If I knew what I knew now, I wouldn't have pursued psychiatry or therapy at all. Yup, zero therapy, not less therapy, not trying different kinds...

I have genuine regret and genuine loss from this path in life. That isn't to say that I gained nothing from therapy. But mostly what I learned from it was it was a bad idea. I'm not trying to be funny, because it's not. But yeah...trial and error...grasping at things, that was something "gained" from it. That sad fact. And I became a less naive and gullible person just from these collection of human interactions. Yes, it does feel like a rip-off. That I traded time, money, loss of opportunities, and mental peace in order to become more savvy about how people work.

So yeah if I could go back in time it would have been helpful if I could magically hear "don't bother." It sounds like such a smart, logical thing to do to see a therapist or a psychiatrist. And actually, it's not that I don't think that the problem behind my other problems in my life isn't my psychology. It's because I do have a certain ability to cope emotionally, because I have a certain level of empathy or lack of empathy, because I do have a certain level of anxiety and depression. But I wouldn't have directly tried to deal with that.

Life is really hard. I was really having a hard time coping with life. I had and have a huge social anxiety problem which is very lonely, and also more significantly makes it difficult for me to acquire jobs and do jobs. (Thankfully I'm employed at the moment, knock on wood). In fact, ironically, my time in therapy gave me official diagnoses on paper, which led to me qualifying for the DOR in my state, which led to me becoming a tax break which led to an employer hiring me for the first time. It wasn't even the fucking "treatment" of therapy that helped me, it was the label, the red stamp.

So I could think of a million different things I could have done. Even with my limitations. The things you have to worry about are things like your physical health. Don't choose a path in life that ruins that. Don't go to prison, or if you do don't get locked up for years and years. You would still have opportunities if it's something smaller. And don't get into abusive relationships that would be really impossible to get out of. Other than that, try what you may but don't try therapy. (Just speaking for myself).