Emotional Abuse Support Group

I read this today and thought you all might appreciate it:

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, simply surrounded by ***holes." - William Gibson

WOW!!!!!!!! I love it!

This is great. Alternatively, I feel like you could spin it this way, too: "Before you let someone else that's not a therapist diagnose you with depression or low self-esteem, or anything else, first make sure that they are not, in fact, simply an ***hole."

I think even a therapist diagnosis can sometimes be traced back to being around an abuser though... the idea being that the abuser is really the cause of the depression/low self esteem!

Of course, this isn't always true, and it depends on the situation just like everything else. In general though, if you surround yourself with ***holes, they generally only serve to bring you down regardless!

A lot of therapists won't tell you that your problems are caused by an abusive a**hole husband or parent or boss because they're afraid you won't be coming back to them weekly for the next two years then.

That's why when seeking therapy for an abusive relationship, it is so important that you get a therapist who has a lot of experience treating abuse victims. Abusive relationships are NOT normal relationships gone wrong. They are a completely different animal. A whole different dynamic is at play in an abusive relationship and applying advice or conflict solving techniques that would work in normal relationships to an abusive one doesn't work. In fact, they could end up costing the victim his/her life.

That's true Meg... I've NEVER had a therapist, even a decent one, say that an abuser was responsible for my problems with anxiety/depression. However, my current therapist did say that it's likely from my "toxic environment" and basically let me fill in the blanks there with all the work we've done.

Meg is right though... having a therapist that understands the beast that is "abuse" is monumentally important. It really does make an enormous difference.

It's like going to a podiatrist for your breast cancer treatments.