Why do I feel worse since psychotherapy?

Question

Since I have been in therapy, I feel worse. I have no energy, I find myself sitting in a chair and rocking back and forth. I have no clue why I do this and try to make myself stop. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything. I just want to lay around and do nothing. My arms feel like lead and it takes tremendous energy to do the smallest of things. I also have no interest in meeting with a certain orgainization that I volunteer with and I have been thinking about quitting. I have been getting adequate sleep, so I don't understand why I feel so exhausted. My fiance asked me if I wanted to go out to eat at a nice restaurant tonight, heck no, I don't want to go. I want to lay around in my pj's all weekend. I have no interest in leaving the house or even going outside.

Answer 1

Maybe your depression has worsened as a result of psychotherapy because things that you had blocked out were brought to the surface, and now you are being forced to face them.

Answer 2

well, actually, there`s a part of you that is completely disabled now.your body knew what you have gone through and when you went to that therapy, all the experiences just seemed so shallow....im not saying that therapy is a bad thing but it seems that it turned out bad for you...try focusing more about your relationship with your fiance...or remembering your experiences..

Answer 3

Loss of interest and energy can be the signs of depression, but a medical cause should be ruled out. See your primary care physician first. Once medical problems (especially hypothyroidism) have been ruled out, you have a couple of choices. First would be more frequent psychotherapy. If it does not help, see a psychiatrist who can evaluate you to see if you need treatment with antidepressant medications.

Sometimes, psychotherapy can precipitate this type of situation by stirring up unpleasant memories. If this is the case, tell your therapist so that he/she can adjust the pace of psychotherapy accordingly.  

Answer 4

Could be a clinical depression that's unrelated to the therapy, or it could be that therapy is moving too fast for you (taking on too much at once), or it could be that the therapist isn't right for you, or it could be that you're obsessing about the therapist and therapy and it's affecting your ability to engage in real life.

I *don't* believe that therapy should ever be incapacitating. Talk with your therapist about it. If they're dismissive, or believe that significant worsening is a "good sign" I'd be wary - get a second opinion from a psychiatrist or someone else. Therapy is not a cult, it's not meant to break you down before it rebuilds you. That's called brainwashing and therapists who intentionally do it (or ignore it when it happens) are abusing their patients.  

Answer 5

Your reaction isn't all that surprising.  It takes a great deal of energy to confront oneself.  Take all the time you need.  Do what you need to do and take with the therapist about how you feel.  BTW, can you identify any feelings and express them?

Answer 6

Sometimes when you do therapy it brings things up that you make a point not to think about.  You are forced to be aware of the fact that there are things that are making you very unhappy.  This can bring on depression which it sounds like you are having.  Very common signs are fatigue, excessive sleeping, weakness, lack of hunger or over eating, hating social events...  When you go back to therapy, mention all of your symptoms and see what he recommends.  Anti depressants might help you get over this hump.

Answer 7

Sounds like a form of depression. I can't tell you why it's happening but it could be several factors including stress and chemical imbalance. You should talk to your doctor.

Good luck!  I hope you feel better.

Answer 8

Well if could be that the underlying issue and reason your going to therapy is actually worsening (which has nothing to do with the therapy) or that since you been going to therapy you start to talk about your problems and things you would like to work on and bringing those things upfront again instead of hiding them and buring them is really hard to do or depressing into you work through it. which doesn't sound to great but unfortunately that's the necessary step to get through your issues your facing.

When i leave my therapy appointments i sometimes feel worse or depressed b/c I'm bringing up abuse that happened to me when i was younger but later on in the day i start to feel better b/c I'm getting off my chest and learning that it wasn't my fault.

So just try your best to have trust in your doctor and if you feel uncomfortable with that doctor than its very important that you get a different one b/c with out trust and believing in them you yourself wont be able to work talk about things and work on them.

Answer 9

Honestly-- sometimes that is how it goes, you feel worse before you feel better.  And as someone said, getting everything out can exhaust you.  Remember, everything in your body is connected to everything emotionally, so if you are dealing with rather emotional issues, its going to bring you a little down physically until you learn how to deal with things on a more positive level.

Answer 10

if you are on medication then it sounds as though you are on thee wrong one.

how long have you been in therapy, when i started I noticed it got worse before it got better.  Basically becasue they had me relive everything that upset me again and then started trying to teach me better ways to deal

Answer 11

That was the reason that i stopped going to therapy, it just made me feel awful dragging up everything from the past. I left after 2 sessions, my friend has been going for a couple of years and told me i should have kept at it as it's hard to start with but beneficial in the long run.