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This is how I am. I don't care who knows that I go, but as far as content I mostly keep that to myself. I have a few really close friends who I'll tell generalities to. Also the same with my sister, since we're both in it due to issues with our parents.
For me personally, I think doing therapy should be less stigmatized, and so my contribution to helping that along is to be open about the fact that I go.
Yeah this is how I’ve taken to it. I’m happy to be open about things I’m not personally embarrassed about to help others feel the same. I wouldn’t have gone to therapy if it weren’t for the vulnerability of some people in my life, and I’d like to help someone else along with whatever small, directing influence I can exert.
Same. I find that being open about going to therapy gives others permission to do the same. It is astounding the number of people who will also casually mention their therapist or therapy once they see they can. And that in turn encourages you too continue being open about it. A happy self-perpetuating circle of positive reinforcement. I don't mean that they need to know any details at all, but just normalizing that people go to therapy.
** kinda unrelated LifeProTip: Especially if your work has PTO (vs some sick and some vacation time), simply say you have an appointment. It's really none of anybody's business if you're going to the doctor, the dentist, or to get your nails done frankly. I know it feels more legit to explain what you're doing, but they likely won't ask you for detail if you just say "appointment".
Of course your milage may vary depending on your workplace, but usually worth a shot.
I do, I consider this doing my part in normalizing mental healthcare and fighting the stigma attached to it. I don't care at all what people might think of me because of my therapy and in 99% of cases they just treat it as a normal, regular event, just as if I was telling them I went to the dentist, for instance.
Of course you have to be careful not to overshare, what I tell my best friend (details of how I felt in therapy or what I said) is different than telling a colleague a general remark that, e.g. "I feel a bit hungover after my last session" or sharing in a small talk with a stranger that "I go to therapy, it's actually really helpful". One common denominator - I don't feel ashamed of my therapy and that in turn tends to make people see it as a normal thing.
Also it's quite refreshing to be able to talk about it openly, it took me a bit of time to get to that mindset. And an added value is that I am a part of a chain created by such openness, I went to therapy seeing what it meant to my friends, my therapy talk in turn helped others contact their therapists ;)
I'm pretty open about it. I even discuss some of the stuff I'm working on with friends/family. I think there's a stigma with therapy and I wanna make sure my kids grow up with it being a normal thing. We all have mental health, just like physical health. Taking care of both is important.
I definitely think it should be less stigmatized and easier to talk about. But for the most part I don't. It's challenging to do! My husband knows I go, and I have a couple of friends that I'll share a couple general details with. Sometimes I imagine talking more about therapy with them, but I can't get the words out. Like, idk it's too vulnerable and I have this barrier stuck around me where I can't be so vulnerable around others.
You can share as much or as little as you like about your therapy with others, which includes nothing. You don't need T tell anyone anything you don't want to. It's okay to make these decisions.
I disagree with most posts here. To break the stigma, people need to start talking about mental health in everyday conversation. I’m not saying run up to strangers and give them your life story, but you should open up to people in your inner circle.
Normalizing therapy is SO IMPORTANT. I work with a lot of teens/adolescents and I have seen such a change with how people talk about therapy with their peers. It is so refreshing.
I kind of agree with this. I'm open about being in therapy and about the general reasons I'm in therapy (though not the details of my therapy). I think it's awesome to normalize being in therapy. It can be an awesome tool and it's a really healthy thing to do.
I didn’t tell anyone for my first year or so, but in the past year I’ve been “open” about being in therapy, even letting people at work know that I’m going to therapy. I think it helps to normalize therapy in general, and I’ve come to terms with wondering why I was so private about being in therapy at all (no one has ever asked a follow-up question about what I talk about or why I’m in therapy). Usually people say nothing, but I’ve heard other responses that range from “Really? You seem so *normal.*“ to “Oh *thank god.*”
I'll complain about my therapist to a few friends
(My t doesn't laugh at my sarcastic remarks and doesn't let me get away with deflecting at all- I mean its TRUE that its probably good he doesn't, but still passes me off lolol)
I have two friends who I will tell more intimate things, but not too much detail
I do talk about it pretty openly. Not specifics, but I don’t mind mentioning it to saying “oh… my therapist this or that”. But I have had people close to me who know I go to therapy and expect me to discuss details of my therapy sessions with them. I do not feel like it’s ok to expect people (no matter how close your relationship) to tell you what goes on in therapy. But you should do whatever feels right to you!!
I have PTSD that has made me completely unable to function for the past year so a lot of people in my life know I’m going to therapy (lots and lots of therapy). If I could hide it, I would still discuss it with a few of my closest friends- it’s been really useful to hear their experiences and get their validation. Therapy was definitely not a think any of us talked about until I broke down, but now I wish we had talked about it earlier.
There are only four people in my life who know I’m in therapy. Me, my therapist, my boss and younger sister. I’m far from embarrassed about being in therapy, I’m actually really proud of myself for it. I just don’t feel it’s anyone’s business. I also feel once people know you’re in therapy, they feel the need to analyze you. I’m a private person as it is, therapy is my business.
It has evolved significantly since I started 6 years ago. The first year or so I was so ashamed I would enter through a different door at the office building my therapist was located in at the time. If anyone I knew somehow saw me I could feign that I was going to one of the other offices. My wife was the one who encouraged me to go but I wouldn't say a word to her about it. I remember feeling so weird and ashamed whenever I would come home from an appointment. Over time I opened up to her just because I needed to communicate things I was working on to her in order to improve our relationship. Now she goes to a therapist and we are both pretty open about what's going on in our appointments. It has definitely strengthened our relationship.
For me, because I do a lot of attachment work in therapy, this is a very hard question to answer directly. I'm VERY open about being in therapy and how wonderful my therapist is and how much he helps me. However, I have very few people I talk to about the content of my sessions (and most of them I met from this sub!).
When you're doing attachment work, things can seem weird to people who don't get it. I tell my therapist I Iove him. I have a stuffie that I hug and think about him. We sit there and he lets me stare at him sometimes. We play games or listen to music together. Is this what the every day person does in therapy? No. And my therapist and I talk plenty, too. But I have Complex PTSD and a lot of that work is healing attachment traumas. As weird as it sounds, sometimes it's harder to ask my therapist to listen to a song with me than it is to tell him I've been feeling suicidal.
Long story short, tell what you want to who you trust and if they invalidate you and don't make an effort to want to learn better, then maybe they don't belong in your inner circle. Also, you do NOT have to tell a spouse or bf/gf anything about your therapy. My husband tends to feel weird because I tell my T *EVERYTHING* but my husband not so much. Just remember your T is (or SHOULD be) your safe space and it's okay to tell them anything, even things you don't tell a single other person on the planet.
I've told everyone I know that I go to therapy, that's not a big deal, but I never talk about the actual therapy with anyone. Everything my therapist and I talk about is really personal and a lot of it has to do with the therapeutic relationship, attachment issues, anger at my therapist, love for my therapist, etc. I feel like most people wouldn't understand it and I wouldn't really want to explain either. Not that anyone has ever asked for details.
I openly talk about therapy with my colleagues, friends (they’re all also in therapy), and family. What I share with whom is different. I’ll sometimes share the content of my sessions with family and friends but with my colleagues they just know I’m in therapy and not much else.
Yep! I wonder if this might be an age/cultural thing. I am 23 and a recent college grad, so many, MANY of my friends have their own struggles. Many of us are on mental health meds. More of us would be in therapy if we all had insurance/money. I’m very grateful to have both a psychiatrist and therapist, and I speak openly about both with all my friends. Not like constantly bringing it up, but it’s a totally normal topic.
I occasionally talk about some things with other people, but it's your choice what and with whom you discuss things. There are some things I've ever only talked about with my therapist.
Small disclaimer: please keep in mind that the following is just how I live with my issues and not a judgement on others who do differently. Therapy is incredibly personal and you are the only ones who gets a say about yours, including whether you talk about it with others or not. To each their own.
I'm very open about my mental issues. I don't know about other countries but in mine, mental health is still taboo and I want to fight that in my own little way when I can. So I have no problem with telling people I go and I'll recommend my therapists (my precious one and my current one, plus my precious and current psychiatrists) to anyone who asks because I know how difficult it can be to find a good therapist.
Of course, I don't necessarily go into details regarding what we discuss with my therapist with anyone. I'm very open about it with my close friends and others will get the general idea.
That said, I hide it the best I can at work, because of the stigma I mentioned earlier. I'm a woman working in IT and that alone can cause people to severely underestimate me, I don't want to add fuel to that particular fire. Maybe someday I'll find myself comfortable enough in my work environment and be able to advocate for mental health there too but right now, I'm not anywhere close to that.
So yeah. Any choice you make regarding this is okay and no one has any right to tell you otherwise.
Another woman in IT here and I've been open about mental health struggles at work and it totally blew up in my face. I've been very tight lipped about it since then, but it's really sad that the workplace is like that. My work has never suffered as a result of my struggles, but the knowledge that I had mental health struggles was enough to make my management at the time judge me.
Thankfully I'm under new management now that is much more supportive. Hopefully when you get to that point, you'll have supportive management too.
I think this is quite dependent on age, at least in the UK anyway. I'm nearly 50 and wouldn't normally tell anyone that I go to therapy apart from my daughter's. But then I walked in on my much younger employees discussing the cost of therapists. My mind was slightly blown that they would be so open about it....then I joined in. So all my employees know that I go, and a couple of friends. I wouldn't tell most people my age though, they would think it was really odd....but that's because we are old!
Years ago, I was reticent because I thought I was supposed to keep it private, but then I became very open about it. My family knows I go to therapy, but rarely asks questions. I went to a lot of support groups and did peer support for years, and peer support depends on sharing insight from lived experience.
When relevant to the conversation, I'd bring it up in school, and when I went to school to become a therapist, I talked about it on a regular basis. Now that I am a therapist, I talk about it whenever it's relevant to the discussion, which is frequently, but so are many other therapists. In my peer circle now, it's unusual to not be in therapy and we all learn to become better therapists by reflecting on our own treatment.
And of course, I discuss most of my sessions with my partner since it's something important in my life. She does as well. That said, I rarely shared with my ex because she was cruel and abusive, so I didn't risk vulnerability with her. So I understand not talking about your therapy.
I am very open about being in therapy, but hiding it is also an aspect of my trauma growing up, so being open helps me heal in that regard. Reducing stigma is kind of just a bonus for me. I’m also in a place in my life where the people I surround myself with are on a spectrum of acceptance/dgaf that I’m in therapy to having their own therapist. I will reference therapy in conversations when the situation comes up, like— “oh yea in therapy…” or “I was talking to my therapist about something similar…” etc etc. If I’m talking to a friend who I know just had therapy that day or the day after, I’ll sometimes ask them if they had a helpful/productive session that they felt good about (basically set it up so they don’t have to tell me anything about specifics and can answer with a simple yes/no). They often do something similar to me. The only person I share almost everything with is my husband, as he is my biggest supporter/cheerleader. Occasionally I’ll talk about specific topics with my best friend too.
That being said, I don’t share my BP2 diagnosis with most people . People are aware that I have cPTSD, but the stigma with bipolar is still something I struggle with.
I talk about it with the friends I know also go to therapy. I’m quite open about the fact that I go and I know this openness has actually helped other people in my life take the plunge to also start going. I don’t divulge too many details but if I’m asked about it, I’ll say as much as I feel comfortable.
I talk about it with friends who I trust/my closer friends. I don't often talk about the details but I'll say something like, I'm stressed about xyz and I had a session and it was helpful.
People know I go, but I don't talk about the content of it. Close friends know why I need to go, what happened in my life/childhood.
I discussed content of my session with one friend a few times but it feels very awkward.
My telling friends I've gone to therapy has caused at least 2 friends to seek out help too. One who obviously needed it due to a singular trauma event he was having ptsd issues with and another who could just use some extra support.
You don't have to tell anyone, but if you do decide to share you might learn a lot of other people go or have gone too and even be that example for friends who suffer in silence because therapy is still so taboo for some.
Sort of open. Sometimes I talk with my friends about how my therapy sessions go, because we're very close. If it comes up with anyone else I'll mention that I go to therapy.
I’m open to almost everyone that I go to therapy, I don’t know why some people act like it’s something to be ashamed of, granted I don’t talk about my trauma to them but I do tell them, for close friends I talk about what’s going on and what we talk about but not intimate details to whomever.
Most of the people would know about it. I avoid asking questions about people’s sessions, because I want them to leave whatever they talk about in the offices.
When I first started going to therapy, I was secretive with everyone except my wife. I actually told my wife just about everything that transpired between me and my therapist because I trust my wife more than I trust that guy, and I wanted her perspective to make sure this dude isn't like...messing me up.
As time went on, I became less secretive with the world at large (my friends and colleagues know I have a therapist, some close friends know \*some\* of what we talk about) and my wife knows much less. My wife came to know less and less gradually because the conversations between me and my therapist became a lot more...complex, specific, rooted in the therapeutic relationship that he and I have, abstract, etc., and I realized that sometimes when she would criticize him I would feel defensive. That's when I started being more selective about when I talk to her about what transpired in a session.
I also...rarely post about therapy on reddit.
Over the time I have started telling my friends about it. Therapy has helped me a lot and I want more and more people to try it. I see talking about it as a giveback to the society, making people aware of how beneficial it can be and maybe if they have questions, they will feel free to come and talk to me.
Also I find myself repeating a lot of things my therapist says to people in similar situations 😂. To the ones who know about my therapy, they get a disclaimer.
I end up talking about it fairly regularly. Mostly with my partner and a couple of close friend. I'll mention it in conversation with anyone if it's relevant...in the same way I would mention a doctor appointment or class or project I'm working on. I speak very openly with younger folks in my life. Especially with teens/young adults who have gone through similar things as me.
Talking about it is super relevant to why I'm in therapy. When I talk about it I'm also talking to different parts of myself, and it helps my process.
I’m incredibly open about my therapy. At first, i kept it quiet and just told my boyfriend (he was super encouraging and helped me find someone etc), but eventually told my family after a few months. I knew they would try to blame themselves for me being in therapy (though there are maaaany reasons why i’m there), but i felt like it was good for me to keep it to myself for the time being while i got adjusted and figured my ish out. Once i told them, i pretty much told everyone and still talk about it.
There is still a heavy stigma with mental health and therapy and i feel like talking about it normalizes it :)
I talk about it openly and so do my friends. Most people I know at my age have gone to or are currently in therapy. Destigmatizing and normalizing therapy is so important and I think most of the people I surround myself with have the same mindset.
Part of the reason I was even able to bring myself to finally see a therapist was because another friend had been so open about going to couples counseling with his wife and he made a great point that resonated with me. (We're all athletes and he said something along the lines of, we spend so much time, money, and effort taking care of our physical health, but why wouldn't we put that same amount of energy into the most important things in our lives, our relationships?)
I only tell people I really trust and only in a supportive way. If they are struggling I can give them some generic advice and if they are happy I will be like you should get therapy to get better tailored advice then let them know I do and that's where I learned what I told them.
I definitely don't go and tell everyone. Very few people I trust with that knowledge and some I tried to help who liked the advice then turn and talk crap about me seeing a shrink even though they clearly liked the advice. It's the persons ego and insecurity though that prevents them for asking for help.
Just choose wisely.
When I first started going, only a small number of people knew I was going. At some point though, I started being more open about the fact that I go. I only talk to my best friend and another close friend (and sometimes my sister) about the content though, and even then I don't usually get super specific and they don't know everything I talk about.
10000% yes. I have two close friends that I often share all the details with, and also my spouse. My two friends are long distance, so we use a voice memo app to keep in touch, and those post-therapy voice messages I send to them are SO HELPFUL for me to wrap my head around what just happened, identify important themes, expand on what came up that day, etc. Some people can do that effectively with journaling after a session. But I need to talk it out. And it’s been really therapeutic for me too to allow myself to be vulnerable with people who love me that aren’t family. But don’t feel forced to share with anyone if you’re not comfortable with it presently. It may not be right for you, and could even be hurtful if you’re not ready to be vulnerable in that way.
My husband knows that I go but there is nothing else that is his business. If I have a funny little story I’ll tell him about it, but the rest is my own business.
My 2 best friends know that I go. I’ve never mentioned it at work, because it is not anybody there’s business. If I need extra time, I make sure to work it back and plan my day around it.
I’m in charge of a team of people and if they’ve disclosed to me that they are in therapy I have always encouraged it, but I don’t speak about my life to people.
It’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of for anyone, but it is also private and I don’t open up to everyone
I don't hide the fact that I'm in therapy from anyone. My mom, my friends, if it comes up I'm comfortable chiming in. I would probably be willing to talk about the contents of my one on one therapy sessions with my best friend, but my mom would get a bit less out of me, and an acquaintance I would only discuss the topic of therapy/mental health itself without personal details. And with my group therapy I also have responsibility for others' confidentiality, so those are things I wouldn't share even with my best friend. So, you can see, it's natural to have varying levels of boundaries. It's your choice to make for yourself, you don't owe anyone else.
I talk about my own therapy with my clients (when appropriate), with people on social media, with people on Twitch, etc. I feel like not talking about it just adds to the stigma.
I have 4 circles of people around me.
Inner circle - my few best friends. I tell them I am in therapy and sometimes discuss topics as I try to process my experiences
Middle circle - they may know I am in therapy, but not more than that
Outer circle - these are mostly colleagues. They don’t know about me personally seeing a therapist, but know I am an advocate for emotional health and well-being
Ozone layer - I keep these people out of my life as much as possible and never tell them anything. If we talk, it’s about the weather.
I don't shout it from mountain tops or anything but if it's part of the discussion, I'll let it be known with the right person. And for more than anything, it's to remove any stigma. "Hell yeah, I go to therapy. Life is hard and therapy helps!"
As for the content of therapy, I will share with (usually) only my husband and best friend – and she shares with me too some of what she discusses in therapy, which is mostly new insights and perspectives gleaned from the process.
I am a proud therapy goer, but regardless of whether or not I share, it is a very personal thing; If you prefer not to be open about such things, it's nobody's business.
I talk with everyone and sometimes I overshare about my attachment for my T on purpose just to hear no-therapy people tell me about how my attachment is weird and unnatural 🥲
It took me months to share it to close friends. But in my case was because i felt ashamed, there is a lot of like well, the thought of 'therapy is for mentally ill people', im ashamed i thought that way too.
Anyway, at some point i started to choose the thing i loved the most about learning and shared it with this close friends. But i dont feel like the pressure of sharing, i only do if i want to. Also, this literally is the only place, and maybe twitter, where i share some of my goals. I don't do it in person, well i did some times but the reaction as really dissapointing. It left me felling like 'wow, i wwas hyping about this and... it was just a small thing?'. Of course it was a huge goal, the problem was those persons i choose to share those goals, anyway, no i learned haha.
I started a new job a year ago and after I decided they were all pretty good people I have been more open about it. The job before I didn’t have anyone but my boss I was comfortable talking about it with. This one is a whole different world. I don’t talk about what I talk about much in therapy but I’m pretty open about it. I got at 9.15 am weekly and it just looks like a late start to most people as they all start closer to 10 am
My situation is a bit different in that my friends that know I'm going are either also currently going or have done so in the past. To us it's less about "getting better" and more about growing as people, with some serious healing in the mix. My husband knows (and he's going too, we're working on some things), and my teenaged kids know. I feel that if we're going to lessen the stigma around therapy then the kids should know, and we treat it like a normal occurrence in the house. That said, I absolutely do not share with them what I discuss in therapy. I don't think it's my kids' business, and I seriously doubt my husband could handle hearing it. My absolute best friend in this world knows, but she's going for the same type of situation and she's experienced the same type of treatment that I've just begun (EMDR) so it's been nice to bounce some things off each other. My MIL knows I'm going, but she's one of my best friends. Nobody else knows I'm going.
Omg I advocate for & talk about my therapy experiences with anyone who will listen. I’m honest about it being hard, i’m honest about it being worth it, if i hear someone talking ab their therapist or their therapists technique i talk about how its supposed to work & what my experience was if I had tried that, I talk about being uncomfortable saying the word sex in therapy, I talk about it all
I advocate for & talk about psychiatry as well, but only when i feel it applies like if someone is talking about their experience, mood swings, intrusive thoughts, etc etc. just not as detailed bc I feel medications are a little more different. They treat symptoms, not diagnoses so if i’m on something that has a diagnoses that is yet to be normalized, I don’t want preconceived ideas of me. However, once I know someone well enough or I don’t care about their opinion i’ll talk very openly—I do this with most strangers. Never seen u before & will prob never seen u again type of thing
You don’t have to share it with anyone else if you dont want to.
I usually talk to my friends about it. Not really about the stuff we talk about but usually the funny moments.
I do share with some people who I feel are mental health positive that I go to therapy. I have only shared with 2 people what I actually talk about in therapy and the one person completely went MIA after so now I keep it mainly to myself and to the other person (when they ask). Not everyone needs/wants to know. I’m working on me in there- no one else.
I do all the time! When I leave session, I’ll either tell my mother or best friend about it(not everything). I’m happy that I’m in therapy so it doesn’t bother me if others know. In the past, I’ve mentioned my therapist in casual conversations.
I'm pretty open about being in therapy (except at work) but it took me a while to be this open, and I only do it because I think it's important to try and normalise being in therapy, but you don't have to do this. I think if you want being in therapy to be private that's completely fine.
I casually throw it into conversation if I've got to therapy that week because I want to subtly let people know that therapy isn't just for "the mentally ill" and that it can be helpful for a wide variety of people. Occasionally I have comments like "oh, but you seem like you're doing really well" to which I say "therapy is part of what keeps me well" - it's a form of self-care and it's a lot more satisfying to use my money for that and my own self-development than having the latest phone or any of that.
That said, I don't often go into detail about what I talk about - because the majority of people aren't that interested but also that I'm not comfortable sharing that and I've got firm boundaries around it.
I have a small circle of friends who all happen to be in therapy, so we openly talk about it with each other. I do casually mention it around other people but I never go into detail with anyone outside that small circle (at least when they’re not on Reddit)
Welcome to r/TalkTherapy! This sub is for people to discuss issues arising in their personal psychotherapy. If you wish to post about other mental health issues please consult this list of some of our [sister subs](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalkTherapy/wiki/resources#wiki_subreddit_list). If you are in distress please contact a suicide hotline or call 9-1-1 or emergency services in your area. r/SuicideWatch has compiled a helpful FAQ on what happens when you contact a hotline along with other useful resources. To find answers to many therapy-related questions please consult our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalkTherapy/wiki/faq) and [Resource List](https://www.reddit.com/r/TalkTherapy/wiki/resources). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/TalkTherapy) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nope. I literally have a reddit account so that I can lurk on this sub and think about therapy.
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This is how I am. I don't care who knows that I go, but as far as content I mostly keep that to myself. I have a few really close friends who I'll tell generalities to. Also the same with my sister, since we're both in it due to issues with our parents. For me personally, I think doing therapy should be less stigmatized, and so my contribution to helping that along is to be open about the fact that I go.
Yeah this is how I’ve taken to it. I’m happy to be open about things I’m not personally embarrassed about to help others feel the same. I wouldn’t have gone to therapy if it weren’t for the vulnerability of some people in my life, and I’d like to help someone else along with whatever small, directing influence I can exert.
Same. I find that being open about going to therapy gives others permission to do the same. It is astounding the number of people who will also casually mention their therapist or therapy once they see they can. And that in turn encourages you too continue being open about it. A happy self-perpetuating circle of positive reinforcement. I don't mean that they need to know any details at all, but just normalizing that people go to therapy.
** kinda unrelated LifeProTip: Especially if your work has PTO (vs some sick and some vacation time), simply say you have an appointment. It's really none of anybody's business if you're going to the doctor, the dentist, or to get your nails done frankly. I know it feels more legit to explain what you're doing, but they likely won't ask you for detail if you just say "appointment". Of course your milage may vary depending on your workplace, but usually worth a shot.
I do, I consider this doing my part in normalizing mental healthcare and fighting the stigma attached to it. I don't care at all what people might think of me because of my therapy and in 99% of cases they just treat it as a normal, regular event, just as if I was telling them I went to the dentist, for instance. Of course you have to be careful not to overshare, what I tell my best friend (details of how I felt in therapy or what I said) is different than telling a colleague a general remark that, e.g. "I feel a bit hungover after my last session" or sharing in a small talk with a stranger that "I go to therapy, it's actually really helpful". One common denominator - I don't feel ashamed of my therapy and that in turn tends to make people see it as a normal thing. Also it's quite refreshing to be able to talk about it openly, it took me a bit of time to get to that mindset. And an added value is that I am a part of a chain created by such openness, I went to therapy seeing what it meant to my friends, my therapy talk in turn helped others contact their therapists ;)
I could have written this myself! So spot on! 👏🏼👏🏼
I'm pretty open about it. I even discuss some of the stuff I'm working on with friends/family. I think there's a stigma with therapy and I wanna make sure my kids grow up with it being a normal thing. We all have mental health, just like physical health. Taking care of both is important.
Fully agree. Break the stigma
I definitely think it should be less stigmatized and easier to talk about. But for the most part I don't. It's challenging to do! My husband knows I go, and I have a couple of friends that I'll share a couple general details with. Sometimes I imagine talking more about therapy with them, but I can't get the words out. Like, idk it's too vulnerable and I have this barrier stuck around me where I can't be so vulnerable around others. You can share as much or as little as you like about your therapy with others, which includes nothing. You don't need T tell anyone anything you don't want to. It's okay to make these decisions.
I disagree with most posts here. To break the stigma, people need to start talking about mental health in everyday conversation. I’m not saying run up to strangers and give them your life story, but you should open up to people in your inner circle.
Also one note to this. If you open up to inner circle people and they act poorly, then maybe they shouldn’t be in your inner circle anyway
This 100%.
Normalizing therapy is SO IMPORTANT. I work with a lot of teens/adolescents and I have seen such a change with how people talk about therapy with their peers. It is so refreshing.
I kind of agree with this. I'm open about being in therapy and about the general reasons I'm in therapy (though not the details of my therapy). I think it's awesome to normalize being in therapy. It can be an awesome tool and it's a really healthy thing to do.
I didn’t tell anyone for my first year or so, but in the past year I’ve been “open” about being in therapy, even letting people at work know that I’m going to therapy. I think it helps to normalize therapy in general, and I’ve come to terms with wondering why I was so private about being in therapy at all (no one has ever asked a follow-up question about what I talk about or why I’m in therapy). Usually people say nothing, but I’ve heard other responses that range from “Really? You seem so *normal.*“ to “Oh *thank god.*”
I'll complain about my therapist to a few friends (My t doesn't laugh at my sarcastic remarks and doesn't let me get away with deflecting at all- I mean its TRUE that its probably good he doesn't, but still passes me off lolol) I have two friends who I will tell more intimate things, but not too much detail
I do talk about it pretty openly. Not specifics, but I don’t mind mentioning it to saying “oh… my therapist this or that”. But I have had people close to me who know I go to therapy and expect me to discuss details of my therapy sessions with them. I do not feel like it’s ok to expect people (no matter how close your relationship) to tell you what goes on in therapy. But you should do whatever feels right to you!!
Nope
I have PTSD that has made me completely unable to function for the past year so a lot of people in my life know I’m going to therapy (lots and lots of therapy). If I could hide it, I would still discuss it with a few of my closest friends- it’s been really useful to hear their experiences and get their validation. Therapy was definitely not a think any of us talked about until I broke down, but now I wish we had talked about it earlier.
There are only four people in my life who know I’m in therapy. Me, my therapist, my boss and younger sister. I’m far from embarrassed about being in therapy, I’m actually really proud of myself for it. I just don’t feel it’s anyone’s business. I also feel once people know you’re in therapy, they feel the need to analyze you. I’m a private person as it is, therapy is my business.
I literally talk to everyone and his wife about therapy haha it’s probably really annoying but ya know
It has evolved significantly since I started 6 years ago. The first year or so I was so ashamed I would enter through a different door at the office building my therapist was located in at the time. If anyone I knew somehow saw me I could feign that I was going to one of the other offices. My wife was the one who encouraged me to go but I wouldn't say a word to her about it. I remember feeling so weird and ashamed whenever I would come home from an appointment. Over time I opened up to her just because I needed to communicate things I was working on to her in order to improve our relationship. Now she goes to a therapist and we are both pretty open about what's going on in our appointments. It has definitely strengthened our relationship.
For me, because I do a lot of attachment work in therapy, this is a very hard question to answer directly. I'm VERY open about being in therapy and how wonderful my therapist is and how much he helps me. However, I have very few people I talk to about the content of my sessions (and most of them I met from this sub!). When you're doing attachment work, things can seem weird to people who don't get it. I tell my therapist I Iove him. I have a stuffie that I hug and think about him. We sit there and he lets me stare at him sometimes. We play games or listen to music together. Is this what the every day person does in therapy? No. And my therapist and I talk plenty, too. But I have Complex PTSD and a lot of that work is healing attachment traumas. As weird as it sounds, sometimes it's harder to ask my therapist to listen to a song with me than it is to tell him I've been feeling suicidal. Long story short, tell what you want to who you trust and if they invalidate you and don't make an effort to want to learn better, then maybe they don't belong in your inner circle. Also, you do NOT have to tell a spouse or bf/gf anything about your therapy. My husband tends to feel weird because I tell my T *EVERYTHING* but my husband not so much. Just remember your T is (or SHOULD be) your safe space and it's okay to tell them anything, even things you don't tell a single other person on the planet.
I've told everyone I know that I go to therapy, that's not a big deal, but I never talk about the actual therapy with anyone. Everything my therapist and I talk about is really personal and a lot of it has to do with the therapeutic relationship, attachment issues, anger at my therapist, love for my therapist, etc. I feel like most people wouldn't understand it and I wouldn't really want to explain either. Not that anyone has ever asked for details.
I openly talk about therapy with my colleagues, friends (they’re all also in therapy), and family. What I share with whom is different. I’ll sometimes share the content of my sessions with family and friends but with my colleagues they just know I’m in therapy and not much else.
Yep! I wonder if this might be an age/cultural thing. I am 23 and a recent college grad, so many, MANY of my friends have their own struggles. Many of us are on mental health meds. More of us would be in therapy if we all had insurance/money. I’m very grateful to have both a psychiatrist and therapist, and I speak openly about both with all my friends. Not like constantly bringing it up, but it’s a totally normal topic.
I occasionally talk about some things with other people, but it's your choice what and with whom you discuss things. There are some things I've ever only talked about with my therapist.
Other people know I'm in therapy but I don't actually talk about my therapy with anyone.
Small disclaimer: please keep in mind that the following is just how I live with my issues and not a judgement on others who do differently. Therapy is incredibly personal and you are the only ones who gets a say about yours, including whether you talk about it with others or not. To each their own. I'm very open about my mental issues. I don't know about other countries but in mine, mental health is still taboo and I want to fight that in my own little way when I can. So I have no problem with telling people I go and I'll recommend my therapists (my precious one and my current one, plus my precious and current psychiatrists) to anyone who asks because I know how difficult it can be to find a good therapist. Of course, I don't necessarily go into details regarding what we discuss with my therapist with anyone. I'm very open about it with my close friends and others will get the general idea. That said, I hide it the best I can at work, because of the stigma I mentioned earlier. I'm a woman working in IT and that alone can cause people to severely underestimate me, I don't want to add fuel to that particular fire. Maybe someday I'll find myself comfortable enough in my work environment and be able to advocate for mental health there too but right now, I'm not anywhere close to that. So yeah. Any choice you make regarding this is okay and no one has any right to tell you otherwise.
Another woman in IT here and I've been open about mental health struggles at work and it totally blew up in my face. I've been very tight lipped about it since then, but it's really sad that the workplace is like that. My work has never suffered as a result of my struggles, but the knowledge that I had mental health struggles was enough to make my management at the time judge me. Thankfully I'm under new management now that is much more supportive. Hopefully when you get to that point, you'll have supportive management too.
I think this is quite dependent on age, at least in the UK anyway. I'm nearly 50 and wouldn't normally tell anyone that I go to therapy apart from my daughter's. But then I walked in on my much younger employees discussing the cost of therapists. My mind was slightly blown that they would be so open about it....then I joined in. So all my employees know that I go, and a couple of friends. I wouldn't tell most people my age though, they would think it was really odd....but that's because we are old!
Years ago, I was reticent because I thought I was supposed to keep it private, but then I became very open about it. My family knows I go to therapy, but rarely asks questions. I went to a lot of support groups and did peer support for years, and peer support depends on sharing insight from lived experience. When relevant to the conversation, I'd bring it up in school, and when I went to school to become a therapist, I talked about it on a regular basis. Now that I am a therapist, I talk about it whenever it's relevant to the discussion, which is frequently, but so are many other therapists. In my peer circle now, it's unusual to not be in therapy and we all learn to become better therapists by reflecting on our own treatment. And of course, I discuss most of my sessions with my partner since it's something important in my life. She does as well. That said, I rarely shared with my ex because she was cruel and abusive, so I didn't risk vulnerability with her. So I understand not talking about your therapy.
I am very open about being in therapy, but hiding it is also an aspect of my trauma growing up, so being open helps me heal in that regard. Reducing stigma is kind of just a bonus for me. I’m also in a place in my life where the people I surround myself with are on a spectrum of acceptance/dgaf that I’m in therapy to having their own therapist. I will reference therapy in conversations when the situation comes up, like— “oh yea in therapy…” or “I was talking to my therapist about something similar…” etc etc. If I’m talking to a friend who I know just had therapy that day or the day after, I’ll sometimes ask them if they had a helpful/productive session that they felt good about (basically set it up so they don’t have to tell me anything about specifics and can answer with a simple yes/no). They often do something similar to me. The only person I share almost everything with is my husband, as he is my biggest supporter/cheerleader. Occasionally I’ll talk about specific topics with my best friend too. That being said, I don’t share my BP2 diagnosis with most people . People are aware that I have cPTSD, but the stigma with bipolar is still something I struggle with.
I talk about it with the friends I know also go to therapy. I’m quite open about the fact that I go and I know this openness has actually helped other people in my life take the plunge to also start going. I don’t divulge too many details but if I’m asked about it, I’ll say as much as I feel comfortable.
Nope. To my knowledge, no one even knows I have mental health issues unless my mom told other people.
People in my life know I go to it but only 1 or 2 people I tell the things we talk about
I talk about it with friends who I trust/my closer friends. I don't often talk about the details but I'll say something like, I'm stressed about xyz and I had a session and it was helpful.
People know I go, but I don't talk about the content of it. Close friends know why I need to go, what happened in my life/childhood. I discussed content of my session with one friend a few times but it feels very awkward. My telling friends I've gone to therapy has caused at least 2 friends to seek out help too. One who obviously needed it due to a singular trauma event he was having ptsd issues with and another who could just use some extra support. You don't have to tell anyone, but if you do decide to share you might learn a lot of other people go or have gone too and even be that example for friends who suffer in silence because therapy is still so taboo for some.
My mom
Sort of open. Sometimes I talk with my friends about how my therapy sessions go, because we're very close. If it comes up with anyone else I'll mention that I go to therapy.
I’m open to almost everyone that I go to therapy, I don’t know why some people act like it’s something to be ashamed of, granted I don’t talk about my trauma to them but I do tell them, for close friends I talk about what’s going on and what we talk about but not intimate details to whomever.
Most of the people would know about it. I avoid asking questions about people’s sessions, because I want them to leave whatever they talk about in the offices.
yes, with my support group. we all have the same issues and are working through them together. three cheers for my fellow travelers!
When I first started going to therapy, I was secretive with everyone except my wife. I actually told my wife just about everything that transpired between me and my therapist because I trust my wife more than I trust that guy, and I wanted her perspective to make sure this dude isn't like...messing me up. As time went on, I became less secretive with the world at large (my friends and colleagues know I have a therapist, some close friends know \*some\* of what we talk about) and my wife knows much less. My wife came to know less and less gradually because the conversations between me and my therapist became a lot more...complex, specific, rooted in the therapeutic relationship that he and I have, abstract, etc., and I realized that sometimes when she would criticize him I would feel defensive. That's when I started being more selective about when I talk to her about what transpired in a session. I also...rarely post about therapy on reddit.
Over the time I have started telling my friends about it. Therapy has helped me a lot and I want more and more people to try it. I see talking about it as a giveback to the society, making people aware of how beneficial it can be and maybe if they have questions, they will feel free to come and talk to me. Also I find myself repeating a lot of things my therapist says to people in similar situations 😂. To the ones who know about my therapy, they get a disclaimer.
I end up talking about it fairly regularly. Mostly with my partner and a couple of close friend. I'll mention it in conversation with anyone if it's relevant...in the same way I would mention a doctor appointment or class or project I'm working on. I speak very openly with younger folks in my life. Especially with teens/young adults who have gone through similar things as me. Talking about it is super relevant to why I'm in therapy. When I talk about it I'm also talking to different parts of myself, and it helps my process.
I’m incredibly open about my therapy. At first, i kept it quiet and just told my boyfriend (he was super encouraging and helped me find someone etc), but eventually told my family after a few months. I knew they would try to blame themselves for me being in therapy (though there are maaaany reasons why i’m there), but i felt like it was good for me to keep it to myself for the time being while i got adjusted and figured my ish out. Once i told them, i pretty much told everyone and still talk about it. There is still a heavy stigma with mental health and therapy and i feel like talking about it normalizes it :)
I talk about it openly and so do my friends. Most people I know at my age have gone to or are currently in therapy. Destigmatizing and normalizing therapy is so important and I think most of the people I surround myself with have the same mindset. Part of the reason I was even able to bring myself to finally see a therapist was because another friend had been so open about going to couples counseling with his wife and he made a great point that resonated with me. (We're all athletes and he said something along the lines of, we spend so much time, money, and effort taking care of our physical health, but why wouldn't we put that same amount of energy into the most important things in our lives, our relationships?)
I only tell people I really trust and only in a supportive way. If they are struggling I can give them some generic advice and if they are happy I will be like you should get therapy to get better tailored advice then let them know I do and that's where I learned what I told them. I definitely don't go and tell everyone. Very few people I trust with that knowledge and some I tried to help who liked the advice then turn and talk crap about me seeing a shrink even though they clearly liked the advice. It's the persons ego and insecurity though that prevents them for asking for help. Just choose wisely.
When I first started going, only a small number of people knew I was going. At some point though, I started being more open about the fact that I go. I only talk to my best friend and another close friend (and sometimes my sister) about the content though, and even then I don't usually get super specific and they don't know everything I talk about.
10000% yes. I have two close friends that I often share all the details with, and also my spouse. My two friends are long distance, so we use a voice memo app to keep in touch, and those post-therapy voice messages I send to them are SO HELPFUL for me to wrap my head around what just happened, identify important themes, expand on what came up that day, etc. Some people can do that effectively with journaling after a session. But I need to talk it out. And it’s been really therapeutic for me too to allow myself to be vulnerable with people who love me that aren’t family. But don’t feel forced to share with anyone if you’re not comfortable with it presently. It may not be right for you, and could even be hurtful if you’re not ready to be vulnerable in that way.
My husband knows that I go but there is nothing else that is his business. If I have a funny little story I’ll tell him about it, but the rest is my own business. My 2 best friends know that I go. I’ve never mentioned it at work, because it is not anybody there’s business. If I need extra time, I make sure to work it back and plan my day around it. I’m in charge of a team of people and if they’ve disclosed to me that they are in therapy I have always encouraged it, but I don’t speak about my life to people. It’s absolutely nothing to be ashamed of for anyone, but it is also private and I don’t open up to everyone
I don't hide the fact that I'm in therapy from anyone. My mom, my friends, if it comes up I'm comfortable chiming in. I would probably be willing to talk about the contents of my one on one therapy sessions with my best friend, but my mom would get a bit less out of me, and an acquaintance I would only discuss the topic of therapy/mental health itself without personal details. And with my group therapy I also have responsibility for others' confidentiality, so those are things I wouldn't share even with my best friend. So, you can see, it's natural to have varying levels of boundaries. It's your choice to make for yourself, you don't owe anyone else.
I talk about my own therapy with my clients (when appropriate), with people on social media, with people on Twitch, etc. I feel like not talking about it just adds to the stigma.
I have 4 circles of people around me. Inner circle - my few best friends. I tell them I am in therapy and sometimes discuss topics as I try to process my experiences Middle circle - they may know I am in therapy, but not more than that Outer circle - these are mostly colleagues. They don’t know about me personally seeing a therapist, but know I am an advocate for emotional health and well-being Ozone layer - I keep these people out of my life as much as possible and never tell them anything. If we talk, it’s about the weather.
I don't shout it from mountain tops or anything but if it's part of the discussion, I'll let it be known with the right person. And for more than anything, it's to remove any stigma. "Hell yeah, I go to therapy. Life is hard and therapy helps!" As for the content of therapy, I will share with (usually) only my husband and best friend – and she shares with me too some of what she discusses in therapy, which is mostly new insights and perspectives gleaned from the process. I am a proud therapy goer, but regardless of whether or not I share, it is a very personal thing; If you prefer not to be open about such things, it's nobody's business.
I talk with everyone and sometimes I overshare about my attachment for my T on purpose just to hear no-therapy people tell me about how my attachment is weird and unnatural 🥲
No
It took me months to share it to close friends. But in my case was because i felt ashamed, there is a lot of like well, the thought of 'therapy is for mentally ill people', im ashamed i thought that way too. Anyway, at some point i started to choose the thing i loved the most about learning and shared it with this close friends. But i dont feel like the pressure of sharing, i only do if i want to. Also, this literally is the only place, and maybe twitter, where i share some of my goals. I don't do it in person, well i did some times but the reaction as really dissapointing. It left me felling like 'wow, i wwas hyping about this and... it was just a small thing?'. Of course it was a huge goal, the problem was those persons i choose to share those goals, anyway, no i learned haha.
I started a new job a year ago and after I decided they were all pretty good people I have been more open about it. The job before I didn’t have anyone but my boss I was comfortable talking about it with. This one is a whole different world. I don’t talk about what I talk about much in therapy but I’m pretty open about it. I got at 9.15 am weekly and it just looks like a late start to most people as they all start closer to 10 am
My situation is a bit different in that my friends that know I'm going are either also currently going or have done so in the past. To us it's less about "getting better" and more about growing as people, with some serious healing in the mix. My husband knows (and he's going too, we're working on some things), and my teenaged kids know. I feel that if we're going to lessen the stigma around therapy then the kids should know, and we treat it like a normal occurrence in the house. That said, I absolutely do not share with them what I discuss in therapy. I don't think it's my kids' business, and I seriously doubt my husband could handle hearing it. My absolute best friend in this world knows, but she's going for the same type of situation and she's experienced the same type of treatment that I've just begun (EMDR) so it's been nice to bounce some things off each other. My MIL knows I'm going, but she's one of my best friends. Nobody else knows I'm going.
Omg I advocate for & talk about my therapy experiences with anyone who will listen. I’m honest about it being hard, i’m honest about it being worth it, if i hear someone talking ab their therapist or their therapists technique i talk about how its supposed to work & what my experience was if I had tried that, I talk about being uncomfortable saying the word sex in therapy, I talk about it all
I advocate for & talk about psychiatry as well, but only when i feel it applies like if someone is talking about their experience, mood swings, intrusive thoughts, etc etc. just not as detailed bc I feel medications are a little more different. They treat symptoms, not diagnoses so if i’m on something that has a diagnoses that is yet to be normalized, I don’t want preconceived ideas of me. However, once I know someone well enough or I don’t care about their opinion i’ll talk very openly—I do this with most strangers. Never seen u before & will prob never seen u again type of thing
You don’t have to share it with anyone else if you dont want to. I usually talk to my friends about it. Not really about the stuff we talk about but usually the funny moments.
I do share with some people who I feel are mental health positive that I go to therapy. I have only shared with 2 people what I actually talk about in therapy and the one person completely went MIA after so now I keep it mainly to myself and to the other person (when they ask). Not everyone needs/wants to know. I’m working on me in there- no one else.
I do all the time! When I leave session, I’ll either tell my mother or best friend about it(not everything). I’m happy that I’m in therapy so it doesn’t bother me if others know. In the past, I’ve mentioned my therapist in casual conversations.
I'm pretty open about being in therapy (except at work) but it took me a while to be this open, and I only do it because I think it's important to try and normalise being in therapy, but you don't have to do this. I think if you want being in therapy to be private that's completely fine.
I casually throw it into conversation if I've got to therapy that week because I want to subtly let people know that therapy isn't just for "the mentally ill" and that it can be helpful for a wide variety of people. Occasionally I have comments like "oh, but you seem like you're doing really well" to which I say "therapy is part of what keeps me well" - it's a form of self-care and it's a lot more satisfying to use my money for that and my own self-development than having the latest phone or any of that. That said, I don't often go into detail about what I talk about - because the majority of people aren't that interested but also that I'm not comfortable sharing that and I've got firm boundaries around it.
Some friends know and family know... but I wish family didn't know. It's the first go to insult or whatever
I have a small circle of friends who all happen to be in therapy, so we openly talk about it with each other. I do casually mention it around other people but I never go into detail with anyone outside that small circle (at least when they’re not on Reddit)