Why does this generation fixate and obsses so much over "therapy"?

Creation_Soul · 2024-06-11T19:10:25+00:00

i think it might be an overcorrection from previous generations where nobody went to therapy and you had to deal with all your shit by yourself or even worse, therapy was just drinking lots of alcohol.

bubbagator · 2024-06-11T19:25:27+00:00

What isn't a problem to me might be a big deal to someone else. I have no right to belittle their experience just because I have a different view of it. If they feel they need therapy and that it'll help them I'm all for it.

I'd much rather people fixate on therapy, you know, the idea of getting professional help for your problems, than the archaic idea of toughing it out alone while you suffer.

rma5690 · 2024-06-11T19:14:46+00:00

Because therapy is a lot cheaper and easier than admitting that we have created a world that makes people miserable and attempt to dismantle that world. It is especially hard because we are directly responsible for creating this world through democracy, mass education and the free market, so we'd have to unlearn our most sacred presuppositions about what is good and true.

Most people are inherently not qualified to be educated, free citizens pursuing their own happiness and society is better off when these responsibilities are outsourced to an exceptionally capable ruling elite.

-is not exactly an easy sell post-enlightement. It's the truth, but how do you sell that?

N-Zoth · 2024-06-11T19:06:16+00:00

Knowing how to manage your emotions is one of the most important life skills that you can learn. Going to therapy is just the most streamlined way of doing so because you can get a qualified professional to guide you through the process.

You are probably better off learning to meditate but let's be real, it's challenging and the results are not immediately apparent. So therapy is the better option for most people.

Also, "toughing it out" is not a good emotional management strategy. It's like trying to halt an avalanche with your bare hands. It will bury you. When you know how to actually manage your emotions, they just flow through you without bothering you. There's no fight or struggle.

SaBahRub · 2024-06-11T20:25:49+00:00

If something’s broke, don’t you want to try and fix it?

Dense-Tell-6147 · 2024-06-11T20:12:46+00:00

I don’t know about people being fixated on therapy.

I am a late GenX/Xennial and I absolutely disagree that previous generation were better at managing emotions.

If for “managing emotions” you mean “sucking it up” because someone told one to “grow a pair” that’s unhealthy af and easily ends up in punching walls or domestic violence.

There is still a stigma on mental health “eww! I am not crazy!” which is bad.

I attempted suicide for how much I hated myself more than twenty years ago.

I just felt wrong, and had no way to address my issues.

Recognizing that thing might not be ok without being judged, is a good first step, and it’s only good if people start looking honestly inside themselves

HolidayWhile · 2024-06-11T19:58:28+00:00

Confession for atheists

caption291 · 2024-06-11T22:35:28+00:00

it's a "solution" to every imaginable problem, so if someone claims there's a problem you can always shut them down and ignore it by saying the person should go to therapy.
It can very easily be used as a personal attack while pretending to be empathetic.
Therapy definitely pushes certain ideological beliefs, so suggesting therapy is a good way for people who share those beliefs to push their ideologies without sounding like they are doing so.

Salt_Alternative_86 · 2024-06-11T23:41:49+00:00

They don't. It's just marketed like crazy by an industry of leeches that doesn't want to work real jobs actually producing anything.

Willing-Chapter-7382 · 2024-06-11T21:39:09+00:00

"I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations, and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations." would you call repressing your emotions as managing your emotions?

MiddleZealousideal89 · 2024-06-11T19:16:29+00:00

While I do think way too many people on Reddit jump on the most extreme advice for any kind of negative experience (Had an argument with your partner? Dump them! Felt sad for a few days? Go to therapy!), a lot of people on this sub do come off like they have issues. If you're a guy (or a gal) posting about how you can't trust anyone, how you assume everyone is just waiting to cheat on you, hurt you, betray you, I'd say you probably need to work through some trust issues. I'm sure that person thinks they're totally fine, and that this won't hurt their relationships but not being able to trust those close to you will inevitably create problems down the road.

It's often tough to see a problem in yourself. I thought I was perfectly fine and functional, and my depression wasn't really affecting me in any significant way but it took loved ones to tell me that they were worried about me to help me look past my own perception of what I assumed was "fine". Granted, a bunch of Internet randos judging you from a single post that you made isn't the same as people who have known you for a long time assessing your mental state and health but you can just ignore them and go on with your day.

Also - I think younger people are better than older generations at trying to address issues. My parents' generation just shoves their emotions deep down and pretends they don't exist or drinks to forget they felt bad in the first place.

bread93096 · 2024-06-12T00:37:11+00:00

We’ve created a society so fixated on comfort that any degree of discomfort or unhappiness is viewed as a ‘disease’, when in reality, that’s just life. Life hasn’t been pleasant or comfortable for most living things since life began.

Demasii · 2024-06-11T19:13:20+00:00

We interact with people face to face less nowadays. The uptick in therapy maybe caused by people actually not having someone else to speak to.

TheYoungFaithful · 2024-06-11T19:15:28+00:00

Because so many people need a good, licensed therapist. The difficult part is figuring out which kind you need. Some people will do fine just speaking with one, some people need medication and would be better off finding an experienced psychiatrist, etc.

Queen_BW · 2024-06-11T19:21:39+00:00

I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations, and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations.

Represing their emotions doesn't mean they were tougher mentally. I mean, boomers aren't exactly the image of good mental health and are actually the reason why so many millennials and gen Zs are now in therapy.

Trauma research is kinda recent and there's so much we dont know yet. We could be on the same car accident and I could end up with trauma and not you. We still dont know why this happens but there are therapy approaches that can help heal the trauma.

There are people who genuinely need it, people with anger management issues, drug and or alchool abuse, adultery, but people talk about getting it for the smallest smidgen of negative emotion they experience.

There are people who dont know how to regulate their emotions so they go to therapy to learn the skills to do it. Some people "deal" with their emotions with self harm (cutting, eating disorders, emotional masochism) but you can't see it so you might believe they manage their emotions properly when they are actually dealing them in an unhealthy way.

Regarding romantic relationships, thanks to social media there's more info about what is healthy/unhealthy in relationships so if someone starts seeing idk tilktoks about attachment styles and realizes that's been their pattern in relationships but have no idea how to change it, they might look for a therapist.

I work with victims of narcisistic abuse. Its so interesting to see how they usually have the same pattern: One of their parents was a narcist so the person has normalized their behaviors and when they start to get in relationships they keep dating "assholes" and think that healthy relationships are boring. What they call love is actually trauma bonding and they get addicted to the adrenaline and cortisol violent relationships generate in them. Its pretty fascinating.

Coomer-Business · 2024-06-11T19:13:39+00:00

It's an easy cop-out that doesn't require validation/verification and can be used to shut down most arguments

hearyoume14 · 2024-06-11T20:37:08+00:00

It’s an over correction. I was raised in a household where only good emotions and anger were allowed so now I get angry when I’m sad. It’s a pain for us overthinkers though.

easythrowawayname71 · 2024-06-11T20:52:27+00:00

Sounds like you need therapy lmfao

Fun_Push7168 · 2024-06-11T22:18:54+00:00

Because we're fat and lazy.

I'd have to add sources later but for numerous mental health issues ithese three things arr equally as effective on theor own:

Exercise

Psychotherapy

Medication

So for those who don't need combination treatment because let's face it, their issues are fairly minor It's not trendy anymore to be on Prozac and meds have the most drawbacks, exercise takes work, that leaves therapy.

If we exercised enough to not be fat the numbers would drop back where they were or lower.

Old_Luck285 · 2024-06-11T23:04:32+00:00

When we are children we're born into an environment that we accept as normal and we develop strategies to live in that environment without suffering unnecessary harm.

As adults, these coping strategies are often detrimental to leading a fulfilling life.

A good therapist helps you identifying these belief systems and patterns that stem from your childhood so that you can overcome them. Therapy equips you with more tools to handle life's issues. When formerly you only had a hammer, therapy helps you find and use your screwdriver and saw.

When people don't self-reflect on their patterns, they keep being stuck in them and hand their unresolved issues to the next generation. I'm pretty sure quite a lot of older people that you know (the "tougher" generation) come to your mind without much thinking.

Siukslinis_acc · 2024-06-11T20:13:03+00:00

but people talk about getting it for the smallest smidgen of negative emotion they experience. I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations, and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations.

They haven't learned how to deal with their emotions amd parents didn't teach it beyond "just suck it up".

Yeah, rhe previous generation is so rough and tough mentally that they often just get drunk amd their children tend to leave them due to their abusive behaviour that they unleash when in private.

Solondthewookiee · 2024-06-11T19:12:30+00:00

but people talk about getting it for the smallest smidgen of negative emotion they experience

No, they don't.

I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations

No, I don't think so, but we've realized "shove it down and don't talk about it" is not an effective strategy.

and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations.

On the contrary, I think they are far more well adjusted than previous generations. You are mistaking "suffering in silence" as "not suffering at all."

mlo9109 · 2024-06-11T19:24:32+00:00

IDK, but it's a really privileged take, especially in the States. We don't have socialized medicine, so therapy is hella expensive. Not everyone can afford it.

fiendishthingysaurus · 2024-06-11T23:24:14+00:00

I am an old millennial and a firm believer in “everyone needs therapy”. At some point in their lives. It’s not just for people with severe trauma or mental illness, it can be good if you’re going through a breakup or other big transitions in your life, or if you feel stuck in a rut in your life. at minimum i think you should get some therapy and unlearn whatever damage your parents did to you before you have kids. But there’s definitely value in therapy for looking at how you tend to behave and react in your relationships, so that you can learn to have healthier coping strategies, communication etc

Edit— and we need it because previous generations DIDNT get therapy and kept behaving in fucked up ways and passing on shitty coping mechanisms and whatnot. My grandmother (born 1914) was depressed for probably most of her adult life if not before. She was very emotionally withholding and hypercritical and she and my mom had an EXTREMELY tense relationship. My mom (boomer) is not as withholding, but she just doesn’t really know how to provide emotional support. She also still has the hypercritical stuff PLUS she can only dish it out, she can’t take it. So yes I need therapy and your idea that previous generations were just better at handling their emotions is just laughable. They smoked and drank and did drugs about it. Look at older generations in your extended family and tell me they’re all just really good at handling their emotions

63daddy · 2024-06-11T19:34:39+00:00

A few thoughts:

The way we expect kids to sit attentively in school for hours straight is going to bring out ADHD and other associated issues. I’d have been ADD if I had to sit still the way we make school kids today.
There’s less social stigma against mental health issues, making it easier for more people to seek help and bringing it more into the open.
I also think there’s more of a victim mentality than there used to be.
Related, today’s information age, paints a lot more doom and gloom, often portraying things that are actually improving as if they are a worsening crisis.

I’m sure there’s so much more, but those are a few things that come to mind.

not_mr_nice · 2024-06-11T20:10:52+00:00

Chucking money at a therapist is easier than learning to meditate.

People want easy solutions and the more money you chuck at a thing, the more "value" it has.

Meditation however, is not easy, and its free. Thus it has no value.

apresonly · 2024-06-11T22:25:21+00:00

bc self-improvement is good and healthy and a therapist is an expert who can advise you on different paths of healing/self-improvement

in past generations, we had communities full of people we could ask for help. most people don't have that today. so there is a paid expert that people can go to or be referred to.

Remarkable_Rough_89 · 2024-06-11T23:37:53+00:00

Cause we forgot the way of of tribal living,

Many old tribes don’t even have a word for suicide, bust developed nations have 100 of thousands of suicide

ilikecats18851 · 2024-06-12T00:02:57+00:00

Because women like it and it's run by females

Starfleet_Auxiliary · 2024-06-12T00:41:48+00:00

(Puts on flame suit) Because none of those people have a chaplain to talk to. Doesn’t matter what faith.

When you don’t have that, the capitalist equivalent is available.

serpensmercurialis · 2024-06-11T19:13:51+00:00

Because the mentally ill have internet access and an inordinate amount of persistence.

Maleficent-Brief-178 · 2024-06-11T19:31:05+00:00

Boomers and Gen x had churches and community and family people they trusted and supported them and they supported both physically financially and emotionally

We killed God we killed community and we killed family

So the government seeing that it has create a massive f****** problem instead of saying oh shit..... they have no one to talk to, because we destroyed their entire lives both physically emotionally spiritually and chemically

What we will do is brainwash them from a very early age to go to a government organize educated trained and approved professional that may or may not be able to help them inside or artificially created social guidelines

Makuta_Servaela · 2024-06-11T19:44:25+00:00

My question is simple, why does everyone need therapy these days?

The most basic form of therapy is just saying "This is what I'm doing to deal with my problems. Are there more beneficial ways I can be dealing with it?"

It's kinda like how in science, we peer review studies. We have people whose job is to nitpick the studies see what can be nitpicked, which makes our overall understanding of science better. For therapy, it's important to have a person who is trained in helping us learn to question ourselves and our coping methods and the things we've accepted that we don't need to be. That's also why it's important for therapists to not judge you- their goal isn't to control you, but to make you feel more in control of yourself and help you catch red flags you may have missed.

AnalSexIsTheBest8-- · 2024-06-11T19:48:16+00:00

Because people treat therapy the same way they treat fitness and going to a gym, instead of treating it like medicine and going to a physician.

throwaway164_3 · 2024-06-11T23:02:18+00:00

In a word: Narcissism

Therapy is a total scam tailored to egoistical, narcissistic and woke bluepill women and feminine men who love drama and talking about themselves.

DarayRaven · 2024-06-11T19:07:07+00:00

My therapy is Bojack horseman just putting it out there but going back to the question:

Why do you think therapy is so fixated on these days by this age group pertaining to romantic relationships?

Because therapy in 2024 is literally "he has to try harder to make me happy"

_sikandar · 2024-06-12T00:00:57+00:00

Because people are so atomized they have to pay a quack to hear them out

kongeriket · 2024-06-11T19:53:21+00:00

Grift brainwashing.

The therapy "industry" spends billions every year in advertising and PR. Eventually that seeps into the culture.

I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations, and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations.

That's true. And that's why the therapy grift targets them for advertising a lot more. The lack of (or lower levels of) mental resilience and grit is not the fault of the therapy grift, they're merely exploiting it.

AutoModerator · 2024-06-11T18:58:55+00:00

Attention!

You can post off topic/jokes/puns as a comment to this Automoderator message.
For "Debate" and "Question for X" Threads: Parent comments that aren't from the target group will be removed, along with their child replies.
If you want to agree with OP instead of challenging their view or if the question is not targeted at you, post it as an answer to this comment.
OP you can choose your own flair according to these guidelines., just press Flair under your post!

Thanks for your cooperation and enjoy the discussion!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

howdoiw0rkthisthing · 2024-06-11T20:37:27+00:00

I can’t bash therapy because I would definitely say I’ve benefitted from it. But when I pursued it most recently, I found that drugs and external influences fixed my issues more quickly and effectively than any of my journaling or yoga or hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of therapy sessions.

Agile-Explanation263 · 2024-06-11T21:54:14+00:00

Expressing and venting your emotions is addicting and no one talks about it. Alot of the time too much venting can ruin your life because you build the habit of NEEDING to release instead of sitting,tempering and managing them.

Therapy and even prescribed psychiatry can be healthy, can boost social confidence to express yourself but most people normalize it as a way of self importance.

I'm not dismissing micro-traumas we go through as children (forget the actual term for it) but it gives MOST people with solvable problems a way to better navigate them. Again this doesnt apply for disorders or things like schizophrenia.

half3mptyhalffull · 2024-06-11T22:07:19+00:00

i think part of it is fear of becoming like the people who raised us (if we were raised by immature and/or abusive people).

personally, ive gone to therapy in the past to learn how to manage depression/anxiety symptoms becuase they was affecting my ability to eat and sleep properly, and i didnt want to take medication unless it was absolutely necessary (which it ended up not being necessary). i needed to learn coping mechanisms that worked within a busy, high stress lifestyle, because, at the time, i couldnt simply change my lifestyle.

i only go to therapy now if something happens and im grieving- ive never been able to process that well on my own and ill shut down/isolate pretty severely.

applejackpatches · 2024-06-11T22:25:44+00:00

There's more mental health awareness in our generations. When you start becoming aware of these things you can't repress them anymore which makes them worse if you don't get help. It is also incredibly beneficial if you're willing to do the work. If you're doing it right it'll be a pretty grueling experience and requires you to take a lot of responsibility and accountability for yourself.

Unfortunately a lot of our generation don't take responsibility for their negative thinking patterns and continue to be miserable. Doesn't matter if they developed in adulthood or were the result of childhood abuse, when you're an adult, your mindset and thought patterns are your problem to fix even if that's not always fair. I think that's a huge reason why therapy gets a bad rep too.

As far as it relates to romantic relationships I think a lot of us have been in a situation where things were going well (like longer than just a date or two) with someone and then they ghosted or pulled away out of nowhere. You wrack your brain to figure out what you did wrong but you come up empty and no one around you, friends, family, acquaintances, etc can tell you if you did something wrong either. A lot of the time it just comes down to a lot of men and women being incapable of being attracted to an emotionally healthy partner. They might say they want peace or kindness but their relationship track record proves otherwise. When there aren't any fights being picked or anything of that nature they mistake the lack of chaos for a lack of attraction.

That only gets fixed with introspection and change but if someone's not in a place to do that then the other person just gets hurt. I've deleted all my apps for this exact reason. Unfortunately there's no "self-awareness" filter so I'm on a break from dating until I learn to weed those guys out earlier on.

Boudria · 2024-06-11T22:38:10+00:00

Because people like to use this excuse to gaslight people instead of telling them the truth about their issues, or giving them a false hope to solve their problems.

Difficult_Falcon1022 · 2024-06-11T22:47:53+00:00

I see it suggested all the time on reddit, definitely. But there's a massive difference between that and how people talk about it where I live. Here under 40s often have had some counselling, but they tend to be shortish courses.

My point is too little or too much therapy is a bad thing. I don't see overtherapy becoming an issue here as I think we still don't have enough.

ilikecats18851 · 2024-06-12T00:02:18+00:00

good scapegoat for women to blame men for. "actually, your problems are because society doesn't cater to women ENOUGH"

Cethlinnstooth · 2024-06-12T00:03:51+00:00

Because people are rude as fuck nowadays and expect other people who have no particular attachment to them to help them with intricate emotional problems.

Under no possible circumstances would I, as a gen X, have ever requested from almost total strangers the forms of assistance you guys seem all tickety boo in asking for from people you barely know.

Of course you get told to take it to therapy. I'd also tell you to take it to an electrician if you asked me to rewire your house.

hohol_biba · 2024-06-12T00:26:02+00:00

Cuz I got tremors. And OCD (real ocd, it bothers me like 20 times every hour). And I cannot handle any argue in relationship and start overthinking. And being 21 years old my face looks way worse than it is due to stress (which comes from my anxiety)

Which are my options? Antidepressants? Read Reddit bro, 80% here just go from doctor to doctor, from drug to drug. Leftover 20% are “oh I’m genuinely good, I’m eating Venlafaxine for 40 years! I don’t remember my life but that’s okay”

So I haven’t been on war, i do not have real struggles in my life, I didn’t give a born to a child, I haven’t got PTSD. But therapy is like the only choice that might help

grown_folks_talkin · 2024-06-12T01:08:04+00:00

Therapy! No contact! Break up! Unfollow! Heal!

You don’t wanna do the work?

pg_throwaway · 2024-06-12T01:39:53+00:00

why does everyone need therapy these days?

Because most westerners are too soft and turn the tiniest problems into a life crisis. They are also hyper-sensitive, emotionally unstable and immature, so therapy is constantly needed to manage that.

Commercial-Formal272 · 2024-06-12T01:58:53+00:00

Life sucks in general, and in specific impactful ways, and usually in a way that there is little you can do to make it stop sucking. People can handle suffering, but helplessness is far more torturous, so people go to therapy in the hopes of gaining some level of control over life. If you can't control the external, you can at least control the internal, for all the good it'll do you.

KayRay1994 · 2024-06-12T02:51:01+00:00

Quite a few factors play into this, so i’ll try to talk about chronologically.

For newly every generation before the birth of the baby boomers, they lived on “survival mode” - ie. survival pretty much took up most, if not all of most people’s time, as such, you were constantly occupied. Communities were also smaller and far more tight knit and most people’s lives did not move past their communities.

The boomer began living under comfort and surviving became more automatic, however, they were raised under a survivalist mindset despite this. Combine this harsher mindset with easier living conditions, increased social isolation due to the suburbs and general economic ease and you already have a major disconnect. Pile that on across generations, introduce economic hardships, social media (which has proven to be horrible for people’s mental health), as well as increased social isolation and alienation in a world that’s become too big and overwhelming and you’re gonna have people with a ton of problems. Add to this the simple fact that we’ve finally begun serious research on mental health a few decades ago and we’re also starting to understand how to deal with internal issues.

Therapy in itself is a good idea for most people, if anything because it helps you process your thoughts - there are tons of different kinds of therapy for different issues and given the kinds of issues people are facing today, which are primarily mental and emotional rather than physical and that need is frankly justified.

f_lachowski · 2024-06-12T04:28:47+00:00

Therapy is the left's new religion

Werevulvi · 2024-06-12T09:08:58+00:00

Well, it's kinda just become more normalized and there's less stigma around both therapy and mental health issues, especially super common shit like anxiety and depression. So therapy is kinda just seen as going to doctor nowadays.

And people suggest you see a doctor for the smallest inconveniences too. This can irrate me too though. I think you're right that people do preach therapy a bit too much. Like for ex when I say I'm having trouble standing up for myself in social situations and someone immediately says I should get therapy for it. Like... what's a therapist gonna go about that, tell me to work on it which I already am doing on my own?

Honestly I would probably benefit from a life coach of some kind though, who can help drill some sense into me, give me clear directions, teach me about better time management and discipline, because I do have serious trouble with that (I say as I just spent 7h on my reddit, after having woken up at 3am) but just plain talk therapy is entirely pointless to me. If I wanted to vent and whine I go to Reddit or just pester my friends for a bit. Either way it's not an actual solution, not worth my money, and therapy is notoriously bad at offering actual solutions. It's just head pats and validation anyway. You're basically paying someone to be your friend, and not a very good friend at that.

Also talk therapy is often not helpful for men because of those same reasons. That it doesn't offer practical solutions, or even the kinda emotional outlet that men largely benefit from. But this also is rarely talked about. Just how female centered therapy is. I'm female but like I have the same issues with therapy, and I get that's why I'm more incentiviced to care. But still.

I had therapy for almost 20 years and it was a complete waste of money. A few years ago I started turning to all those male hobby coaches online that get so much bad rep (not Andrew Tate, but like... Alpha M, Greg Doucette, Joe Rogan, etc) and that's what truly made a difference for me. Finally I got actually useful advice on how to improve my life, including learning how to better regulate my emotions, and essentially how to be my own therapist.

But I rarely ever dare to suggest to random people to see a life coach, because they do have bad reputation of being sexist and/or scammy, and it's kinda unfortunate but it seems a lot of them are actually scammers with some mlm scheme going on, or just have... very niche and controversial opinions, let's say. Often, they aren't actual professionals and there is quite some risk with turning to them for advice.

But as I said I do agree that society seems to have gotten nearly obsessed with "health" in general, including seeking therapy for even the most minor issues. Seems every other person is a germophobe, obsessed with "eating clean," has a skin care routine and going to weekly therapy. And it's frankly gotten to a nauseating level. Like are people really that afraid of having the slightest little flaw?

I think social media (especially tiktok, instagram, etc) is to blame for that, with all those influencers harping on "perfection" and "health" as a visual image and idea of happiness. Obviously nothing new in human history (we've always been obsessed by one or another "health" trend) but it seems things have absolutely gone bananas in that direction in recent years. The covid epidemic probably also didn't help, as then suddenly everyone became afraid of germs and had way too much time on their hands to start obsessing about diets, skincare, home gyms and of course therapy. All manners of self-improvement. Also all the goddamn "health" products we get constantly shoved down our throats.

Because I think that's all connected. The sophisticated grass smoothies for hundreds of dollars, the "deadlift a firetruck to get ripped in 2 weeks" challenges, the "smear breast milk and pig poop on your face" or buy this expensive arsenal of chemicals for glowy skin type videos, etc. I think the obsession with therapy just comes from this obsession with "health" in general.

And I do say "health" in quotation marks because at this point it's gone so far overboard that it's not actually about health anymore, if it ever truly was. It's about image, aesthetics, morals and seeking perfection. Or just lacking meaning in life and attaching yourself to pointless rituals in hope that'll save you from feeling like all you're doing is grinding through life.

generallyheavenly · 2024-06-12T11:33:29+00:00

I feel like it's become the new catch-all replacement for things that are dying in modern society.

Firstly, I think there are cases where someone just needs a friend, or more human interaction - and they are told that therapy is the answer. Sometimes they might even have bad friends, and when this person expresses their feelings, their bad friend will tell them "I'm not your therapist!"

I also think therapy has replaced religion. Rather than talking to God and the people at church once a week, you talk to... Somebody else... Who's there for you and helps you solve problems in life... Once a week.

I know of people who genuinely view their psychotherapist as a god like omniscient figure. No action can be taken without asking their therapist what to do. They will end relationships because their therapist told them to. They will start new relationships and major life events because their therapist said they should. The therapist is not to be questioned because the therapist is a therapist. Just like god is god.

The therapist replaced friendship and God, in some cases.

ScreenTricky4257 · 2024-06-12T12:54:26+00:00

Because we used to be able to depend on friends, family, and significant others for emotional support, but now everyone is saying, "I'm not your therapist!"

CraftyCooler · 2024-06-12T14:30:15+00:00

Because they love to be a main character and therapy session is peak egocentrism. You pay the guy /gal for 1h of focusing on You, regular friendship are give-take, at some periods you need to give much more, but therapy is only 'take' - no need to give anything. It is like a fast food of human relations, no cooking, no cleaning, just quick emotional big mac served in paper bag.

daddysgotanew · 2024-06-12T15:03:02+00:00

People want to believe that their failures are due to some external influence, instead of just shit that’s inside their own head.

AidsVictim · 2024-06-12T15:31:48+00:00

Because it's the systems answer to social collapse and the rise of pathologies associated with a techno modern society. It provides a profitable answer (via therapy and the pharma complex) that can be consumerised and is ideologically congruent with professional management of society, right down to the emotional and psychological management of individuals.

Consider that the massive expansion of therapy has not resulted in better mental health of society. In fact things have gotten much worse and no this is not an artifact of diagnosis rising since direct measurements like socialization hours, family formation, suicide rates, self reported happiness levels, drug dependency etc are all mal indicated. Things really are worse on almost every social psychological front for modern people despite attempts to obfuscate this by blaming under diagnosis for older generations.

Also consider that the group most likely to embrace therapy, sub boomer white women, have (by a significant margin) the highest rates of mental illness, including specifically depression, and the highest rate of pharma dependency. And their well-being indicators are mostly only getting worse.

Either therapy on society wide scale is insufficient to deal with modern conditions or it's just not doing much beyond creating more pharma and therapy dependent consumers.

On an individual level for specific pathologies therapy ( ie CBT) is probably effective. In the generalized way it's recommended here on Reddit (or by women generally) it's just a way to bandaid social decline.

flipsidetroll · 2024-06-12T17:02:19+00:00

It’s not this generation. It’s been a thing since the 80s.

Whatever the reason, I think you are forgetting something. Men commit suicide at a much higher rate. So something needs to radically change. It makes my blood boil when some arseholes make men fearful of getting help or talking to someone. And when they say no one cares about men, psychology says they are projecting their feelings, so they don’t care. There is no easy answer, but shaming therapy is definitely not going to help. Neither is telling people they are weak. Your hill to die on is your choice.

obviousredflag · 2024-06-12T17:22:48+00:00

I you went, you knew

ThisBoringLife · 2024-06-12T18:36:00+00:00

I do think culture and technology changes made prior methods of dealing with personal issues either immoral, or just plain unavailable.

But I also think with the current switch in culture it's become a bit of a morality flag for themselves, in the same way people blacked out their Twitter pic or put up a post of #BLM. It's seen as the cool and right thing to do, so you can have people that like you.

That's not to say I think therapy is useless, as I do know folks who used it and state it has helped them through a period of trouble in their life. Just that folks that don't actually need it say that they do.

PeaSlight6601 · 2024-06-12T19:06:48+00:00

A lot of talk about whether or not therapy is good or bad, necessary or unnecessary.... very little talk about $$$ and induced demand. People talk about therapy a lot because there are private therapists who need to put money on the table. People talk about therapy because the industry has gotten mental health benefits included in many corporate health benefit programs.

In the 1950s mental health therapy happened in institutions. Those doctors didn't need to advertise your services to bring in clients. Now mental health occurs in private offices and homes, and the therapists are out there drumming up work. Individuals have already paid for the therapy through their health insurance, so why not go.

pence_secundus · 2024-06-12T21:35:16+00:00

A lot of it comes from modern therapists being enablers and coddlers of bad beliefs.

One important thing is that the barrier to entry for being a therapist is extremely low, it's one of the griftiest jobs out there.

jimmothyhendrix · 2024-06-12T22:16:32+00:00

We created a society with no supports structure, but also one that created a narcissistic sense of self importance where you can ignore reality.

Realistic-Ad-1023 · 2024-06-12T23:12:33+00:00

Because most of yall are traumatized and unable to cope in an effective and healthy way, communicate appropriately or resolve conflict in a way that is mutually beneficial to both parties.

one_time_animal · 2024-06-13T04:11:15+00:00

It's a way to defer responsibility

just_a_place · 2024-06-13T04:38:06+00:00

Because "therapy" it's the trendy new business. You are trading money for an intangible. It's the greatest scam ever invented ever since someone decided that "the gods" need your virgin daughters.

People, being the stupid sheep that they are, naturally swallow up all this bullshit like fish gulping water.

Comms · 2024-06-13T09:06:33+00:00

why does everyone need therapy these days?

There's not an uptick in people needing therapy "these days". People have always needed therapy because most people don't have the emotional intelligence, insight, coping skills, vocabulary, or resources to deal with challenging (relative to each individual) emotional experiences.

What's different now is that you have a) competent and evidence-based therapy with consistent outcomes and b) significantly less stigma attached to individuals who seek therapy c) it's actually more affordable and insurance covers it.

Pola_Lita · 2024-06-11T19:34:12+00:00

I feel like this generation is much worse off than managing their emotions than previous generations, and they just aren't as rough and tough mentally as prior generations.

Isn't this a good reason for therapy? What other solution would there be?

Anyway, I thought the 1960s - 70s were the therapy era?

LaFrescaTrumpeta · 2024-06-11T22:27:03+00:00

heavily doubting that previous generations were better in this regard. the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging there is one. previous generations didn’t do this, so we never linked their problems with mental health and never saw them as having mental health issues. now we’ve got generations of people saying yes this is actually a problem and here’s how it connects to our behavioral issues, we see that and think wow yeah they’re way more mentally fucked than their parents were. but that’s so far from being necessarily true; hell any psychologist could tell you the greatest generation’s trauma massively shaped how our culture views and handles emotions today

FromAuntToNiece · 2024-06-11T23:47:04+00:00

Therapists' warning against men who engage in trauma dumping has damaged heterosexual relationships for all people. Male trauma dumping is the only option available for many men who are seeking compassion.

Don't stronger forms of trauma dumping cause the listener to have an emotional shutdown? The therapist description of this as "emotional abuse" has damaged heterosexual relationships for all people.

f_lachowski · 2024-06-12T04:15:08+00:00

With the decline in popularity of traditional religion (most notably Christianity in the west), many atheists have took on a secular, new-age religion. Therapy is one of the core tenants in this religion, so its believers fervently believe in therapy like Christians believe in God.

But more often than not, "go to therapy" is just used as an insult and deflection technique.

StumblingDuck404 · 2024-06-11T19:25:15+00:00

Those of us in Gen X realized we did indeed need therapy, but were conditioned and bullied into not getting it, bullied by the previous generation… now most people realize they need therapy to process and to evolve beyond their past preprogrammed behaviors and ideals.

toasterchild · 2024-06-11T23:20:28+00:00

People are less likely to put up with your bullshit now than they were in the past. Most people expect their partners to at least desire to improve their maladaptive behaviors. Therapy can be super beneficial to relationships even if you just learn to communicate a little better and fight more productively.

Title	Why does this generation fixate and obsses so much over "therapy"?
Author	HolyCopeAmoly
Upvotes	52
Comments	150
Date	June 11, 2024 6:58 PM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/PurplePillDebate
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/PurplePillDebate/comments/1ddm1q2/why_does_this_generation_fixate_and_obsses_so/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/PurplePillDebate/why-does-this-generation-fixate-and-obsses-so-much.1521286 https://theredarchive.com/post/1521286

Comments