It’s pretty evident after just a few weeks observing to notice to recognize to acknowledge that meds are discussed many times more often than psychotherapy. That’s no surprise to me; the same thing happens in the physical world.
But my own “recovery” experience (to the extent I have “recovered”) has made it way clear to me that while meds were crucial to yank me out of the autonomic imbalance that made “life” a living hell for almost three years (elapsed time of severe symptoms) across nine years in the '90s and early '00s, psychotherapy is pretty clearly what got me as “well” as I am now.
The meds “stabilized” my moods and doused the worst of manic impulsivity and delusional thinking, but they made me pretty dull, confused and socially incompetent. I did several contemplation / consideration, identification / acceptance and skills training groups in the early '00s, and they helped plenty.
Then I got back into AA and their 12 Steps, and that helped a lot. Then I got into deep insight work and personality analysis, and those produced results. Then I got into the mindfulness-based cognitive therapies (like MBSR, MBCT, MBBT, ACT and DBT), and they really made a difference.
Now I do a lot of Eastern spiritual stuff, especially Gurdjieff- and Krishnamurti-style “self-remembering” and “choiceless awareness.”
I still take a (very low) dose of Seroquel quetiapine to keep a lid on the manic impulsivity that’s still there, but my ability to navigate the roiling seas of life on life’s terms is better than it’s ever been in my entire life.
Are there others here who have done well with psychotherapy + meds?
“The whole illusion has its history in ways of thinking – in the images, models, myths, and language systems we have used for thousands of years to make sense of the world. These have had an effect our perceptions which seems to be strictly hypnotic. It is largely by talking that hypnotist produces illusions and strange behavioral changes in his subjects… The stage magician, too, performs most of his illusions by [distractive] patter and misdirection of attention. Hypnotic illusions can be vividly sensuous and real to the subject, even after he has come out of the so-called ‘hypnotic trance.’”
Which is why reality-reorienting psychotherapy was necessary for me, anyway.
I always thought of psychotherapy as seeing a psychiatrist once or twice a week. I never benefitted from that. I’m not the type who does well in that kind of therapy. I am kinda’ interested in DBT, though. Some of the things you mentioned might help me.
I don’t have the money to see a therapist in addition to a pdoc. My insurance kinda sucks. High copays and such. I choose a pdoc over a therapist because I can’t function without meds, but CAN function without therapy. In an ideal world (which we do not live in), I would have both.
Seeing an MD psychiatrist is usually 1) way too expensive, and 2) not all that productive because they are essentially medicators who know relatively little about the modern psychotherapies. That said, psychotherapists can be expensive as well (tho usually far less so than MDs). SO. What to do?
I can tell you this: I pretty much did it by seeing a therapist for a short period to get oriented to an approach… and then found the Guildford Press or New Harbingerworkbooks (on amazon.com for the most part) for that particular psychotherapy. There must be hundreds of them. I have now done about 30, using various (though similar) approaches for bipolar, anxiety, depression and PTSD.
If you’re interested, write back, tell me which of those four dx’s are bothering you, and I’ll turn you on to the better ones.
I did a year of Psychotherapy alone for one year, while I wouldn’t recommend it, it did prepare me for Psychotherapy + Medication, which is something I recommend to anyone stable enough to benefit.
I presently receive Medication + Psychotherapy every 6 weeks both of which I get from the same MD.