If it requires travelling to someone’s office, I am not going to do it. Ever. Full stop. So your advice isn’t helpful for me, in any way.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear about this when I brought up online audio/video therapy. But let me be crystal clear. Let me make myself as clear as an unmuddied lake; as clear as an azure sky of deepest summer. I am only interested in online audio/video therapy (to start with, anyway) and I have zero interest in travelling to someone’s office. Ever.
So for me it’s the difference between not doing it at all, ever, or doing it.
Which, in your professional opinion, would be the better outcome here?
Sheesh man. Of course, if it’s online or nothing, try online.
To contend that there aren’t significant advantages in having a conversation face to face makes it sound like you’re a replicant. Or one of those dudes in Plato’s cave. The shadows are everything.
My wife’s a therapist. She has a few folks who have moved away and she regularly sees them via online video. They continue to benefit (well they likely think so, since they maintain their online sessions) but they also have a history of in person conversations. That history no doubt informs their remote meetings.
Start in any way you’re comfortable, but sure seems like another self imposed obstacle you’re creating to affirm your preconceptions when you find the exercise lacking merit.
The thing to keep in mind here is that folks, including me, want you to find a greater happiness. It’s clear you want to believe it’s not possible, but of course, that’s the problem.
Please take a minute and re-read your post and the post that you responded to. From the other thread, it’s clear that you’re in a bad place, but that’s not an excuse to respond in the way that you did.
As I’ve said before, @wumpus, I’d miss you if you weren’t here.
As IIRC you’ve mentioned before, you find online sentimentality or well-wishes to be disingenuous (I’m paraphrasing, but I believe it was in the pro-or-con Likes thread), I don’t expect you to believe that. I can only hope you’ll take me at my word, as the only other option is a real-world meeting, which seems unlikely given what you’ve recently stated here.
So, as this is the only likely way I’ll ever get to talk with you, my sincere wishes for your well-being are all I can offer.
Also consider a psychiatrist (someone who can prescribe medication, although some psychologists are also this). Something that has a very small effect on the micro-scale have a very long large eventual effect. Reminds me of tipping points in societies: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2002/04/seeing-around-corners/302471/
Where just tweaking starting corruption a tiny bit in one direction can lead to a very corrupt or very un-corrupt society.
