What's something that you discovered about yourself only after going to therapy?

That I have ADHD. Turns out depression and panic attacks were only side effects.

Codependency is self-destructive, not romantic.

Chronic Anxiety and chronic depression are very similar and tied to similar thought processes and self-fulfilling cycles.

You can't truly be there for others if you aren't there for yourself.

Perspective shifting between others and yourself is a powerful tool of understanding and affording yourself the benefits of the doubt that can be hard to muster sometimes.

That I have zero coping skills for stress at all. Not that therapy helped.

I learned that not having a stable home growing up means I never trust the safety or longevity of any living situation, therefore, I never get comfortable.

I really did think everythung through in the way that therapy primotes, and was on the right path emotionally as far as therapy goes so therapy wouldn't be a benefit. Therapist recommendsd that I should get checked out for a possible processing disorder and recommend a specialist.

After an initial misdiagnosis, ended up with an ADHD diagnosis and eventually the right meds!

Not really about myself but in general: "Not dwelling" on things doesn't mean ignoring them.

That I have difficulty establishing healthy boundaries and that it serves literally noone (myself or others) to fail to do so.

• That I indeed have OCD.
• That I indeed have a form of social anxiety/ agoraphobia.
• That some things from the past still worries me despite thinking it would not.
• I quickly get into negative thoughts and learnt how to slowly but steadily change that.
• That I was afraid of admitting that certain things from the past were indeed someone else’s fault and not my own (I never wanted to be the kind of person that point fingers to others).

And a couple of other things but these were the main ones.

I actually don't remember the details but there were a lot of hard pills to swallow mainly about taking responsibility for myself which often made me think "why do I have to go through this and others not?".

I discovered that I suck at participating in therapy. I tried so many therapists and never got anything out of it.

I discovered that I wasn’t having panic attacks. I was having seizures. Yay!

Not all of it was exactly because I went to therapy, but therapy opened the door to examining myself in a non-judgemental way. I started going because I thought I had adhd and wanted help with it, along with crippling social anxiety. When I started I thought I was a cishet man with adhd. After a while I realized I'm actually a bi trans woman with adhd and autism. Somewhat recently I've started to think I might also be aromantic, but I'm not really sure. On a more therapy note I also discovered just how profound the damage from my parents/upbringing was. I sometimes wish I could make them really understand how much they hurt me and how much it has held me back in life.

I'm actually a sane, nice person. I'm unhappy because I am dealing with people who aren't.

That literally never occurred to me. I thought I was the problem.

That I feel immense guilt about any time spent not being productive in some way and believed (wrongly) that you can always just plan and to-do list your way out of feeling crappy. I basically learned to forgive myself for needing time to recover from stuff.

I don't have a fear of change, but a fear of letting people I care about down.

And insane amounts of anxiety.

The amount of trauma AND DADDY AND MOMMY ISSUES I HAVE IS IMENSE

That I wasn't Zen about endings, I was just never allowing anyone close.

There isn't really anything I can do about my depression. It will be lifelong and a constant struggle to work against. Some people's baseline is just low.

I learned that my last therapist would rather talk at me and give me all the textbook talk and exercises rather than allow me to talk and tailor the therapy to my needs.

The therapist before that was alright and from him I learned I disassociated from a lot of childhood due to relatives dying (my sister, great grandparents, uncles, my dad), my dad leaving, moving to another country and eventually dying. I never cried as a child and only started expressing proper emotion after my daughter was born. I've also been cheated on in every major relationship I've had. My daughter's mother left me after cheating on me, I had to move out and not see my daughter daily,fell into a severe pit of depression after feeling I'd lost everything. I truly believe I'm the issue in every relationship, friend or otherwise, that I have. I talk with people, they seem nice and we get along then boom, ghosted. Every. Single. Time. I don't have anyone around me that really puts in the effort to reach out and make the effort to connect with me.

To be honest I feel like my problems don't seem nearly as bad as others which makes me feel like a fraud.

I may have went off track a tad here and my message feels severely fragmented. I'm sorry I'll see myself out

Wait, you people actually discover things at therapy? All I discovered, was what I already knew, but the therapist phrased it more eloquently, and confirmed it.

Not advice I could put into practice, and she said more than I could absorb...

That when breathing funny is a ptsd trigger, breathing exercises and meditation is a bad idea. Reciting memorized poetry helps more— the Raven did me wonders, Jabberwocky too.

Sorry it isn’t the kind of more generalized advice that applies to more people, but you asked what I discovered about myself, personally. You probably don’t have a ptsd trigger when focusing on your breathing— that probably helps you relax.

Not engaging with my narcboomerdad as a teen was the best defense I could have utilized and that I am actually sane.

And to everyone who shared, thanks for sharing.

That my family was crazy. I grew up in a crazy dynamic, looking back now, was like living in a strict dictatorship like North Korea, so I never questioned them.

That I didn't need therapy

Don't recall discovering anything, but maybe I did and then forgot it because my memory is terrible. I think I mostly just liked having someone to talk to.

That I don't have to believe every nonsense my brain comes up with

If I tell you I will get cancelled by the Karen wine single moms of Lemmy so better I won't, I will let you find it by yourself. Good luck 🤞✌️