Too Embarrassed to get treatment

Good morning or evening or day or night or afteroon ladies and gentlemen and hello. I have recently been told as an answer to a question I posted in this very forum yesterday that I needed to get professional help from a therapist.

The problem was I was having trouble getting daydreams and conversations out of my head. They could be with my former friend, people who do not exist, but these conversations and visual situations I kind of act out, some of them graphic. I take them to heart even though I know they will never happen and find myself worrying about them, even though I know they will never happen.

I am too embarrassed to get professional treatment from a therapist. I would be too ashamed to tell my parents how I feel and it would be a nightmare if he found some medical cause fro this and I would be put on medication. I just want to talk to someone who will listen and someone who knows what they are doing and I feel the personal stigma attached to the word "therapist".

When they say "therapist" or "councellor" and all these other words, what do they mean? What are those people's jobs and is it an intimidating or formal environment? I don't want to speak to a doctor, that would be weird and I don't want someone who will robotically say stuff like "I understand" and "I will help you". But that's what I see when I think of therapists.

Bottom line question: What do these people do and are they chilled out?

Again, I do not want my parents to know about this.  

[tjrusert]

My experiences with therapist have all been pretty good. And they were all really chill and it wasn't intimidating once I got in the door. The worst part is getting there. As far as your concerns about your parents, I think that depends on your age in part. Although I had my daughter in therapy at age 15 with the understanding that I would only be involved as much as she was comfortable with. As far as the therapist goes, this is your opportunity to say exactly what's up without being judged.  Most therapist are hard to shock no matter what you tell them. Most things you tell them are protected under the HIPPA laws. Thats your rights to privacy.  Also my daughter saw a Psychiatrist and he said that it was pointless to force a teen on meds if they don't want them because you can't actually make them take the meds. You need to want that help.  What a therapist does is talk to you about what's going on. Then based on what you tell them, they can sometimes explain why you feel the way you do and what can be done to help. I hope this helps you make a decision

[tjrusert]

My experiences with therapist have all been pretty good. And they were all really chill and it wasn't intimidating once I got in the door. The worst part is getting there. As far as your concerns about your parents, I think that depends on your age in part. Although I had my daughter in therapy at age 15 with the understanding that I would only be involved as much as she was comfortable with. As far as the therapist goes, this is your opportunity to say exactly what's up without being judged.  Most therapist are hard to shock no matter what you tell them. Most things you tell them are protected under the HIPPA laws. Thats your rights to privacy.  Also my daughter saw a Psychiatrist and he said that it was pointless to force a teen on meds if they don't want them because you can't actually make them take the meds. You need to want that help.  What a therapist does is talk to you about what's going on. Then based on what you tell them, they can sometimes explain why you feel the way you do and what can be done to help. I hope this helps you make a decision