Opinion. Your therapist is lying to you and that isn't helping anything

[etoven]

If I could get a little deep for a minute:
How is a coping strategy for those on hard times not ultimately meaningless. How is "how I feel" about anything pay the damn bills, or fix the damn town?

You can make me happy as a kite but tomorrow will still be tomorrow and a reflection of today.

Explain it please. That's not a rhetorical I want to know.
Shouldn't science be just a little bit better than a will it want it strategy? How does that serve the common good?

Now I don't have a better answer I don't think anyone does. But this doesn't seem it.

[Dark Jaguar]

If all your therapist has to offer is a "will it want it" strategy, you may be suffering from toxic positivity.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/article...positivity

You're right, just "putting a positive spin" won't fix the world.  You may wish to look for another therapist, and by the way, there are many many therapists who don't actually have a medical license.  In my state, many of them are "Christian therapists", who are even more intense with that toxic positivity mindset.

Acting in the here and now does help with my own mental well-being.  I have a job I'm proud of that directly helps the community, though as of late it's been under threat thanks to well, extreme right wing views.  Beyond just a job though, there's forming a local support network outside it's existing authority structures.  If there's already something like that, as in a group with plans in place for how to help a lot of people during natural disasters or just clean up local parks or such things, I'd recommend joining it.  Note that this isn't a replacement for therapy, but it is a way to affect real change.  Many such groups do get political, and that's why it's important they not be directly tied to any authority structures so they can act freely and exert political pressure without fear of their funding being cut or orders from the top coming down.

I'm afraid I won't be able to help beyond what I've said for finding a therapist, but for finding a civic group or even starting your own, I've found this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x7nc3...mNnMsz774A
Yeah I know he looks like he's a member of some weird right wing militia, but he's as left wing as they come and he's talking about things like local community gardens, getting food, water, and trauma kits ready for local disaster relief so everyone's not waiting on the government to respond, fixing up local roads and such, and just being generally aware and being able to help move people in case authoritarianism strikes again and we get another 4 years of Trump.  Who am I kidding?  If Trump is elected again, it'll be till death do us part.

[etoven]

You seriously lost me at toxic positivity.
What in the seven hells of batman's balls is that?

Also isn't that just happiness? Whatever it is. I don't have it.

[etoven]

That sounds like happiness with extra steps.

[Dark Jaguar]

Toxic positivity is what you were just describing, people telling you to just "put on a happy face" no matter how bad your situation is.

[etoven]

Toxic positivity is what you were just describing, people telling you to just "put on a happy face" no matter how bad your situation is.

Gotcha.

[etoven]

If all your therapist has to offer is a "will it want it" strategy, you may be suffering from toxic positivity.  https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/article...positivity

You're right, just "putting a positive spin" won't fix the world.  You may wish to look for another therapist, and by the way, there are many many therapists who don't actually have a medical license.  In my state, many of them are "Christian therapists", who are even more intense with that toxic positivity mindset.

Acting in the here and now does help with my own mental well-being.  I have a job I'm proud of that directly helps the community, though as of late it's been under threat thanks to well, extreme right wing views.  Beyond just a job though, there's forming a local support network outside it's existing authority structures.  If there's already something like that, as in a group with plans in place for how to help a lot of people during natural disasters or just clean up local parks or such things, I'd recommend joining it.  Note that this isn't a replacement for therapy, but it is a way to affect real change.  Many such groups do get political, and that's why it's important they not be directly tied to any authority structures so they can act freely and exert political pressure without fear of their funding being cut or orders from the top coming down.

I'm afraid I won't be able to help beyond what I've said for finding a therapist, but for finding a civic group or even starting your own, I've found this channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_x7nc3...mNnMsz774A
Yeah I know he looks like he's a member of some weird right wing militia, but he's as left wing as they come and he's talking about things like local community gardens, getting food, water, and trauma kits ready for local disaster relief so everyone's not waiting on the government to respond, fixing up local roads and such, and just being generally aware and being able to help move people in case authoritarianism strikes again and we get another 4 years of Trump.  Who am I kidding?  If Trump is elected again, it'll be till death do us part.

I have been watching those posts. Yea, was under the impression he owns a banjo or two.

[etoven]

You're right, just "putting a positive spin" won't fix the world.  You may wish to look for another therapist, and by the way, there are many many therapists who don't actually have a medical license.  In my state, many of them are "Christian therapists", who are even more intense with that toxic positivity mindset.

If someone ended up being that and I didn't know that walking in to the first meeting.
Ow boy.. Pissed wouldn't begin to describe it.

Therapy would be me cussing him out for his religious affiliations bullshit of the hour and them I'm billing him for my time.