I've seen it so many times. Someone very vulnerable walks into the office of a therapist or a coach, and in their vulnerability, they are very open to whatever is given to them. The coach or therapist, is of course, influenced by their own beliefs about the world, and God knows, many people in the mental health space are struggling too. I want to create a guide, much like a compass that would help people get an idea of what's "normal" and "sane" and what's some "insane" piece of advice they shouldn't be taking home with.
I'll start first.
When I was in therapy, the first time, I was told it was a good idea to spend Christmas with my abusive parents because now I know better and I can observe things better from the "outside". Thankfully, I was more influenced by some youtubers on narcissism who continuously were saying go no contact to heal, and not my therapist, who somehow believed I am now immune to the abuse at home, simply because now "I know better".
When I was shadowing a mental health professional once, an elderly man was struggling with his wife who was very anxious about something and couldn’t sleep. The wife talked about how she used to sleep better when she had a drink of sherry. The husband explained that the alcohol had been a real problem, she’d become dependent on it , was drinking way too much, hiding bottles etc, but with a lot of work, she hasn’t drunk anything for two years. I nearly fell off my chair to hear the MH pro advise that if a bit of sherry had worked in the past, a little bit shouldn’t hurt if it meant getting to sleep. Appalling!