Eva as therapy?

[ran1]

I’ve never really used the show for therapy reasons, but I do remember for a time I would watch that scene from Death/Rebirth where the Eva series is circling Asuka from above while music starts playing just before everything fades to black every morning before going to work.

Cinematographically, that's probably my favorite frame in the series, that or the Eva-02 Arael shots. They're both theraputic and beautifully haunting.

[berto]

I don't know if I'd use the show as therapy. It depends on the case, I wouldn't show it to someone feeling suicidel, I don't think they'd make it past passed episode 23. For depresion I'd certainly hope they'd make it to episode 26. I'd stay away from EoE althogether.

[Ollli]

After hesitantly musing about it in my head for a couple days, something clicked. It was like an epiphany, if you'll allow me to claim such a thing. I suddenly understood what it meant. "It's the same as me,"

This is similar to my relationship with Shinji. I discovered Eva when I was 15 and the first time I watched it, I hated Shinji and was in love with Asuka; it took a couple of years to realize that the reason I despised Shinji so much was because he's a reflection of myself. Now he's my favorite (don't know if this has something to do about understanding myself better now)

I've only seen Eva 6 or 7 times in my life (I can only bring myself to watch in the most miserable "broken" moments, otherwise it's overwhelming) and I've had many many "congratulations" times already, so I have advanced.. yet I have not. This takes me to the point that Anno is messing with me.
I watched Rebuild 1 and 2 out of curiosity in one of the best moments of my life, I was happy, committed and busy, so much that I could not relate to the darkfest that 1.0 was and loved the subtle positive attitudes in 2.0. Recently, I re-watched 2.0 immersed in new depression and what I saw was a whole different angle of it and my life. Thus, I finally understood the (not).

ZapX, I've found catharsis and classic psychoanalytic treatment to be useful, SSRIs not so much, which is in agreement to the latest research demonstrating they are useless and only produce their effects through a placebo mechanism in some.

[facespace]

Honestly I find Evangelion to be a terrible form of therapy. I have had on and off depression for the past couple of years, and seriously Evangelion only makes me sadder (if I watch the whole series). I feel fine if I only watch the first 9 or 10 episodes, because that is before the story gets sad. If I watch the show from start to finish I end up pretty sad, because I get very invested in all of the characters and all of the relationships that they form between one another, and all takes a turn for the worst. I say, go to group therapy and not watch Eva into you are in a stable/positive mental state.

It goes for practically all Gainax shows (Gurren Lagann's ending is the saddest).

[tomrule123]

After seeing End of Evangelion, my life felt better... Whenever I see a horror film, I'd say, "I'd seen worse than that, for I had seen Evangelion." If 2012 came, I wouldn't be scared... I would accept it. (Fine, call me a psycho, why not?)

[Eva Yojimbo]

Honestly I find Evangelion to be a terrible form of therapy. I have had on and off depression for the past couple of years, and seriously Evangelion only makes me sadder (if I watch the whole series).

While NGE left me "sadder" after my initial viewing, after I got past that and began analyzing the effect it had on me and why I honestly started to get better. If you never move past that first depressive impact you'll never get to the beneficially therapeutic part.

[Tails_night]

Honestly... I used to be depressed, seriously, as far back as I could remember my life seemed like it sucked, like it was hellbound in an overnight fedex truck, going to sleep was depressing, waking up was even more, I only hid behind a fake smile, btu kept to myself.

Then i foudn anime, which sorta cheered me up, but I stayed depressed, btu for some reason, on nights and mornings where I watched Evangelion, the world seemed like a better place. Like I was inspired to move beyond depression and into something better. So in a sense, after my family spent lord knows how much for 8 years of therapy and counseling, Evangelion did it for me. To this day when I have a bad day, I just have a seat and sit down and watch, and generally feel better.

I guess it was a feeling of knowing I am (not) alone. Knowing that someoen esle could fathom the feeling of hurting yourself trying to get closer to others. then learning I wasn't the only pervert with a sense of humor also made me smile. But I think over all one character gave em a new view to the world... Nagisa. Knowing he had a pretty much crappy existence from the start, but still holding hope in his heart.

[Ariasu]

i've used eva as a therapy. and really helped me to see that other's problems are huge compared to mine. and I still use eva as a therapy, just to forget for a hour all daily responsabilities (aka.. study u.u)

[MugwumpHasNoLiver]

Now that you mention it, I can't remember. Yeah, I've been depressed on and off, but I can't remember reacting to Eva any differently than when I wasn't depressed. Although after my last depression, I've been far more emotionally susceptible. Like, before then, nothing on TV or in movies could make me cry. Nothing. Eva included. But my last time watching it, after the depression, I teared up several times. I specifically remember 6, 15, 22 and 26, but there might be an instance or two that I forgot.

[thomson777]

watching Eva made me relapse into my high-school depression days due to the fact that my self esteem was less than or equal to zero, I had a highschool crush who knew I liked her but thought of me as a pathetic creepy pervert. That made me so angry that I dreamed of strangling her in my sleep. I made sure to remind myself that, that was all in the past and the things I have done after my high-school days. It made me question why I exist, which I had originally deemed as I existed to stop the suffering others feel, to avenge the unjust suffering I felt as a young boy, by becoming a man of the law. Now I know that I should also work to stop the same kind of suffering I felt growing up in other people. It also made me realize how important communication is. A man cannot go through the mouth of hell alone, he dose it by leaning on his comrades and I firmly believe that if there had been more communication between the characters Armageddon would have been avoided. Righting this out now makes me realize my foolishness in how even though I know this to be true my secrets haven't even been revealed to the ones that matter to me yet.

[MJHx]

I suffer from Bi-Polar II and whenever I've watched the series during a depressive episode, it tends to very much amplify my feelings of sadness and emptiness. In short, it tends to make me feel a lot worse... That said, I don't think I've ever understood or appreciated the plights of the characters as much as when I've sat down and watched the entire series during a serious bout of depression... I felt like it just made so much more sense.

[BrikHaus]

Evangelion would be terrible therapy. After all, you've got Borderline personality/Histrionic personality/Narcissistic personality Asuka, Major Depressive Disorder Shinji, Dependent personality Rei, Super Slut Disorder Misato, and at the end everyone dies. In fact, anyone with a psychiatric diagnosis should stop watching Evangelion altogether.

[child of Lilith]

Then there wouldn't be any fan-base left, Brik.

[Eva Yojimbo]

Evangelion would be terrible therapy.

All the reasons you gave are the very reason it's such good therapy. It forces people to examine these aspects of themselves through the characters.

[BrikHaus]

All the reasons you gave are the very reason it's such good therapy. It forces people to examine these aspects of themselves through the characters.

Watching a TV show doesn't make people examine themselves. OK, maybe it does a little bit, but nobody is going to come to any life changing epiphany and reinvent themselves for the better. Only psychotherapy does that.

[LeoXiao]

Experience doesn't make people examine themselves. OK, maybe it does a little bit, but nobody is going to come to any life changing epiphany and reinvent themselves for the better. Only psychotherapy does that.

Fixed for your convenience.

[InstrumentalityOne]

The only way to use Eva as a therapy would be replacing the patient with Shinji, which is impossible, so forget that.

[thomson777]

Watching a TV show doesn't make people examine themselves. OK, maybe it does a little bit, but nobody is going to come to any life changing epiphany and reinvent themselves for the better. Only psychotherapy does that.

WTF did I just post on my last post?

[BrikHaus]

WTF did I just post on my last post?

You should know better than to think I read other peoples' posts.

[thomson777]

You should know better than to think I read other peoples' posts.

Dam my faith in humanity!