Wednesday, November 18, 2015

"What is something that most people think they are alone in experiencing/feeling/thinking?"

Top voted answers from Therapists/psychiatrists of reddit:
Two things I've come across a lot:
1)Not caring deeply for family members. Especially for their children. They expect this instinct to kick in at some point where they'll feel fiercely protective, but it never happens.
2)Feeling "imposter syndrome", which is basically a feeling that you don't belong somewhere (work or school), that you're not capable, and soon everyone will figure out that you got there on a fluke and kick you out.
Feeling "crazy". I would say the majority of my clients at some point ask if they are crazy. It's sad that mental illness is seen as black and white, sane or crazy, and not a continuum that can ebb and flow over time.
Seeing shadows, figures, or other things or hearing murmurs, voices, or similar, during the half-asleep-half-awake state are not schizophrenic hallucinations. It's an in-between dream state and does not mean you have schizophrenia. It's normal.                           Also: sudden, unwelcome, sometimes even violent, thoughts that pop into your head are also normal and not indicative of psychopathology or sexual perversion. They're intrusive thoughts and as long as you don't think you're going to act on them, there's no reason to worry about them. The more you attend to them and perseverate on them, the more they're going to bother you. Like the pink polka dot elephant. 
Teenagers who think they are "special" and "mature for their age". It's almost all of them. Its kinda funny, actually.

9 comments:

bagoh20 said...

Unfortunately, I also feel "mature" for my age.

ricpic said...

When I go to bed the house starts making scary sounds. It's a conspiracy against my peace of mind!

bagoh20 said...

I hear cell phone noises when there are no cell phones around - ghost phones.

Chip Ahoy said...

The shrink came up with two great ones.

deborah said...

I have lots of hang-ups, but never think they are unique to me.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

The thought that nobody else can read my thoughts gives me a very lonely feeling... I'm never going to be an the Amazon best seller ;)

Methadras said...

That I have some awesome secret super power and I'm waiting for the right catalyst to unlock it and it never happens.

edutcher said...

On occasion, I've had the impostor thing, although I understand where it comes from.

Teenagers who think they are "special" and "mature for their age". It's almost all of them.

When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Mark Twain

bagoh20 said...

Unfortunately, I also feel "mature" for my age.

If you're lucky, it will pass.

And the pink polka dot elephant is real, so there.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

But I am nuts.