u/Prior_Expression5939

Female teacher here 🙋🏻‍♀️ My stomach was upset yesterday while I was teaching a class of high schoolers. We were doing an activity, and for a second I laughed then farted accidentally. Luckily, it wasn’t too loud and only two boys heard it. They looked at each other and couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the session. I just carried on with the lesson for another hour like nothing happened. I could feel the heat rushing to my face. Now I can’t get over it. My brain has decided this is a core memory.
How can I live with the embarrassment?

F32. I’ve been questioning whether my current therapist is the right fit for me. I initially started seeing her because of anxiety I was experiencing at work, and I’ve now had six sessions with her. My anxiety now has improved BUT she noticed that I also tend to become anxious and scared in relationships and that I avoid dating, which I think is a valid observation. However, I feel like she has started pushing the dating aspect too hard.

She encourages me to talk to men, “collect data,” and keep meeting people until I eventually find the right man. She even gave me a list of dating apps to use, which honestly felt very strange to me and uncomfortable. She expects me not to take long breaks between talking stages and wants me to consistently be talking to new potential partners, even when I tell her that I’m exhausted. At times, it honestly feels like having a part-time job where I’m constantly expected to find and evaluate potential partners.

She also frames finding a partner as a way of eventually getting what my forever absent father failed to provide, which makes no sense to me. I don’t want my mental wellbeing to revolve around finding a partner, nor do I want another person to be responsible for healing what was missing in my childhood. Before starting therapy, I had gotten really tired of breakups, failed talking stages, and being disappointed over and over again. However, my goal was never “fixing my love life”, I decided to go on therapy to deal with my anxiety and the panic attacks I sometimes experience AT WORK.

Am I overreacting by feeling uncomfortable with this approach, or does it sound like I should find another therapist? Is this a normal approach of therapy?