believed i had to kill everyone or be killed, confusing reality with made up memories etc and i would become very depressed and emotional but now i just don’t care. i have no interest in things i used to really love, although i dont feel sad. I twitch alot and stare at things for hours and i still repeat conversations out loud, and i noticed i have suddenly forget ppl or cant make out whats in an image like i cant recogize it, same with some words and letters. I’ve had hallucinations since i was young and none of this was weird to me until i was put on meds. Do i have schizophrenia? Do i still have depression or psychosis even tho the herbal doc said i was cured?

2No Distortion