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You can only get out of therapy what you put into it, so if there only problems you are bringing to your therapist are a need for investment in hobbies, social relationships, and a healthy lifestyle, then that's all you're gonna get. Now, it's entirely possible that really is all you need, but for those stuck in traumatic response loops due to eg PTSD from respressed memories of childhood, leading to, say, a string of failed relationships with toxic people who don't respect your boundaries because you didn't have a good model for them growing up, therapy can be quite useful for helping people heal from generational trauma and break the cycle. It sounds cliché to blame it all on bad reaction to things that happened in childhood, but, well, we did all have one (unless you didn't; early parentification is an acknowledged failure mode), and even if the worst was emotional stunted parents (as documented by the book Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents), childhood that was totally fine on the surface may not have been.

Again, of course, if you are a well adjusted adult, and no one in you life is clamoring for you to get therapy, then chances are, either you've pushed anyone and everyone away that cares for you that deeply, or you don't need it, both of which are totally possible.

As for if it's a scam? That word gets thrown around too easily these days. Do they cost a lot? Yes. Are you worth it? Also yes. That's not to say all therapist are equal, and someone that's great for you might be terrible for the next person, and some of them are just bad. (There are also those that are quite good!) As there are with all things. Going into therapy with specific goals on things you want to work on (eg irrational anger at some specific thing that's ruining your life) tends to help it not be just an ongoing extra expense like a gym membership, if that's not what you want. At the end of the day, they're stuck in the system as much as you are, and paying them also makes it feel more balanced in that they're being paid listen to you go on and on and help you with your ish. You wouldn't/shouldn't treat your friends so one-sidedly. That said, it's entirely possible to pay to see a therapist and not get anything out of it. I will admit to that as a possible failure mode, but it's a failure mode and there are certainly success stories out there of people turning their life around and becoming happy well-adjusted adults.




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