I understand this. I'm just telling you how I live my life; I'm not going to try to tell you how to live yours.

Why can't you find your own therapist? You clearly know how to use the internet.

Because I wouldn't know what to do. I might accidentally pick one that's too far away (my mom is very sick and can't drive far), or accidentally pick one that's too expensive (we don't have much money). I feel that it's something better left for a parent to do.

I'm not suggesting you pick one and then just bike (oh no, wait...) your way over there.

But, would it not be helpful to say "Mom, I found these three therapists. Are any of them OK?"

I guess. Even that kind of scares me a little though. I have no idea why. But not so much that I won't be able to do it.

The thing that confuses me is that you have a deep suspision of mind altering drugs, and yet you're perfectly happy to pay for a complete stranger to reach into you mind and poke around a bit until you start thinking differently. That makes no sense whatsoever.

Truth be told, there is nothing unusual about a fear of embarrasment or pain. A friend of mine in school used to delight in karate chopping wasps, which I always envied but was terrified to ever try myself. I couldn't even work up the courage to do that thing where you tap the compass point inbetween your fingers at ever increasing speeds :p.

Nothing any therapist says will make a blind bit of difference. You will basically stay as you are until such a time as something you genuinely need demands you overcome these fears, after which you will find they aren't as strong anymore.

@Oct

I don't agree at all.

First off, a therapist will help change you slowly in a helpful, controlled fashion. Drugs do so in a chaotic, temporary fashion.

Ultimately, you need to be the one who does the changing, but a therapist can give you the tools to make it easier.

@Octavious: You seem to come across as not believing in therapy. Do you not believe in therapy?

I believe that therapists exist, and the laws of averages dictate that at least some of them might be worth their money. But I also know that there are a lot a damned fools out there who call themselves therapists and worship the latest fashionable theory their profession has created as if it was a lost chapter of the Bible.

Be careful what you put in your brain. It's damned near impossible to get it out again. And be extremely careful when choosing someone to put stuff in on your behalf.

"The thing that confuses me is that you have a deep suspision of mind altering drugs, and yet you're perfectly happy to pay for a complete stranger to reach into you mind and poke around a bit until you start thinking differently. That makes no sense whatsoever."

I think your description of therapy is way off course. You make it sound like the therapist is able to control your mind. This is not what happens. In my experience cognitive therapy helps the patient to think about issues more rationally. But it is the patient who does the thinking - for themselves. This is very different from taking mind altering drugs. And the consequences are very different too. Mind altering drugs can have profound negative consequences, such as depression, paranoia, and pyschosis. (drugs of course have their place too - some people seems to need anti-depressants, for example). I don't mean to sound alarmist. I have taken my fair share of mind altering drugs in my youth (and had a good time too, as well as some ordinary experiences). But the affects of drugs can be bad, especially if abused, or if they react badly, as they can with some people.

@spyman: "I have taken my fair share of mind altering drugs in my youth" And you aren't addicted? I thought all mind-altering drugs were very addictive, except for marijuana, but perhaps I've been misinformed?

Con Man, yes, you've been misinformed. This is why I think drug education must be added to the school curriculum. Similarly to the need for health education, the lack of knowledge about drugs (legal ones too) is very dangerous.

Pot and LSD are *not* addictive. Alcohol is addictive. Caffienne is addictive. So, if you want a good mind-altering, safe high, I recommend pot....and if you have a good 12-24 hours to blow away with trusted allies, LSD.

@Yonni: I had drug education in the 5th grade. It was called DARE: Drug Abuse and Resistance Education. At least I think that's what it stood for. The A might have stood for alcohol instead. It's a city-wide program where I live.

lol DARE....give me a break. Yet another *failed* government program. "Hey kid with the wildly imaginative kid's mind....don't take this drug or smoke this pot....because then you might think you can fly. Oh....what's that? You have a wild imagination and have always dreamed of flying and....huh?....drugs now sound really cool and interesting? What's that? You know someone that smokes pot and NONE of the horror stories we told you came true? So....you mean you caught us in out wildly exaggerated lies? Damn..."

I was afraid of drugs until about 30 seconds after I first smoked pot and realized that *everything * I had been told about drugs was a complete lie.

You are saying that by smoking pot, you came upon an epiphany that doctors have been lying to you all these years about the consequences...come on

Pot may be the safest choice, but it is not safe.

Did I say anything about Doctors? And, actually, yes - I believe doctors lie about drugs and alternate therapies because they get kick-backs from big Pharma. I'm talking about the lie that people like the cops in the DARE program tell....like implying that if you smoke pot, you might go crazy, might jump of a building and try to fly, etc etc. Those same cops meet at the bar after leaving the school to try to scare kids out of drugs.

As a matter of fact, pot is *far* safer than alcohol on pretty much any level of evaluation. There is even evidence that certain chemical components of pot may *fight* cancer....it does *NOT* have the same negative effects on the body as tobaco....something you would know if you did a little studying on the topic instead of listening to hype and hysteria.

Look up the film "What if Cannabic Cured Cancer" by Len Richmond. Quite interesting.

But...yes.,..I smoked pot, I didn't turn into the devil, I didn't jump off a building, I didn't lose my ability to function *at all* and in fact smoked for 4 years while getting my Electircal Engineering degree. If you fear the drug, you clearly have never tried it, and are just buying into social media hype and government scare propaganda.

"You are saying that by smoking pot, you came upon an epiphany that doctors have been lying to you all these years about the consequences...come on

Pot may be the safest choice, but it is not safe."

No, but he came upon the realization that drug education from parents, teachers, clergy, reefer madness producers, etc. falls only a little short of fear-mongering.

Of course, there are dangers to doing drugs. But we need to be told them honestly and accurately so that we don't throw caution to the wind about all drugs after we take our first hoot of a bong.

'....something you would know if you did a little studying on the topic instead of listening to hype and hysteria."

Classic internet argument. Attack anonymous persons credibility and character... sigh. I'm done.

@Tom/Yonni: Did krellin say something? Because I have him muted.

Maybe I just didn't get all these 'fear mongering' about the dangers of marijuana. But I get what you guys are saying. And I agree on a certain level.

if you want to know what he said just unmute him...

At Tom - so what is "safe"? I'll bet you a hundred bucks I can go through your medicine cabinet and find unsafe drugs, up to an including either your Nyquil or your Benedril/anti-hystimine, either of which can make you dangerously drowsy and a danger on the road. Please....our society is FULL of dangers. The idea is to teach children not to fear, but to teach them how to mitigate that danger. I don't smoke pot any more, but if I did, I would do it in the safety of my home, I wouldn't drive, etc. How would that be dangerous? When I smoked in college, I walked everywhere, but mostly hung out in the dorm/friends house listening to music. Eewwwwwwww!!!!! That is SO dangerous, isn't it???? lol

Conservative Man.....grow up. We all know you are reading my posts. YOU TOLD US YOU READ MUTED POSTS IN ANOTHER THREAD, YOU DOUCHE!

No. Not dangerous to other people. You used it responsibly. But I don't trust adolescents to do so.

@Tom....sigh...you are done? Uh....why? Because you put out a *very* generic statement that pot is dangerous...and I suggested you know knowing about it? I suggest - STILL_ that you don't. You are "done" because you have no valid reply, because your only knowledge of pot comes from propaganda.

No it doesn't. I can say the same about you. You have shown me no proof, but I don't say how you are an ignorant fool. Are you going to argue that pot is not dangerous? It slows reaction time and has been proven after long use to lead to some memory loss. I don't want high drivers with slow reaction time.

So....you therefore admit that pot can be safe if used safely? Therefore it is not the drug that is dangerous, but the person using it. As with *most* things in this world, whether or not something is safe is determined by the human being involved. Guns are extremely safe....or deadly dangerous depending on the person using them. Cars are lethal when used by irresponsible adolescents....should we ban kids from cars?

I trust you get the gist of the argument.

Yes. I think it can be used moderately safely. I mean its not good for you, but used responsibly you put no others at danger. I agree that the problem really relies in the user, but I don't trust the rest of society to use responsibly. No, we shouldn't ban cars, but there is a reason you have to be a certain age to drive one. Lying to kids to keep them from using pot is just not all that bad in my eyes, until they are mature enough to understand the effects/consequences

Tom, sleep deprivation causes slow reaction times. Cough medicine causes slow reaction times. Anti-depressents, which are ALL OVER out society, can cause slow reaction times. So, if you are concerned about slow rection times, then you have a hell of a lot more to worry about than pot.

As for me showing no proof...I posted the name of a documentary examining the medical benefits of pot. If you want to get into the "danger" of it as a recreational drug, then you had better not worry about pot and focus on alcohol and prescription drugs, which are responsible for FAR FAR FAR more deaths than pot could ever be credited with.

Your fear of pot is irrational brain-washing. and I am positive you have zero experience with it, thus you speak only from the standpoint of "I heard that pot...."