Does Short-Term Relief Work?

Published on April 1, 2014

Short term relief does not last. It can in fact become a separate psychological issue unto itself.

When John saw me for help, he has been under psychiatric treatment for over 10 years. Despite the length of his treatment, he remained "stuck" within himself - psychologically, emotionally, behaviorally, relationally, spiritually. Looking for relief from his pain or agony, he has been doing it through brain drugs, marijuana, alcohol, nicotine, money, and raging all these years.

Everything that John tried to "medicate" the wound within himself for years has only been absolutely giving him short term relief. With regards to the psychiatric pills that John has been taking in for too long, drug addiction now becomes a part of the mix of his ongoing addictions. With these long years of treatment, John begins to feel hopeless. It's as if his agony and pain will never end. The short term relief never works.

I can tell you that John's condition is typical of those who wants "instant" or "easier now" in their personal healing. John continues to act on his unconscious patterns with his repertoire of short term relief, which makes it easier for him now, but never for him later and in the long haul. So no matter how fast he goes, nothing is happening. To get his true healing, it's important that John chooses to go to the "roots" of his problem and surrender himself to the process of real treatment.

Psychotherapy and counseling is a way through towards permanent recovery, but it's not easy. It's not designed to make it easier for you. It's designed to make it better for you. If there is an easy way to do what must be done, I can tell you. Overnight cure or "magic" simply doesn't exist. What I can tell you is that if you're willing to go through the "legitimate pain" temporarily, you'll get to the other side of long-lasting relief and recovery in your life.


Category(s):Addictions, Emptiness, Grief, Loss, Bereavement

Written by:

Dr. Angelo Subida, Psychotherapist

Dr. Angelo Subida is a clinical psychotherapist, author, and speaker. He is author of books "Inner Healing," "Secrets Of Your Self," "Chess and Life," among others, blogs, and articles. He has appeared frequently as an expert on psychotherapy/life recovery issues on national television, radio broadcasts, print media, and webcasts, including GMA 7, TV 5, ABS CBN 2, Q-11, 700 Club, Radyo Veritas, Inquirer Radio, Smart Parenting Magazine, Business Mirror, among others, and has served as resident therapist/counselor for parents and kid-artists in the highly popular ABS-CBN 2 Voice Kids TV singing reality show. Dr. Subida is an eclectic, multidisciplinary therapist and originator of his own revolutionary high-tech, high-touch counseling plus model. His areas of specialization include parent-child therapy, clinical infidelity treatment, relationship/marital counseling, separation/divorce therapy, anger management, depression, addictions, psychotherapy-spirituality integration, and innovative chess therapy. For more of Dr. Subida, you can find him at www.drsubida.com.

Dr. Angelo Subida, Psychotherapist belongs to Dr. Angelo O. Subida Psychotherapy Clinic in Philippines