Posted by mair on June 13, 2005, at 7:16:45
In reply to Is too much psychological thinking good for you?, posted by pinkeye on June 12, 2005, at 13:57:30
Sometimes it does seem that I overanalyze things to the point where I tie myself up in knots. (I like the term "analysis paralysis") I also worry about being too self-absorbed and that I pathologize myself too much, and yes, sometimes I feel that I don't actually live my life as much as I do observe it, like some disconnected stranger.
The flip side is that I have the ability to compartmentalize, I guess or maybe just to suppress. Most of the time, I give only passing thought to therapy or my therapist in between sessions. I very frequently forget what my T and I talked about in the last session and she has to remind me at the beginning of the next session. Maybe this helps me not dwell on therapy, but I also think it makes therapy a very slow process for me and may explain in part why I've not really allowed myself to become very attached to my therapist, at least on a conscious level. It also means that I tend not to put therapy to work outside of my therapist's office. I'm not sure how good all of the insight is if I never use it.
I've had the thought on lots of occasions that I would be just fine if I quit therapy and stopped thinking about myself. I don't think I have the guts to try it. What I tend to forget is that thinking alot about myself isn't so much over-analyzing things as it is just plain ruminating, which my therapist insists is a depression-based trait. I'd be in real trouble if I dropped therapy but didn't stop ruminating.
Mair
poster:mair
thread:511517
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050606/msgs/511931.html