Photo © 2010 Trilogy

Do you have to get to the bottom of everything?
Shouldn’t some things remain a mystery?
Buried deep beneath the recesses of, say, Detroit! 

I seem to be in the “therapy” stage of life.
You know that stage, right after, raising the kids,
divorcing the husband, being blamed for all the
Serotonin imbalances of your offspring
while going through menopause yourself! 

Child #1 had years of therapy.  Many years of
which my insurance didn’t cover. 
But, at least I have insurance. 
Did it help?  Or did she just grow up?
Your guess is as good as mine. 

Child #2 is delving into all sorts of “repressed” memories.
Just by their very nature, aren’t they supposed to stay….
Well, repressed? 
You’re not remembering them for a reason!
Don’t stir up the pot, as they say. 

Child #3 came to me recently and we talked long and hard
about all the different “meds” that all the different
Psychologists tried on her over the years.
You’re “ADD” they said, no maybe its “Bi-Polar”  No? 
Then it must be “Bi-Polar2”. 
When those meds didn’t work
The diagnosis went on to “PTSD”
You know, she said “this is enough to make a person really
Depressed”.

I understand the gravity of mental illness.  I really do.  I grew
up with an “unmedicated” Manic Depressive Father
and a schizophrenic sister.  
Of course, whenever I sought help for one of my own girls
and the therapist heard my “family history” they assumed
– slam, dunk. 

But my girls are nearly adults now and
taking control of their own lives. 
Was it really just teenage  angst? 
Was it merely the “media” playing into the hands
of the anorexics? 
Was it a mother’s “fear” of seeing mental illness
around every corner because she grew up
seeing it around every corner? 
To be honest, probably a little of it all. 

Child #3 the other day said that she wanted to
work through her demons on her own.  Without
the help of “medication” because,
then she wouldn’t be feeling the
real person that she was.
I thought this very wise.   

I have my own therapist now. 
I thought it would be good to mitigate
what my children might discover
while in their own therapy sessions. 
Too bad we couldn’t get a group rate. 

Last week my therapist asked
“Did you ever think of writing a book?” 
Now, is it just me
or is this not something you want to hear
from your therapist!!