i will admit that maybe therapy wont help everyone with dysphoria, or in general. however, i did learn somethign from my one-in-a-million therapist that i wanted to share, and its one of the biggest reasons i advocate a lot for recognizing the mind and body as a single unit (or a part of the same whole, but different parts of it. the point is to see them as together)
i really think people spend most of their time these days like,,, looking in the mirror proverbially.
my therapist told me the story of narcissus, which i knew, but he asked me to read this one psychologists take on it. this paper by this psychologist took on a different perspective of the mtyh and told us how it was about how your reflection cant love you back. but these days people spend so much time looking in their reflection-- observing themselves in one way or another-- hoping to find a point when they can 'love themselves'. it doenst happen like that. it cant happen like that. that person reflected back you in the water isnt you nor is it another person. it is an image of a person, and it cannot love you in return even if you decide to love it
what ive found when we spend so much time in that state of observation, is we view our bodies and mind as completely separate entities. and from my experience its that separation and growing disconnect that becomes the breeding ground for dysphoria. the more you can close that gap, and see your mind and body as tandem entities, the less you will feel that. unfortunately, the nature of dysphoria makes that one of the most difficult things to do. it makes facing the reality of our bodies painful. but the only way out is through.
