I heard someone on the radio talking about the therapeutic benefits of talking. They were saying that one shouldn't discount the power of a good vent and often-times it's enough to just get things off ones chest.  This was said particularly in the context of people who find themselves in a position of the listener. The person (whoever it was -- I came in half way through the program) said that when someone unburdened themselves on you, you shouldn't feel that you have to come up with a fix for the problem. So when your loony office mate (tm Stacey) gushes and offloads a big pile o' shite (tm me) on you, just nod and say That's terrible, it's amazing you can cope.

I'm being a bit flippant, but for a long time I kinda agreed about this. Not that it's ok to dump on someone like this, but that the person you dump on isn't required to help you sort any of it out. And in a casual situation, they're obviously not.

However. I was talking to a friend who goes to therapy and I held that as most people don't give a fuck about your problems (and why should they) and the people who do care might get upset (or be part of the problem) so having an impartial ear was well worth the money. You could rant without consequences. This to me was the single benefit that could be derived. As for the stuff that made you mad -- suck it up kiddo, there's people dying all over the world.

This would seem to be in accordance with the voices on the radio (as opposed to the ones in my head). But. But. Now I've changed my stupid mind.

There are things that happen to you like your father dying or losing your job and they're bad things but you can try and get a grip on things and hang on, and deal with them. But they are things that aren't symptomatic of flaws in you. And these are the things that need fixing. I guess I took a single case (like dealing with bereavement) and applied that to all cases. Which is just stupid.

Anyway, there is no point, and it's all a bit Tony Soprano anyway (why can't people just deal without recourse to the couch?).

Disclaimer: you have perfectly good reasons for seeking or not seeking therapy. No one vented in the making of this post.