I Am Only Human

Thank you Willheim for pointing out that psychologists are human beings too.

When it comes to healthcare, we (or at least I) tend to put doctors on a pedestal. There have often been times when my mother has advised me to eat something while I have a fever and I retorted back to her saying, "Doctor has not said anything about eating that!".

Now more and more people are doing that with shrinks. It is not surprising though. When people (especially the first-timers) make that decision to go see a professional for help, its usually after they have tried all else and failed, They then begin to think that only a professional can solve their problems without realizing that they cannot and can only assist people in doing so.

Moreover, people have misconceptions about the things we can do to ourselves!

When I was a victim of identity theft three years ago, and lost a lot of money, I was experiencing rage and sadness. A friend tells me,

"Come on, you have studied psychology so much. Can't you handle yourself?"
Uh no....! I lost some money and feel cheated. Its a hard time!

When I made a mistake about choosing a certain relationship, I was told,

"How come YOU made that mistake of all the people? Surely you knew better!"
Umm...actually not! I do not read people's minds and do not know what their intentions are.

And then my personal favorite (being sarcastic here),

"You counsel so many people. Why can't you counsel yourself?"
Sure! Sounds like a great idea! I will cry one minute on one chair, and then jump onto the other chair and start talking sense with a calm demeanor.

The truth is that when we are in sensitive situations ourselves, no matter what our profession, we are not able to be neutral, nonjudgmental, and clear in our minds. You can read another example of this in an excellent story that Ceedy wrote about a doctor and his family member.

Its funny how people think that because I am a psychologist, I know a lot about teaching, babysitting, nutrition, etc..
So I get asked questions like,

"How can I teach my child to read?"
mmmmm..Maybe ask your child's teacher??

"What kind of a babysitter should I pick for my child?"
Common sense tells me someone you and your child are comfortable with?

"What should I feed my child for better memory?"
My grandmother used to say almonds, so almonds.

The funniest part about all this is that I am not even a child psychologist! But apparently, I am a genius who knows everything about every population. Just like you would go to a gynaecologist if you have kidney stones??

The woe of being a psychologist is that people think you are not entitled to the normal emotions that a human being experience. The truth is, I am a cry baby.