Re: Barking

[THRH79B@prodigy.com (MS KELLY D GILES I)]

>Now I've seen it all.  As I understand it Yellow Ledbetter, you're 
>really not that old (less than 20??).  Why are you seeing a shrink?? 

>What could have possibly happened in your life to justify it??? Look,
 
>rather than spending 30 quid (or whatever) on an hour long session 
with 
>your shrink listening to tapes of the Who, go and spend the money on 

>booze, and sit at home with some friends listening to the same tape 

>VERY LOUD.  If that doesn't put you in to a better mood, you really 

>DO need to see a shrink.

I'm sixteen actually, and I'm not seeing a shrink anymore, but I did 
for two years (from the age of 13 and 1/2 to 15 and 1/2).  Things are 
probably different in England, but it has been my experience that 
many, if not most, American teenagers end up in therapy sooner or 
later.  At a school like mine (the largest local alternative high 
school) it's not uncommon to hear a student say something like, "I 
learned to play pool back when I was in the mental hospital, but I 
haven't practiced in so long that I've forgotten all the tricks."  It 
isn't that having been in psychiatric care is cool or anything, it's 
just something that's...well, normal.  And while I can't speak for 
any other members of "my generation", I know my stint in therapy did 
me a lot of good.  As Pete might say, I suffered through my share of 
childhood trauma.  I believe this relates at a very basic level to 
how I ended up as not just someone who enjoys listening to the music 
of the Who, but as a real Who fan(atic).  I don't want to depress or 
bore anyone with the details of my life, but I will say that I never 
could see "Tommy" as simply a sort of rock fairy tale because Tommy's 
young life was so similar to my own.  (Of course, I was never deaf, 
mute, or blind, although I am quite nearsighted.)  By the time I hit 
adolescence I was suffering from full-blown clinical depression with 
occasional panic attacks, problems too big for Who tapes alone to 
solve.  (I doubt that booze would have done me any good either.)  To 
shorten an already too long story, I eventually landed in therapy, 
which I finally ended about a year ago.  My depression is mostly 
under control now, and my panic attacks are few and far between.  
Part of this I owe to my therapist and part of this I owe to the Who. 
 I'm glad I had both. 

On a happier and more relevant note, I bought some Who postcards and 
a "Quadrophenia" film poster at a local poster shop yesterday.  I was 
so thrilled I was practically dancing around the store, and another 
girl buying posters looked over to see what I was so excited about. 
:)

- -Yellow "Having a lovely time" Ledbetter