fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2638 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2638 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Echoing what several people above said about therapy. It's okay to talk to a professional about the kind of issues you're having. That's literally what they exist for. It sounds, from your description, like the fic addiction (Affiction? No, that doesn't work...) is just how some more serious stuff happens to manifest.

+1 to all of this

I hope things get better, OP - a professional can definitely help.

OP

Thanks, diet_poison.

♥

Thanks, anon. I'm reluctant to have therapy because I do not know how to explain this. Fandom and fic are quite unique experiences and I think there's a good chance that a therapist would sideline it as porn.

The thing that helped me when I was trying to talk myself into therapy was the thought that no matter how bad off I think I am, pretty much any therapist I go to has probably seen worse and they weren't even judging them. These are people who decided on a career to help people with anxiety problems like yours. They want to help and I'm sure fandom is not the weirdest coping mechanism they've seen.

If you're really worried about it, you can just say that you read stories on the internet. You only have to tell them as much as you want to.

That's the other thing that helped me. You have control over the experience. You decide what problem you want to work on and you decide what information you want to give them. Sometimes it works better if you give information even when you're uncomfortable but you can see how it goes if you only give them a watered down version at first.

A good therapist wouldn't. I've recently started talking to my therapist about how fandom relates to my issues with anxiety and I'm so glad I did. Yes, it's sort of awkward and hard to explain, but any therapist worth their salt wouldn't automatically cast judgment on it. The only assumption my therapist made about my fandom activities was thinking "roleplay" was WOW-type RPGs when I first mentioned it, haha. But nothing bad.

And don't be afraid to try more than one therapist if the first person you see isn't a good fit. Good relationship is everything.

You don't even have to say it's fan fic, just explain that you're using fiction as an escape, you read instead of doing necessary stuff, etc. If they assume you're plowing your way through the local library's collection, it probably won't affect the help they can offer.

I don't know, I think if you're going to see a therapist, you should not hide details.

I would find it easy to explain that fanfiction is, first and foremost, fans writing extra stories ("extra" to canon) based on their favourite piece of media. If the idea they might jump to the thought of porn first worries you, concentrate on the idea of "Further Stories" or "Alternate Versions" or "Missing Scenes" before you make mention of the romance factor.

[ SECRET POST #2638 ]

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