It is interesting to see how, historically, scientists have proposed various theories that eventually were discounted and proven false. Astronomy gives many examples of this evolution of ideas, as does our understanding of genetics. Psychiatry/Psychology is another
"science" which has had its share of theories. Well actually, it consists almost entirely of theories as there is not much science to be found in psychiatry or psychology.
I don't believe in "repressed emotions". I would have to have someone explain that concept to me. Secondly, I don't believe there is such a thing as "a good psychotherapist". I don't believe there is enough science in
psychology or psychiatry for anyone to practice it effectively. There are, however, a few good people who make the attempt at being a good psychotherapist, but I wouldn't visit one to have a friend at $75 an hour.
I read many self help books during my 40 years of mental illness. Most were totally worthless. Some could get you excited because they wrote accurately about your symptoms.
When the time came to provide a solution for your problems, things got kind of murky and it ends with you being right where you started. (no workable solution).
I can recommend a book by Robyn Dawes titled "A House of Cards". Professor Dawes taught at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. He raised a disabled daughter as a single
parent. Reading his book helped prepare me for what to expect from an industry which no longer had roots in legitimate science. (the psychology industry).
Yes, I did lose all of my positive emotions and what remained were the harsh emotions of dread, fear, and hopelessness. I didn't repress my positive emotions or embrace
the negative emotions. I was busy trying to survive in my new reality. It did take a lot of intellectual work, because that is all I had to work with. Life was bland without emotions, but
I had no choice but to proceed without them. I say lose, rather than repress because I lost my emotions following a 3 minute period in which
I experienced approximately 30 epileptic discharges in my temporal lobe. The temporal lobe is where your sensory inputs go to be merged with emotional context after
consulting with your memory and....it is really a complex part of your brain. It is where you live. Scientists say that if you have a soul, it is in your temporal lobe.
The eyes are the window to the soul. If you look in the mirror and don't see it clearly, then you dp'd your temporal lobe somehow. The temporal lobe is "exquisitely prone to insult".
Psychoactive drugs can insult your temporal lobe and dp you. 40 years later, my temporal lobe shows the wear and tear on my EEGs. It is obvious I had a history of epileptic seizure.
Not obvious to the good psychotherapist, however. I saw 5 of them during my illness, and none ever offered to recommend me for an EEG, which would have revealed the problem.
But I also saw 3 or 4 psychiatrists over those 40 years, and they never recommended me for an EEG either. They, like the psychologists, were simply happy to treat me. (ineffectively)
But, one day I was googling through a British medical library reading neurological texts and journals when I found a rare epileptic syndrome which explained how a cluster of temporal
lobe seizures initiated by an epigastric aura can segue into an affective disorder of major depression in a worst case scenario. I recognized those unique symptoms as mine in every detail.
I consulted a specialist in neurology and testing proved my self diagnosis. At that point, I took over the treatment of my
illness and have lived happily ever after.