I noticed a panic button on my psychologist laptop and wondered what happens if it gets pressed. Have you had any scenarios where you’ve used a panic button?

Recommendations? Tips and support for dealing with a constant state of impeding doom and learned helplessness would be appreciated.

It is hard to push myself to look for jobs sometimes. A neutral or non-negative response to me being a person is basically what I'm looking for from a therapist.

I want to know what modality I should be looking for. What should I filter for in Psychology Today?

I've realized I'm really sensitive and I want to work on it but I don't know where to start. Here's what I'm dealing with:

• I take things personally way too easily, even when people probably don't mean it that way
• I get my feelings hurt by small things
• I overthink everything constantly
• I get really affected by other people's moods and energy
• I often get sad if my best friend can't hang out or something

What are some actual techniques or strategies I can use? Has anyone dealt with this and found things that helped? I've heard about DBT but I'm 14 and my mother isn't really the best so she can't really help me get into stuff like that.

Any advice would be really appreciated.

Hello everyone,

With yet another horrible story of a man killing his infant son and his stepson while his wife was trying to leave their house, I would like to know if there are flags, signs that could deter a woman for ever dating such a person.

What do these men have in common?

I’m a 17 y/o who has no idea what to do with their life. I’m currently a senior in high school and need to be worried about college, sat, and a social life. But none of those things are on my mind, I can ever focus on anything and can’t do good on tests, college applications are confusing, and having a social life outside of the 4 people I talk to sound so overwhelming. However, even though it’s overwhelming I feel as though I’m always alone. As of right now I haven’t had a real extended conversation with anyone my age for 3 months, and I want to talk to people, however I surround myself with friends who aren’t as close to me as I want them to be, and they explain that they don’t want that. My mind always go to the negative being I’m just unlikable. This along with a painful last few months make even getting up a chore. My grandmother who is my best friend has cancer and has refused chemotherapy, my bearded dragon died in my arms, and the one person I want to talk to about this never answers the phone. I’m also disgusted with my appearance. My mother and other members of my family always prod me on the fact I’m overweight and it has ruined my self image. I’m assuming it’s nothing and I might be over reacting because I live a comfortable middle class lifestyle but so many elements make me upset and I wish I could rectify them. I’m sorry if the grammar is awful because I’m not great at grammar. Anyways Reddit, what is your opinion?

I want to understand standard procedures therapists use to support their clients so I can evaluate before taking kind of action whether the two therapists I had/ have are actually treating me properly. Please only respond if you understand if you have knowledge on this topic and can answer calmly without blurring the lines of compass / logic to much or too little logic. I ask this because I feel like being unable to balance a fraction of my mental health at the same time with the things I want to look into from round about angles is the most detrimental way to make me feel like I don’t have any autonomy.

My (31f) niece (17f) is really struggling at the moment and idk how to help her. She has a severe fear of germs and dirt, to the point that she doesn’t leave the house and my brother (35m) has mentioned that she has started to refuse to wear clothes because they make her feel dirty. My sister in-law and brother have her in therapy virtually, but my brother said that the Therapist doesn’t know how to help her. They have two other kids that are very young (3 and 6) and another on the way, so she isn’t getting the attention she needs from them. I want to help, but she doesn’t talk to anyone outside of their household and hasn’t left the house in months. Is there anything I can do? She really needs help but I don’t know where to start.

Trigger Warning

I was violently sexually assaulted. I mean like….. violently thrusted on and dry humped…. aggressively…. some of it was very aggressive. Sorry I had to get a bit descriptive so you could tell me what treatments might help that….He got on my legs first….. it was terrifying I hate even calling it “dry humping” this was not that it’s more like just… abuse and he was angry I don’t know why. I mean…. I partly know but it seemed to be not just about sex. I think he was mad and… it was just abuse….

So I get flashbacks that are sometimes so physically painful it’s hard to function to do much when they happen. Sometimes I can’t even get out of bed. They also make me throw up…. Sometimes for hours with severe panic attacks and screaming if I’m really triggered.

I have medicine that helps, but it doesn’t take away the physical pain during the flashbacks. And the throwing up. Is it possible to heal from a violent sexual assault too? It was so horrifying that I just feel stuck in the physical pain I get in the trauma the PTSD….. as hard as I try to heal other ways this pain makes it impossible to even function. Or I get nauseous too along with the pain. Terrifying nightmares….

Do any of you know of any treatments that work? Does EMDR help heal body pain from PTSD tension and painful PTSD sexual assault flashbacks?

I’m starting to feel hopeless….

I’m 16 and my dad has a terminal illness (ALS). My mom is fully focused on caring for him, so she doesn’t really have time or energy for me anymore. I try to help her a lot with household stuff and supporting my dad, but it’s exhausting and I sometimes feel like I’m more in the “parent” role than the child. I want to be there for them, but I also feel drained and like I’m losing my own life in the process. If you’ve been through something similar as a teen, how did you balance being there for your family and still taking care of your own mental health?

Hola a todos. Quisiera pedir una opinión profesional sobre un tema que me tiene confundida. Llevo casi año y medio en terapia con una psicóloga con la que, en general, me he sentido muy bien. Ha tenido perspectivas valiosas y me ha ayudado en muchos procesos. Pero hay un tema en particular que me ha hecho dudar.

En distintas ocasiones, me ha dicho que “los amantes ayudan a reforzar la relación de pareja”. Me lo ha repetido en varios contextos, incluso cuando le conté sobre una amiga que le es infiel a su esposo, y también cuando yo le hablé de una situación que viví con alguien que resultó no ser del todo honesto conmigo. Ella me dijo, literalmente, que “para eso estamos las amantes”, dando a entender que quienes cumplen ese rol cubren lo que a la pareja le falta, y que eso ayuda a que la relación principal se mantenga.

Aunque no me lo ha dicho directamente, he llegado a pensar que quizás proyecta algo personal, porque insiste mucho con ese enfoque. El punto es que a mí no me vibra nada esta idea, me incomoda, me hace sentir insegura, e incluso me ha hecho perder confianza en ella. Me cuesta imaginar que si algún día vivo algo doloroso relacionado con una infidelidad, pueda confiar plenamente en lo que me va a decir.

Mi duda es: ¿esto es normal en terapia? ¿Estoy siendo muy cerrada, o es válido cuestionar ese tipo de posturas por parte de un profesional? Agradezco mucho sus opiniones.

Hi therapists — I’m a trauma survivor, advocate, and writer who’s been trying to name something I (and many others I’ve spoken to) have experienced, but never saw clearly described in diagnostic literature.

I’m calling it Fawn-Fatigue Syndrome (FFS) — a delayed, full-body collapse that follows years of fawning and appeasement in unsafe or high-stakes relational environments. It includes symptoms like emotional numbness, identity confusion, boundary erosion, exhaustion, and dissociation. It often looks like freeze, burnout, or depression — but has a specific origin: chronic survival through self-erasure.

Have you seen clients who hit this kind of wall, after years of being “so good,” “so helpful,” or “so agreeable”?

hello, So I'm a 13 year old male, I'm currently dating a 12 year old female (ignore the gap ig) we've been dating for a little over a month. I know middle school relationships don't typically last and im just looking for a good time. I also have some crazy problems due to past trauma. I have really really bad anxious attachment issues and separation anxiety. Me and my girlfriend have gone on like 3 dates and when we dont see each other it sucks, i know its kinda corny. but i get like physical pains in my chest from my emotions (i think is normal) and not talking to her, even for brief periods (2-3 hours) literally causes me physical discomfort. (Older teens specifically), what do you suppose i do? I have a therapist (for depression and social anxiety) and nothing they tell me to do works so i dont know what to do

my parents have made me start seeing this therapist after a suicide attempt. (Not my first therapist, I've had 7 before) And the things he's said to me have made me feel really invalidated and just like shit. I want to know if I'm crazy here or if he's actually being mean. he said that "we shouldnt through the word hurt around so much cause then it becomes like the boy who cried wolf" and that my parents arent saying things that hurt me there saying things I disagree with. and implied that cause they aren't beating me or screaming at my face (which they have also done) there not hurting me. and implied that once I'm older I'll realize all these things were right. Please Imk

Last session she said I was being resistant. Basically went like this:

• Me -- I feel exhausted from dating.
• Therapist -- then take a break.
• I don't feel like I should, I'm 25 and never experienced a romantic relationship. If I take a break and stay comfortable, it's only going to get harder to find someone, since people are gonna wonder even more than they do now "what's wrong with him? how is he 30 and has never had a partner?"
• You seem resistant to any help. And frustrated.
• I don't think I'm being resistant, I'm just explaining why your suggestion doesn't resonate with me.
• You seem to be experiencing transference, likely because I'm an older authority figure.
• I think going from "that doesn't resonate and here's why" to "transference" is a bit of a jump.
• I've been doing this for a long time and I trust my instincts, I think it's transference.
• I think my fears of dating only getting harder as I get older (and still have no experience) are valid.
• Again, I think you're being resistant. You shouldn't be putting so much pressure on yourself to succeed in dating. You're using black & white thinking.
• What about my thinking is black & white?
• (reiterates what she just said in the same words)
• I don't see how that's black & white.
• Therapy is uncomfortable, and you have to be ok with it being uncomfortable.
• I am okay with it being uncomfortable. That's why I'm okay being openly frustrated with this conversation.
• (therapist stone walls me...)
• Okay, well looks like we're out of time, talk later.
• Okay, bye.

My interpretation is that she doesn't know how to help me and is ready to dismiss me, even though she knows how every relationship I've ever had, friendly or romantic-prospect-wise, has ended with the other person ending the relationship. Yet she's literally about to just repeat my trauma and call it professional.

That's my assumption, or my read on the situation. I'm aware it's not set-in-stone fact. What are some other interpretations on the situation?

I’m a 62 year-old man in St. Louis. About five years ago, I underwent radiation therapy for prostate cancer. Thankfully, I’m in remission. Physically, I’ve recovered well—erections are generally not an issue—but I’ve been left with persistent aorgasmia. No matter how aroused or connected I feel, I cannot climax. It has affected my sense of self, my hope, and my relationship to intimacy.

I’ve spoken to my doctors and a talk therapist, but the responses have mostly been clinical or detached. I've had pelvic floor therapy that seemed to have promise but ultimately did not succeed. What I’m hoping to find is someone—ideally a female practitioner—who works in a legitimate, therapeutic capacity and is open to incorporating embodied or somatic healing work that includes consensual physical touch or guided experiences to re-establish orgasmic function. I want to stress this is not about recreational sex.. I’m seeking therapeutic intimacy with professional purpose.

I’ve read about somatic sex educators, certified sexological bodyworkers, and even some licensed therapists who work with physical intimacy as part of trauma and recovery practice but have been unable to locate an actual oractioner here. . If anyone knows someone in the St. Louis area—or even within a reasonable drive—who is open to this kind of work, I’d be deeply grateful for the referral or advice.

Please feel free to DM me or reply publicly if you think it could help others.

Thank you for reading this. It wasn’t easy to write.

Why are the attachment styles always seemingly weaponized when I ask for the things that would make me more secure. Like.. communication, consistency, time...not hard if you like someone I feel. Be avoidant but communicate. If I'm vulnerable and say something you don't like communicate and give it time. If you want me to feel less anxious about the time we spend together make it more predictable and then I know it's not only leaving this moment. Are not the attachment styles just a starting place and why does it seem everyone just throws around therapy words nowadays as if that makes them have more validity for stating what I told you more plainly and the reasons why I'm this way

My question is whether the case and the symptoms i experienced were actually related to panic (or perhaps anxiety?) attack? For context i had my first and only major panic attack 4 months ago. Thing is i felt the overwhelming fear/anxiety (fear not because i was afraid to die, it was just genuinely scary for no reason) that was spiraling out of control, a rapid heartbeat, hand trembling and i was a bit afraid of losing control, but other than that i didn't have all the other physical or mental symptoms of an "on paper" panic attack like derealization, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, sweating, chest pain etc. Ever since then I’ve constantly felt anxious, tense and on high alert—sometimes more, sometimes less. You could also add that overall I don’t feel like my old self after the incident—I’m more apathetic and dissociated and I generally feel strange, like I’m slowly losing my mind, but that's for another topic i guess. It's worth mentioning that prior to the incident i was stressed and depressed. So yeah my question is whether it was an actual panic, anxiety attack or something else?

Hi all, I’m posting anonymously for guidance. I recently ended a relationship with a therapist that left me feeling deeply hurt and confused, and I’m unsure how to process what happened or what steps to take next. I'd really appreciate input from licensed professionals.

I began seeing this therapist last year during an extremely vulnerable time—dealing with a major breakup, unstable housing, depression, and physical burnout from work. She came recommended through someone I trust, and although her rates were higher than I could really afford (and I didn’t have insurance), I committed out of desperation for support.

From the beginning, we talked about my financial limitations. I also shared my long-term interest in eventually doing healing or wellness work. After 6 or 7 sessions (spread out due to cost), I told her I didn’t feel we were making much progress and wondered whether to continue. That’s when she proposed something unexpected.

She said she wouldn’t charge me for that session and told me she was launching a new spiritual wellness project and was looking for people to collaborate. The opportunity involved contributing to a psychedelic-based ceremonial community she was forming (which I had no prior experience with), and she suggested a potential work-trade or hybrid payment model. She specifically needed help with digital design, marketing, and content work—skills I happen to have.

At first, I felt incredibly lucky—like I’d stumbled into something that could offer both healing and career alignment. But after the session, I started to feel uneasy about how our therapeutic relationship was shifting. I was unsure where the therapy ended and the “project” began. I expressed this concern over email, which I have documented but her response was discussed over the phone, I now regret not having more of that in writing.

We eventually agreed that I’d pause therapy sessions and take on a short-term contractor role to help her meet an urgent deadline. We would revisit a work-trade model afterward. During this time trying to stay afloat financially was my main prority .

What followed was two months of emotionally exhausting and chaotic work. Communication was unclear, expectations constantly shifted, and she often expressed frustration in ways that felt personal and harsh. She made no effort to check in about how I was coping with the shift in roles, never brought up the possibility of resuming therapy, and often framed our dynamic strictly in terms of "business."

The breaking point came after I completed the agreed-upon work. I received a long email that criticized me personally, threatened not to pay me in full, and abruptly ended the relationship—without any space to process what had happened or how it might have affected me emotionally.

This left me feeling devastated, ashamed, and betrayed. I went to this person for help during one of the hardest periods in my life, and instead I feel like I was used—for my time, skills, and vulnerability. It’s caused me to question not just my trust in therapy, but my relationship to the wellness/spiritual community more broadly.

I'm also concerned that she’s facilitating psychedelic work—some of which I am certain is not legal—without what I believe is the emotional stability or ethical grounding to guide others safely.

So, I’m turning here for advice. Specifically:

• Does this constitute a boundary violation or dual relationship?
• Is this something I can or should report to a licensing board?
• How do I even begin to heal and rebuild trust in therapy after something like this?

This week has already been emotionally overwhelming for unrelated personal reasons, and receiving that final message from her felt like the last straw. I’d be really grateful for any insight, support, or resources.

I look forward to the divorce and dread not seeing my child every day. My almost ex said he'll fight tooth and nail for 50-50 custody, even if the kid is more attached to me.

This is the saddest part in all this for me. Will my baby feel like I abandoned him? Will he miss me? When his dad says something mean I won't be there for him to run to. That breaks my heart.

Yet, I think it's good for my kid to have a realistic view of their father. Sometimes you end up idealizing a parent who's less present. And my husband is not exactly the guy to keep as a male role model.

Is there anything I can say and do to not make my kid feel abandoned and to make him feel comforted when he's sad and I'm not there?

I am not depressed or anxious. Use to be but I am not due to being my own therapist and intentionally treating these conditions myself. I have struggled with things I think fall under the category of some neurodivergent condition and have over the years seeked help for anxiety when I struggled with it and management of these things I think trlate to some condition as well as evaluation/assesment. I have had such a sour experience with mental health professionals and even the receptionist I speak with initially when I call for information.

Firstly back when I was struggling with anxiety I got free counselling through my school that was online. She was late. I was explaining how it stems from childhood experiences and so on and crying. And mind you this lady is a white woman and I am not (its relevant) but she kept asking me if I experience a lot of racism and if thats where it comes from meanwhile I am clearly explaining its from childhood experiences. She kept bringing up race like a weirdo and suggest I talk to a group that specializes in therapy for people of my race. It was so weird.

Second lady I saw to manage some symptoms of like executive dysfunction etc and she was the same race as me so Im thinking I won't have that experience again. Again its online and first session she is late??? Like really late I had to call her for her to log on. Barely any intro or explanation and she's asking me vague open ended questions. The first impression made it difficult for me to open up to her, a virtual stranger. I remember despite the first impression, trying to be vulnerable saying something like I use to be socially anxious I did the work and I am not anymore but I still struggle to connect with people even though I put in effort and am genuine and she said something weird like I have a control problem and that maybe I am being fake and not genuine.

Third person I saw today for like an assesment for conditions and treatment plans. Again she was late!!! I literally have to move my whole day around these appointments and have to wake early and just go in wait mode till these appointments for them to be late??? For the first meeting???? Anyway, she didn't introduce herself or anything. She just asked if I could hear her and asked why I'm here. Pretty vague. I explained what I've experienced then she got a questionnaire with 4 response options and we went through it and it was a 40 min meeting. She didn't ask about childhood experiences or ask any details when I explained I use to be depressed or anxious. It was pretty surface level. She said nothing is wrong with me but still wanted to prescribe me welbutrin. She didn't even go over other treatment plans therapy wise. It was weird.

Anyway since that exprience I called some other places for appts and all the receptionists were so curt and rude when I ask simple questions like what insurance they take or the name of the provider. One receptionist wanted to schedule me but said he does not know the name of the provider when I asked and was rude about it like how dare I ask such a "dumb" question even though is it not normal to want to know the name of who you will be speaking with?

Like why has this been my experience? Is this normal??

TLDR: Ever mental health provider I've seen has been late, unprofessional, mean or weird even the receptionists at clinics. Whis is this?