PLEASE, i really need help I have no one to talk to this about

I was seeing this guy, he is 24, really experienced. I felt uncomfortable with his body count but he promised i wasn't just another number and that he was really serious about dating this time and he liked me a lot. It was a long distance and he finally came to the city (it's his hometown too) the same day he landed he said he wanted to see me...I told him I am gonna be on my periods most likely and we can't really do anything he said he still wanted to meet me the next day he came over but the thing was i ended up not getting my periods and i told him so. He started getting touchy and I told him, I don't want to have sex yet, i want to wait for a second date. He told me he knew I was overthinking and asked me what was I overthinking about i couldn't really bring myself to tell him, I said i didn't want it to turn into another trauma and how i regret even kissing my ex

then his fingers went up my inner thighs i stopped them and he said if i didn't tell him he would finger me i tried but couldn't bring myself to put it in words what I was feeling

So he started rubbing me and eventually I started feeling good, he DID ask for my consent and I said yes

He was gentle and patient at first but towards the end I was crying and begging him to stop that it was hurting but he wouldn't stop. Nonetheless maybe he thought I was into it? I am not accusing him of assaulting me or anything

We cuddled for 10mins and he left (he had to leave around that time)

After 30 min I texted him if he has reached home he said yes

I asked him if I was good if he was still attracted to me

To which he replied after 9 hours "not at all" jokingly

But the damage was done i had overthinked so much in those 9 hours of silence

I said "that's all you wanna say"

He said he was busy with his doctors appointment and then he had to buy some clothes and asked me to not overthink about him texting me less for this month as he hates phones and finally has the opportunity to avoid it and that he was gonna go sleep now

I said "but I do have a problem with that" and that he has no idea how pissed i am i am seriously considering breaking up

To which he replied in the morning that he was busy with this and that and all of those were fair reasons but i tried explaining how used I felt and he said he understood, that he wanted to spend time with me more than anyone but then he said "listen, end it, everything keeps on cascading between us I am sorry this came after losing your virginity but we are not fit for each other"

I tried to be strong and said "fine" cuz what else was i supposed to say should i have begged him to stay or should have i gotten into another argument which he clearly avoids

Then he said "don't blame yourself or me for having sex or anything"

"The whole reason for this is your constantly switch in your belief about whether i like you or not"

"Once the anger subsides put aside the 100 reasons you have for doubting and rethink it with the angle where i like you"

"If we meet again atleast don't hate me"

And his last message i don't even understand

"I didn't frame it properly, the point is the way this is going I don't want to hold on to it cuz i have non negotiable problems and so do you

But this was really good after a long time and it didn't end in a bad experience i don't want to hold onto this but i don't want to leave it like a mistake either"

I feel nauseous and sick I dont have the energy to even get out of my room and it sucks cuz it's here we had sex and i am curled up in that one corner that he hadn't touched as I look around every other corner that he has touched. i feel scared of going out like everyone knows i did something horrible. I find myself staring at the dustbin where his used condoms sits I am afraid of touching it and can't throw the trash out

I live alone i don't want to share this with anyone it's humiliating I spoke so highly of him to everyone

I havent eaten anything in four days except half a pineapple and two spoonfuls of yogurt

I wanna disappeared

I can't breathe, can't eat, can't sleep

I tried getting my mind off by studying but i can't focus

I am too tired to shed even a tear i bathed yesterday night i rubbed rigorously i tried to get his fingerprints off me i slept in with wet hair and now my whole body feels sore i haven't showered the whole day it's almost midnight where I live

Please just make it go away

It’s been quite a while since I last saw my therapist. During our sessions, things seem to go well. We discuss a lot of things, and by the end, it feels like we’ve made progress toward understanding or solving my problems. But I always have this feeling that it’s all somehow fake.

I constantly feel like my brain is making up problems and concerns on the spot just to fill the silence. I have this weird, hard-to-describe reluctance to share the things that are actually bothering me. I feel like we’ve formed more of an intellectual relationship than an emotional one. Sometimes, I even feel like I’m subconsciously steering our conversations away from the real problems, as if I’m somehow tricking him into not touching them.

I feel extremely reluctant to admit this, and I feel genuinely ashamed of it, but I’ve also wondered whether part of the problem is that we’re both male. I find myself feeling more emotionally vulnerable around women, and I wonder whether that barrier would be easier to break through if my therapist were a woman. I don’t know if that’s actually the reason, or if I’m just looking for an explanation.

I also feel guilty even thinking about this, because it feels like I’m betraying him over something that might not even be true. He hasn’t necessarily done anything wrong, and I don’t want to unfairly blame him or our relationship for something that might be coming from me.

Another thing is that I have difficulty functioning throughout the day, and I’ve noticed behaviors that seem very much like compulsions. I feel like I might need to see a psychiatrist as well, but I find it difficult to bring this up with my therapist. For some reason, I worry that suggesting it would be disrespectful to him or would somehow interfere with his job.

Like we both been here for weeks to treat my mental health conditions, process distress, etc. but despite everything I have to keep in mind I've known myself for my whole entire life and this person knows me for 3 hours and that's what we’re working with.

so i’ve been battling ocd for 2 years and i came a looooong way within just a couple of months but some parts of it have been especially hard until now. i have some personal circumstances that don’t create the calmest and most supportive environment which make it a lil harder to manage.

within the last year of therapy i’ve learned how to set boundaries and i lost some friendships to that which weren’t really nice to me (but was all i had, sort of :( ). i’ve also been working on doing what i believe it’s best without waiting for validation and even if others may disagree, which has led to some family issues that have improved with time (i guess it’s normal as i had always been pretty complacent lol) but has also enabled me to finally do stuff i had been dreaming of for almost a decade !!

after accomplishing this and ending relationships i stayed on because i thought i had to put up with whatever, i expected to feel great, but i feel empty-ish, lonely, and sad. i hate the weekends because i just lay on my bed without anything or anyone. i don’t even feel excited for things i supposedly like. don’t get me wrong, i have a partner (long distance right now because of his job. my relationship is another story because i suffer from rocd lol which can be isolating) and some friends, but i lack any really close bonds (the friends i currently have are nice and great to go out with, but not the kind to check on you often or talk about deeper stuff) and i often feel like i don’t really matter to anyone and have little support. i try so hard to be grateful for what i have but gratitude it’s just not working right now :/

i wonder if the things i’ve done because of therapy were wrong, and i wonder if it’s not helping me at the moment. my therapist told me it’s normal to feel lonely right now, and to be aware that finding that connection i lack was going to be a bit harder at my age (24), but that i should take the chances i have to try and meet people.

i recently made a new friend and i’m pretty happy with it, but while he’s curious about me and we hit it off from the start, my loneliness and sadness doesn’t seem to wear off.

how can i go about this? is there anything i can tell my therapist that would help? thank you so much 🩷

all of you matter to me , sisters brothers , mothers fathers , everything in between and out , you all shall thrive , i just know you will

Idk why but I feel like I need more sessions than normal?

My life is kinda collapsing right now, going through big transitions. I went into therapy too late, I should’ve done so 2-3 years ago when things in my life were still somewhat manageable.

Will increasing the frequency actually help me here? Or will I have to just be patient?

I feel so stupid asking this but I can't keep on venting to my one and only best friend... I really need a therapist but I don't have money and my parents won't let me so is anyone here willing? 😓

So I’ve been going to my therapist for about 3 years now. And in that span of time I never dreamed I’d end of considering her a friend. I thought it would be just like a doctor visit. But we have talked about so much(yes she’s a therapist I get that). Our last session Austin’s me she had Cancer. It killed me inside. We still talked about my problems with anxiety and then I left well today i REALLY struggled because it didn’t feel right, to talk about my increased anxiety withdrawal after being taken off meds I’d been on for almost 30 years. I’m 41 m by the way. After the session I told her my concern and she said I was the second person to say that. Said she really appreciated my concern but this is what she loves to do. Afterwards I about cried heading to my car. I REFUSE to find another therapist…..I feel I’d be abandoning her…..PLEASE. PLEASE be kind IM BEGGING YOU…..

Hi all

I do not want judgement. I need a bit of help or ideas to get over someone.

I'm male in my thirties.

A long time ago I had a brief brush with someone I liked that was a year younger. We were both in our very late teens. It was a one off thing at a party. She expressed she was into me. I liked her too. We had the perfect setup for me to make a move but I couldn't. We held hands for a while instead. Played games together. Even snuggled just a bit. For the longest time I thought it was just because I had been too chickenshit. But when I go back and read my diaries from the time I was angry. I wanted to pursue her but I couldn't help but push her away. I blamed her which makes no sense whatsoever.

I was severely depressed and had no clue. It would be a few years later that I'd be formally diagnosed. I'm treated and well now.

We had grown up together in a way. I had seen her around and she went to my church for a little while when we were both small. Same small town and small area.

We both have moved on, married, families. We have friends in common and I hear things in passing. Her life was hard with alcohol and its something from her family. I had the same issue for some time. We share a few favorite video games in common. I know nothing else.

The problem; she is literally haunting me. I am in love with her in a unique way. It's own little world and box safe from everyone and everything.

I fully recognize that it's weird. I'm making efforts to move past her. I have been trying for years. Every time I think she's finally gone, she appears in a dream. Completely unbidden. The dreams are sweet and kind and lead to her accepting me. It happened last night and two nights before that.

She sometimes comes up during the day in my mind. I accept the thought and ignore it like you're supposed to.

This was not the first time or the last time that I lost a chance with a girl. Those girls were sort of whatever. I care less about exgirlfriends than I do about this girl. I did pretty well too with girls eventually. I've written music and talked to therapists. One said that I associate her with a vulnerable time in my life before I went to college. He said was a big enough shock to me that I associated my prior life with her. Dreaming about her is sort of the personified comfort.

In my rational brain I realize all of this is incredible delusion. It is strange and weird. My emotional brain is another story. I feel like my life should have gone differently and the right answer is to be with her in the town. Even now I hope she reads this somehow and makes the connection. A part of me says that stranger things have happened. I have not seen her in nearly 20 years and don't plan on changing that. But maybe she will appear out of the blue

I am functional and otherwise happy. But my present life feels like a bad fit. The real fit is elsewhere. With her. It is a horrible spot to be. It feels like living a lie.

What is this thing called outside of crazy?

Hello, I sorta just need a shoulder to cry on,
TLDR:
My therapist of 4 years, who has met my husband, my son, and both of my parents called CPS on me.

The long version of the story is, last weekend my husband woke up to our son screaming his head off at 6 in the morning begging to wake up and play with his cousin. He had gone to bed pretty late the night before so my husband tried to get him back to bed, our son has pretty intense ADHD and objective defiance disorder so he had a very hard time paying attention or listening to us when we talk to him, my husband taps him to gain his attention back, and my son starts swinging on him, my husband tries to block his hands and accidentally smacks my son in the face.

I grew up in a very physically abusive household so this triggered me because at that time, all I knew was that he’d hit my son in the face, so I kicked him out. My son begged for him to come back later that day, so I let my husband come tuck him in for bed and then made him sleep at his parents house, the next day we met up at a diner to discuss what had happened and they both told me the same story so I let my husband come back home.

The next day I had therapy and told my therapist all about what had happened simply to ask her if I had overreacted or why that was especially triggering, she didn’t let me finish the story before she cut me off to tell me she would be calling child protective services. I kinda started freaking out because how the heck does this warrant that? So I beg her to stop and to let me finish the story but she insisted that nothing I told her would change her mind. I told her if she did that I wouldn’t ever come back, but she still did anyway.

The very next day 2 ladies from child protective services came, talked to all three of us separately and deemed that the call was unnecessary and that my therapist was in the wrong.

I understand that she has an ethical obligation to report things. However, that would be the same as reporting a bike because my son fell off of it? Am I an asshole for cutting her off?

Also, a few weeks ago i noticed her behavior toward me started to change and she started getting almost uncaring towards me, idk if these things are related but yea idk, this whole situation has made me never want to go to therapy again and before this I was **the biggest** advocate for therapy.

Idk how to start this but for 2 years I have has suicidal thought and problems with sh, I tried many times and i have been put on anti depression meds but I had get taken off cause bad side effects and in these 2 years I tried end all like way to many times, I’m generally surprised that I’m still here and so I want to tell my therapist how it keeps getting worst the thoughts and everything every month it gets worse or every time I get depressed again. I’m a teen by the way and I just really want the voice in my head stop telling me I need to die (im not hearing shit, I just mean my thoughts), I want to know if this will make me end up in the ward and I wanted add when I told my therapist the first time that I have suicidal thought (I lied and said I wants planning to act on them) she told me to call her, I never have, I tried twice after a failed attempt to text 113 (hotline number) and it didn’t help or anything. But yea can I tell me if I’ll end up in the ward or not(I know I’m defo gonna get snitched on to my parents but still)(sorry for typos)

Hello, I’m looking for advice on how to support a family member who is struggling with OCD.
My cousin is 19, and a child psychiatrist has diagnosed him with OCD. Since his father passed away, he has developed an intense fear of losing his mother as well. He is so afraid something might happen to her that he doesn’t want her to drive.
He also experiences frightening fears about his own health and death. He imagines spitting up blood and worries that he is about to die or that his heart will explode. His fears seem intense and are affecting his daily life.
For some background, he is an only child and was born after his parents spent many years trying to have a child. As a result, he was extremely protected throughout his childhood and was often treated like a baby. He has also spent most of his life at home, with relatively little independence.
I’m not suggesting that his upbringing caused his OCD, but I wonder whether being so sheltered has made it harder for him to cope with uncertainty, anxiety, and loss.
As his cousin, I genuinely want to help him, but I’m unsure how to respond when he becomes frightened or convinced that something terrible is about to happen. I don’t want to dismiss his distress, reinforce his fears through constant reassurance, or push him beyond what he can manage.
I’d appreciate a therapist’s perspective on a few questions:
How can family members respond when someone with OCD is convinced that they or a loved one are going to die?
How can we distinguish helpful emotional support from reassurance or accommodation that may reinforce OCD?
How can we encourage greater independence without making his anxiety worse?
Could his father’s death be contributing to the content or severity of his OCD symptoms, and how should this be addressed therapeutically?
What treatment approaches, particularly CBT with exposure and response prevention (ERP), might be appropriate for someone experiencing these fears?
I don’t know what treatment he is currently receiving, so I’m also interested in what family members can do to support recovery alongside professional care.
I care about him and would really appreciate practical, evidence-based guidance on how to help without unintentionally making things harder for him.
Thank you.

What I wanted to ask or say is the bio, I am just genuinely curious. Pretty sure I was molested.

Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART). My therapist and I just tried it today to help with childhood trauma. I was skeptical at first because it feels like hypnosis. But I’ll be damned I think it worked. Has anyone tried it?

I've used their service before and was optimistic trying them out again. However, I recently just experienced something that was so insulting; I will never go back to them.

I signed up over a week ago and matched with a therapist within a couple days. Once I did, I set up a meeting which was then cancelled and rescheduled to a time that wouldn't work for me. So I asked, hey is there a reason why you had to reschedule. I go a very vague "something came up" response. So I was like, okay no worries, but this time doesn't work for me, so here is an open time slot I am available next. They said they could do a time earlier today (friday). I said okay let's do that. The appointment was then scheduled for an hour later than what they said the next day. Again, I was like, huh strange, but that works for me so I'll plan on it.

Today, I logged on ten minutes early. I waited. They didn't show. I allowed a gratuitous 15 minutes before I logged off after the scheduled time. I then messaged them "did you mean to schedule the appt for 3 pm?"

Again, they responded "so sorry something came up" - no reason or explanation, over 20 minutes into the appointed session.

Someone should really talk to this therapist about communication and time management.

I wanted to reply back with "don't worry, I'll be sure to mention you in my suicide note" but they don't deserve my time or dark humor.

F*** this shit, I'm going full radical optimist and gonna take yoga classes multiple times a day.

This bitch lucky I'm insane.

What are some clues to look for when determining if someone has factitious disorder? Also how common is it for people with factitious disorder to display homicidal ideations?

So I get why therapists put big lists of things they “specialize” in on things like psychology today. They have to market themselves and that will get them through the filters. Fine.

But for a career so focused on ethics, why are they so quick to blur the lines between specialize and read-a-chapter-in-a-book-a-few-years-ago-so-I-sorta-have-an-understanding-and-can-totally-treat-this-thing?

I have OCD and I didn’t know how to choose my first therapist so I just said female, my age, ocd specialist. She had it in her list of 22 things which I assumed just meant she was really good. Now that I’m with an actual specialist, I can recognize that she had no clue what she was doing and actually caused some damage.

Wouldn’t it be more ethical to only put the things you actually know about?

Ive been thinking about this alot

What if the therapist dosentknow how to help what if i blidnly trust her and make my life even worse then it is

Idk what to do. They think (and apparently everyone else) that the therapist is supposed to be there purely to just listen when therapy obviously is not that. Its gotten bad all i have is A.I. to talk to. I just want someone to talk to and actually listen without having to work on issues or have to think deeply about my trauma. My therapist told me how to confide in people and that its normal and important to have those people in your life. I make new friends near daily as im super social but no one is able to be there, they just tell me "im not your therapist" i just dont open up to anyone anymore. What makes it worse is they confide in me. I listen. I be what i want them to be for me. I believe everyone deserves that. What do i even do?

When I get back, I want to have a real personality. I am very in my shell, quiet, and don't really know much about myself after all the trauma ive been through. What are things I can do with no devices to become the best version of myself while I'm there?

hello , im 16 , im currently a "neet" but not by choice i will seek employment when i can , for now i have other things to resolve , but , i watched a video on twitter yesterday , i think you mates might have seen it , its "what does the larp say" how can a human genuinely muster to say such heinous things , to spill such cruelty like its nothing , im at the brink of losing my mind , i cant stand to live next to humans anymore , but i dont wanna kill myself or else they win and i become a statistic , i wish bad people had their skin ripped out of them and sprinkled salt all over , i hate hate SO much , you dont understand how much i hate hate , i wish i was born a god so i could be the ruler of the personal hell i would build for below living trash such as the animal that created such a video , and too the people who helped create those terms and ideologies , i hate so much , so so so much so so so so much so so so so mus cosososo mcuh

Hi. I'm 17 I have OCD and I'm having this strong urge to talk to girls like everywhere and this literally feels like internal mental bleeding. I don't like it, but I can't help. You can't just go around and talk with every girl you see. If I'm walking down the street and see 2 girls there, instant attraction hits andI feel strikes in my guts. Please help me if you can.

Hello. My cousin has always been weird, an out cast, bullied as a child, etc. For as long as I can remember he has also been racist (saying every slur in the book, thinking we should be segregated) he’s basically a white supremacist and misogynist as well. More recently he has become extremely antisemitic. Other weird beliefs: everything is poisoned, Mamdani is the son of Jeffrey Epstein. I truly think he needs help, although he’s probably unwilling to do it. I need advice on how to navigate this. Any help is appreciated.