Therapy discussions - "Even if things get better they don't last."

Therapy discussions are composites and not a transcription of an actual conversation.

The 55 year old female client said, "My life has been just terrible. Bad things always happen to me. I'm on my third marriage and so many people in my life have died. I think my life is at an end. I can't take much more. It seems things are always terrible."

I said, "Golly, that sounds awful. It is amazing you've made it this far."

She said, "Yeah, I don't want to get up in the morning. Nothing ever goes right for me."

I said, "Never? Nothing has ever happened that's good in your life?"

"No," she said, "and even if things do go better they don't last."

I said, "I know what you mean. My brother told me one time, 'There's no such thing as gravity, the whole world sucks.'"

She looked at me as if she didn't believe I'd said this and laughed.

I laughed too. We laughed together at how bad things can be, and if you can laugh with someone, how bad can it be?