I've decided to stop therapy

DX'd - Other
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…because it is not necessary for me really. I’m doing well now on my meds and if I have stress or symptoms, the meds take care of me better, and hubby and my sister are there to comfort me .

The therapist I’ve been seeing only can see me on Fridays between 12-3pm and it’s inconvenient for me because I drive my hubby to mosque that afternoon. I would only be able to see her in the 2-3pm slot but it means I have to rush 20km to the hospital outpatients to see her immediately we leave mosque. And on Fridays I’m just wanting to relax for weekend.

Also I don’t seem to take it seriously. I haven’t kept up all my appointments and sitting there for an hour answering difficult questions about how this or that makes me feel is not enjoyable but frustrating.

If I want to talk, I talk to hubby or my sis or my pdoc. And of course I talk on here. I love you guys! You’ve made my last nine years with sza much easier. Thank you :hugs::hugs::hugs:

I’m seeing my pdoc on Wednesday and expect med changes as he mentioned last time. Any news I shall share later in the week…

:sunflower::sunflower::sunflower:

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Keep taking the meds as prescribed though !

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Yes sure thing or else the pdoc will be on my case lol!

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Well my 2 cents, if I’m allowed… therapy is not supposed to be fun. It is meant to help you rewire the brain and/or deal with past trauma.
Judging by what you write here when unwell, I think you really need therapy, but I’m not an expert. I just think there is a strong psychological factor in your illness, besides the obvious sz symptoms. Maybe something like bpd, but again I’m no authority on the matter. It’s your therapist’s job to find out which buttons to push and how. Give it more time…

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To be fair, therapy doesn’t work so well for schizophrenia or even other psychotic disorders like bipolar.
My therapist boosts my confidence but other than that therapy is not helping me so much.

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Therapy doesn’t help me. I’m required to do it once a month because I’m seeing the psychiatrist.

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It worked so poorly for me that I start tapering off of APs tomorrow at my pdocs direction.

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My hallucinations give me great therapy.

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Only for people that don’t put in work and expect therapy to be a magic bullet.

Therapy is work. It’s putting what is learned into action and growing.

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What I don’t understand is if I can put work through therapy why can’t I also put work on my own? For me doing what a therapist ask me to do or doing what I want to do, which the same btw, are the same. It did not help me that I am being given orders by someone else than myself. Thats why I quit therapy. Another reason is that therapists don’t seem to understand me and sz, they blame me for all my problems and for failing what they want me to do like exercising. I failed on my own and I failed with therapy. No difference.

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Its like if therapist ls refuse that I have sz and that I am sick.

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I don’t know, why can’t you?

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You know why but I don’t want to get suspended. The DSMV recognizes sz negative symptoms and that there is no treatment for them especially if they are severe.

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My therapists haven’t given me orders. They have helped me see my problems from a perspective other than my own and then offered different strategies for coping with them. Some have worked very well and some haven’t. It can be humbling to see yourself as others see you, I’ll tell you that.

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It’s always the same argument. And the same topic. We know. We get it.

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Can you give me examples? My last therapist gave me tasks to do like walking outside, reading, etc Then she said she will increase difficulty later. I failed the first step just like I failed on my own.

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I told my therapist I had trouble exercising inside in the winter and would wind up sitting on the couch and playing video games. She showed me trailers for Beat Saber and Supernatural on Youtube. Told me that I could play video games AND exercise if I used VR. Now I do daily exercise that I look forward to no matter how sucky my negs are. She took something she knew I could do despite negs and helped me combine it with something negs were blocking me from getting started on (daily exercise).

I couldn’t deal with confrontation well when I started in insurance. Therapy helped me learn the skills I needed to be able to call clients and collect overdue accounts. I can take getting yelled at and keep rolling now. Doesn’t wind up my positive symptoms like it used to.

CBT changed how I handled positive symptoms. They caused me less stress. Less stress meant I functioned with fewer meds. Fewer meds meant I had more energy and mental clarity which again helped me deal even more effectively with my positive symptoms. I could reduce meds even more, going down to a maintenance dose. Removing the excess med sedation makes it easier to push back against negative symptoms.

Therapy – which I used to sneer at – has turned into my secret weapon. Just wish I’d had a better attitude about it sooner. Wasted a decade that I didn’t need to.

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I dunno @anon67051439, I think you’re a pretty smart person, and I believe that characteristic sometimes gets in your way (as do my own brains sometimes).

It seems like you’ve done a ton of research and have come to the conclusion that because medical texts typically paint negative symptoms a certain way that you’ve almost thrown in the towel because it’s been said that negatives can be extremely difficult to deal with.

You’re feeling pretty defeated by what you’re experiencing, and medical studies kinda back you up on that sentiment— almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Negatives suck. Like, seriously suck.

But you have a chance while you’re still young to try and get back on the proverbial horse.

Ease into things without much expectation, and you might just be amazed at how much you can accomplish.

From your posts, it seems like you take an “all or nothing approach” to your recovery. You’ve set the initial bar a little high in my opinion by lamenting the loss of your functioning pre-SZ.

And in doing so, you’ve convinced yourself that if you can’t function at the same levels you were at pre-SZ that you must not be able to function well at all.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say.

If you lower your expectations at the start of your journey and focus on the positives that you’re able to achieve every day, you’ll reach a place where you’ll feel better and closer to who you once were.

…Maybe like Aziz 2.0.

Acceptance of our circumstances isn’t easy, but coming to terms with this illness and being kind to yourself can do wonders.

Believe in yourself and best of luck :sunny:

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Therapists are there to give you advice. Not actually make you do the work. If you aren’t willing to try what they suggest, then yes, seeing a therapist is a complete waste of time. @shutterbug and @anon4362788 find them helpful because they listen to them and try what they suggest. Really no amount of advice is useful, unless the person is willing to listen and take their advice.

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Mine didn’t do that but she suggested I start with the easiest stuff like walking outside, reading, etc I can’t follow routine. I failed at what she wanted me to do then she said she can’t help me and never called me back. I thought about buying VR to exercise but I know myself I will just use it once then lose motivation and end up not using it anymore. Thats what happened when I got a recumbent bike and a Wii and PC video games. But with PC video games I can play with a friend but not on my own, playing with a friend and having friends helped me. We play an hour everyday.