Apr 1
When you’re supporting your mental health professional.
The workshop on self-management of depression symptoms I registered to at the beginning of the semester seemed to be a good idea at first. I like to be proactive managing my dysthymia. I thought I could meet fellow depression sufferers to connect with, and maybe created new friendships. It has been good to exchange with others, but the format of the workshop is unbalanced. From a week on week off beginning format to an every week format happening while ending the semester is suboptimal. At this point, a big chunk of my productive time, 3 hours every Thursday, is eaten away by these online meetings that unfortunately have brought me very little.
Not only I’m already aware of all the content, as well as the other participants, but I now feel I’m doing this to please them more than to meet my needs. I like to stick to my commitments. When I say I will take part of something I want to follow through. At this point it’s the only reason why I attend. The discouragement of our workshop hosts is palpable. We try our best to stay engaged, but half the group dropped out, and the remaining few need to multitask during meetings since it takes so much of our time.
It’s obvious that the organizers scheduled this activity based on their needs without being present to the students reality. I’m aware that not all therapists are competent, and it’s hard for me to find a good match in the past few years since I constantly acquire more psychology knowledge. It annoyes me when I’m aware of the latest findings, and influences while the supposed professional that stands before me is clueless of the trends of their industry. From social justice etiquette to adjusting to your participants level of education, many faux pas have cumulated. I’d like to use the mental health services offered by the campus, but I fear I’ll be facing incompetence since the leaders of the workshop are graduates of my university psychology program.
This situation is irritating me, but at least it will end next week. Finally… I did get good reminders on basic principles of mental health, and it does motivate me to implement more tools in my life. I’m just pissed off it took all my energy, and left me with very little to complete my math homework. Their is some fatigue build up from yesterday’s spinning class, and divided sleep, so I’m trying to pace my mood. Early bed time is the goal, and I’m going to achieve it in just a moment. On that note, goodnight!
