Seeing a therapist for me was an exercise in manipulation…
What an opportunity for me to truly act the part for an unsuspecting
stranger who loves to find and fabricate reasons, whether real or
imagined. I honed my skills as a pathological liar and in return, heard
just what I wanted to hear: seemingly endless reasons (excuses) why I
just had to use drugs and drink alcohol, that I was a victim of my Dad,
Mom, this person, that person, psychic scars, my past life, unattended
soccer games, Mom moving out, Dad getting sick, abusive babysitter,
thrown out stuffed animals, stern grandfather demanding accountability,
crazy grandmother renting Exorcist for me when I was 6, borderline
x-girlfriend, peer pressure, 1st grade teacher, bully in school, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. They dug in and magically uncovered a
complicated psychological myriad of deep-seated reasons why I used.