What Leo has learned from therapy.

[SpiffyTickler]

Then she said I need to join the rest of the world. And I said no, why don't you all come join me instead.

Wow dude, you're so hardcore. Tell me more about how you stuck it to your therapist.

 

[Leo tickles]

I covered empathy with her this past week and recapped what it means and all of that. Problem is, I don't have all that much experience with unfortunate situations because I've done such a good job of keeping people away from me. That's why empathizing is kinda tough.

Mutual respect I've figured out on my own a while back I think. She doesn't see a problem with the whole respect me and I'll respect you thing. It doesn't really matter much to me as long as I don't get treated like shit. That's worked out so far, so if the label for that is respect, then I've got that down.

 

[Bothersome]

I respect your point, Bothersome, but therapy has helped me. It's only in this past decade that I've had any real social skills and any real self-awareness.

I apologize if I implied that I had the absolute correct answer in regards to this. That's not what I meant to get across.

I was just stating my view on therapy. I think it's terribly overrated, but that's just my opinion. It works for some, and doesn't for others.

 

[WorkInProgress]

Bothersome: Oh, don't worry at all; I have this friendly exchange with people all the time, and it's not at all "bothersome" to me. We're fine.

Leo: Empathy doesn't just mean helping people through bad times. It's part of the minute-to-minute dynamic of relationships, hand in hand with respect. Pay attention to the little things as well as the big ones, in assessing your relationships and what needs to improve. And, I would add, a lot of what you're looking for is probably in your relationship with your mother and the mistakes both of you have made over the years. See if there are ways that you are subconsciously emulating her in your relationships with others. I don't remember if you've talked about your father, but that's a question too. We have a tendency to replicate dynamics from parental relations in our other relationships.