What is on your mind, (I'm told psychologists ask these questions?)

grahamg

grahamg

Old codger
Location
South of Manchester, UK
"Back in the day", (forty years ago), the friend of my brother in law, a man with the nickname "Gabby", was employed trying to care for people suffering psychological disorders of one kind or another, and he told us he lead "group therapy" sessions where almost any topic might be raised!

He might for example ask folks about their "personal lives", (to bring things down to basics), and in this " safe" environment I'd guess all kinds of secrets might be revealed.

I've no knowledge about whether similar "group therapy" sessions take place today, and I'm not sure what I'd think of it if they did, but I'd guess getting people to open up is part of the process, if that isn't too obvious a thing to say, (what do you think?).
 

I have been talking privately (not in a group) with a psychologist and he talks to me on the telephone and sends me emails. He first sent me a questionnaire and I answered the questions writing as much or as little as I wanted. Then when we were on the telephone we discussed various answers. They were all personal questions. I found it very helpful.

I think people in a group session would open up eventually. Isn't it kind of like going to an AA meeting or a grief therapy session with others who have experienced the same thing? I went to Al-Anon and it was a big meeting and people shared very personal experiences.
 
What's on my mind? On my office desk is a plastic bucket type container. It holds cleaning cloths, dusters and dusting paraphernalia. The reason that it's there is because my wife left it there to remind me that my chore of giving the place a good dusting and polishing is well overdue. Why should that chore be on my mind? Because I hate doing it and I can't think of a way of ducking out of it.
We used to have a domestic fairy but she went and had another sprog, leaving us bereft of a very good home help. My wife wants to help our fairy out by doing the chores until she can return so that our fairy isn't out of pocket. You would think that fairies could magic these sort of things.
 
Thinking of my Christmas list and what I need to do/send off in the coming weeks. December is very close and I need to look at my schedule to get in some healthcare/dental appts before the year ends and my new deductible starts.
 
After watching the nine hour Beatles documentary, I've been inspired to write songs and have been jotting down ideas, so I guess that's what's been on my mind. Granted, it's not very deep or personal, or epiphanous, but sometimes we need to engage in completely meaningless activities that have no purpose other than personal satisfaction and perhaps experience a state of flow and the associated pleasure, which I do often experience when playing my songs despite the fact that my dog motions for me to let him out of the house and my wife, when she was here, would immerse herself in her work.

I've written a few dozen songs over the years, some of which I consider to be pretty decent. I can be objective with regards to my own work, but I write what I like, and that may not be what others like. I can't write what I don't like. And I know that I'm no Paul McCartney or John Lennon when they were in their prime. Like the Harry Callahan character said in Magnum Force, "A man's got to know his limitations." I could probably hold a candle to George Harrison, although he was a far better musician than I. And I know I'm a better songwriter than half the modern rock stars out there right now who are earning millions with their trite lyrics and bland arrangements. The difference is, they're performers as well as songwriters. Plus, they're like 30 years younger than me. I'm no longer the babe magnet I was in my 20s and 30s. Come to think of it, I never was, but I'm even less so now.

Okay, that wasn't exactly what anyone would call cathartic, but I don't really feel like exposing personal information about myself. Been there, done that, and this is where I am on the long and winding road of life. (Sorry Paul. :) )
 
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Victor said:
From my observations, therapist types do not know the right questions to ask, much less the answers.
Because they are superficial. I could go on... it is hard to find a really good one.
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A woman I used to work with did have a course of treatment using a therapist, and after a few weeks the woman suggested to this lady treating her that she was okay, and no longer needed her assistance.

The therapist very wisely suggested her carrying on with treatment a little longer, and was proven dead right when the woman had a more complete breakdown, including dillusions etc., before gradually building herself up again. She then could return to work, and be deemed completely fine, and well enough again to resume coping with all challenges provided bring up her three school age children, whilst working full time.

Her therapist therefore did recognise the signs their patient remained vulnerable, so she was someone you could say was a "good one", (whatever questions she chose to ask. :) ).
 
horseless carriage said:
What's on my mind? On my office desk is a plastic bucket type container. It holds cleaning cloths, dusters and dusting paraphernalia. The reason that it's there is because my wife left it there to remind me that my chore of giving the place a good dusting and polishing is well overdue. Why should that chore be on my mind? Because I hate doing it and I can't think of a way of ducking out of it.
We used to have a domestic fairy but she went and had another sprog, leaving us bereft of a very good home help. My wife wants to help our fairy out by doing the chores until she can return so that our fairy isn't out of pocket. You would think that fairies could magic these sort of things.
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Your wife is a sound woman I'd say, though I'm with you on putting off tasks we don't really like! :)
 
Irwin said:
After watching the nine hour Beatles documentary, I've been inspired to write songs and have been jotting down ideas, so I guess that's what's been on my mind. Granted, it's not very deep or personal, or epiphanous, but sometimes we need to engage in completely meaningless activities that have no purpose other than personal satisfaction and perhaps experience a state of flow and the associated pleasure, which I do often experience when playing my songs despite the fact that my dog motions for me to let him out of the house and my wife, when she was here, would immerse herself in her work.

I've written a few dozen songs over the years, some of which I consider to be pretty decent. I can be objective with regards to my own work, but I write what I like, and that may not be what others like. I can't write what I don't like. And I know that I'm no Paul McCartney or John Lennon when they were in their prime. Like the Harry Callahan character said in Magnum Force, "A man's got to know his limitations." I could probably hold a candle to George Harrison, although he was a far better musician than I. And I know I'm a better songwriter than half the modern rock stars out there right now who are earning millions with their trite lyrics and bland arrangements. The difference is, they're performers as well as songwriters. Plus, they're like 30 years younger than me. I'm no longer the babe magnet I was in my 20s and 30s. Come to think of it, I never was, but I'm even less so now.

Okay, that wasn't exactly what anyone would call cathartic, but I don't really feel like exposing personal information about myself. Been there, done that, and this is where I am on the long and winding road of life. (Sorry Paul. :) )
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Very impressive! :)
 
I imagine the following may come up during discussions with a psychologist:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/narcissism-and-self-esteem-are-very-different/

Quote:
"Both narcissism and self-esteem start to develop around the age of 7. At this age, children draw heavily on social comparisons with others and start to evaluate themselves along the lines of "I am a loser", "I am worthy", or "I am special". Childreen come to see themselves as they perceive they are seen by others..

Whereas self-esteem tends to be at its lowest in adolescence, and slowly increases throughout life, narcissism peaks in adolescence and gradually declines throughout the lifespan. Therefore, the development of narcissism and high self-esteem show the mirror image of each other throughout the course of human development.

The development of self-esteem and narcissism are also influenced by differing parenting styles. Narcissism tends to develop in tandem with parental overvaluation. Parents who raise children who exhibit high levels of narcissism tend to overclaim their child's knowledge (e.g., "My child knows everything there is to know about math"), overestimate their child's IQ, overpraise their child's performances, and even tend to give their children a unique name to stand out from the crowd. Eventually, the child internalizes these self-views, and they unconsciously drive the child's interactions with others."
 
I’ve worked in the mental health field and my experience is that group therapy can be very helpful, especially with clearly defined goals.
What’s on my mind right now? Gas bill. Used 1/3 less “ therms” last month than same time last year, bill is about 1/3 more. And it isn’t even that cold yet.
 
oldpop said:
No offense directed at you Grahamg but I must say BS to all that humbug..........:LOL::ROFLMAO::unsure:
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No offence taken at all because I'm very glad to say none of the words in the quoted post were mine, (and "I'm still making my own mind up as to how much I agree with even the extract taken from an article I have to admit I haven't read in its entirety"!). :)
 
Geezerette said:
I’ve worked in the mental health field and my experience is that group therapy can be very helpful, especially with clearly defined goals.
What’s on my mind right now? Gas bill. Used 1/3 less “ therms” last month than same time last year, bill is about 1/3 more. And it isn’t even that cold yet.
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I agree with you about group therapy. It is a great tool.
 
grahamg said:
I imagine the following may come up during discussions with a psychologist:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/beautiful-minds/narcissism-and-self-esteem-are-very-different/
Quote:
"Both narcissism and self-esteem start to develop around the age of 7. At this age, children draw heavily on social comparisons with others and start to evaluate themselves along the lines of "I am a loser", "I am worthy", or "I am special". Childreen come to see themselves as they perceive they are seen by others..

Whereas self-esteem tends to be at its lowest in adolescence, and slowly increases throughout life, narcissism peaks in adolescence and gradually declines throughout the lifespan. Therefore, the development of narcissism and high self-esteem show the mirror image of each other throughout the course of human development.

The development of self-esteem and narcissism are also influenced by differing parenting styles. Narcissism tends to develop in tandem with parental overvaluation. Parents who raise children who exhibit high levels of narcissism tend to overclaim their child's knowledge (e.g., "My child knows everything there is to know about math"), overestimate their child's IQ, overpraise their child's performances, and even tend to give their children a unique name to stand out from the crowd. Eventually, the child internalizes these self-views, and they unconsciously drive the child's interactions with others."
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Considering the quoted extract above a little more there are a few things I'd like to mention I do agree with, based upon my own observations, (and modest knowledge of evolution even!).

I believe some people who I would describe as immature, or not having fully grown up, (prone to temper tantrums and the like), are probably narcissistic into the bargain. Hence the comments in the article quoted would be borne out in the sense these individuals haven't moved on from the "peak narcissism of adolescence".

The prolonged period of time humans take to reach adulthood, in physical terms, compared to other mammals of a similar size, is said to be necessary for our brains to be given time to fully develop. I'd guess therefore that it is an abberation of this process I'm witnessing.

Moving back to the aspect leading me to search for the above article, related to "self love", (the quite I have in mind being one my then wife used against me, " that you had to love yourself before anyone could love you", - nicely passing all responsibility for her not loving me, and the break up of our marriage away from herself!).

I am not a fan of the quote so appreciated by my ex., and would suggest its almost a narcissistic view of the world :( !
 

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