Hi, I’m an international student and I’m currently seeing a psychologist. My Taiwanese dad says that we shouldn’t rely on meds and psychologists, since it’s mostly placebo and we are the only ones who can solve the issues we have w/in ourselves (don’t need other ppl telling us what to do). He asked me to confide in him instead, and I do feel better after doing this. Please note that I don’t want to generalise the Taiwanese culture.
The thing is, the psychologist has helped me in managing existential crisis and other things I don’t tell my parents about. Also, hw extension is useful, tho I feel like I’m taking advantage of it. I did tell him about my dad’s views, and he said that if I find it helpful, then I can continue (ergo, my choice). I do agree, yet I also feel a bit guilty. Maybe I don’t need to rely/burden ‘other’ people if I can just talk w/ my dad. Maybe I don’t need to uselessly spend money. Maybe things would be easier & resolved if I just become brave enough to tell my parents about my issues directly instead of confiding w/ the psychologist first. Maybe I don’t have to hide anything from my dad. I also kind of agree w/ my dad’s reasoning (for my situation).
However, I don’t know how I can tell my parents about my existential crisis, etc. I’m scared of their reactions. I also think I’m quite selfish; most of the stress is from w/in e.g. procrastination, laziness, self-loathing. They might tell me to be ‘more open-minded’, not meanly, but I would feel very irritated. I’m sure I’m just overthinking tho.
I sometimes think that maybe it’s all in my head. I’m not diagnosed w/ anything. Maybe I’m just an attention-seeker who wants help from ‘other’ people (e.g. lifeline, beyondblue, psychologist) even tho I can solve my problems on my own.
A counsellor told me that the psychologist could help me find a better way to talk w/ my dad about my issues. I don’t think I’m ready, but I wonder if I should just get it over with. I’m feeling overwhelmed w/ uni rn and very unmotivated to the point where I don’t know what I’m doing with my life (uni -> job kind of mindset). And honestly, it’s not like I’m doing much about it. I still procrastinate, I don’t go thru modules in cci, etc.
I don’t exactly know what I want to do w/ this, whether it’s just ranting or wanting advice on how to deal w/ the guilt from hiding this from my dad? It’s just something that I think about sometimes. Nonetheless, I would be thankful if someone could give me tips on this?
