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March 13, 2007
WWMTTMTD?
One of the things I miss most about having some disposable income is seeing a therapist. Now, when faced with a big decision, I have to play the game, "What Would My Therapist Tell Me To Do?" Usually with my friends and family as arbiters, which THEY LOVE, LET ME TELL YOU.
Actually, my therapist never told me to do anything. But she knew how to ask the right questions to help me figure out what I wanted to do, what was best for me. In fact, by the time I made it around to our weekly appointment, often I'd already figured it out -- I just got the thumbs up and usually some AMAZING advice on how best to proceed to leave the fewest hurt feelings/bodies in my wake.
So I guess what I really miss is the cooling off period. And I find as I age (like a fine wine, foo'!), the more important the cooling off period becomes because, blech, the stakes for my decisions are much higher.
Lately, I've been trying to reinstitute the cooling off period, but it goes against my intense desire for resolution, so it's a battle. Still, I think my old therapist would be proud.
Maybe. We'll see in September, when I can afford to pay her to listen to my angst again and my friends and family will be free of participating in WWMTTMTD? Just as long as her response to what I've been up to isn't "WTF?", I'll be happy.
Posted by jen at March 13, 2007 09:03 PM
Comments
Jen, you are too cute. Your blog is one of my favorites. Keep it up.
Posted by: Ana at March 13, 2007 10:05 PM
That all works just fine unless you are trying to con your therapist. And I am such a master of the con, I should be a Traveller. I could go on here but suddenly I think you have given me the topic for my Thursday post.
Now back to you. An ideal therapist gives you the tools to deal with things when s/he is not around. I have a feeling that you may already have these given your discussion above. The only question to this all is your committal to a "cooling off" period.
I understand your desire for a "quick fix" -- or resolution as the case may be. That is what our society has taught us. but sometimes the resolution needs to come slower. And we have to wait for it.
Funny thing that I have noticed is that my students have very little, if any, patience. I was just lecturing them on that today. And by "lecturing" I mean "yelling" because at that point, I had lost all patience.
And this is becoming a post so I'm going to end it now.
Posted by: Dagny at March 13, 2007 11:20 PM
I am definitely a fan of the cooling off period. But instead of playing WWMTTMTD, I play Complain to All My Friends Repeatedly Instead of Yelling at My Coworkers (CAMFRIYMC). Maybe I should get a therapist!
Posted by: -R- at March 14, 2007 07:47 AM
I always ask myself "WWLGD?". (What Would Lorelai Gilmore Do?). It works quite well.
Something to think about: my therapist only charges $45.00 for a 15 minute phone session. As long as I plan beforehand what I need to go over, I can cover a lot of ground in those 15 minute. You might want to see if your therapist offers something similar.
Posted by: SusannahS at March 14, 2007 08:05 AM
Ana, YOU are too cute!
Dagny, I am not advanced enough to con my therapist, sadly.
Oh, -R-, I play that game, too. Or at least I do when I have coworkers. At the moment I just bitch about the goobs in my classes.
SusannahS, you are not alone! Laurie (Crazy Aunt Purl) does this, too -- in fact, once you mentioned that I remembered that she had a blog entry titled WWLGD I think!
Posted by: jen at March 14, 2007 09:34 PM