A couple, both age 67, went to a sex therapists office.

The doctor asked, “What can I do for you?”

The man said, “Will you watch us have sexual intercourse?” The doctor looked puzzled, but agreed.

When the couple finished, the doctor said, “There’s nothing wrong with the way you have intercourse,” and charged them $32.

This happened several weeks in a row. The couple would make an appointment, have intercourse with no problems, pay the doctor, then leave.

Finally the doctor asked, “Just exactly what are you trying to find out?”

The old man said, “We’re not trying to find out anything. She’s married and we can’t go to her house - I’m married and we can’t go to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $60. The Hilton charges $78. We do it here for $32, and I get $28 back from Medicare.

There are a lot of reasons why people engage in psychotherapy. The most common reason for this is extreme depression. While it is true that every person encounters different problems of their own, there are people who are having difficulties handling the problems that hound them. This just means that from time to time, there are people who would be needing professional help to get them back on the right track.

There are a couple of formats that psychotherapists follow and a patient has the right to choose which one may possibly be the best choice.

Individual Therapy is a type of therapy wherein there is a one-on-one conversation between the patient and the therapist. This allows the patient to have the full attention of the therapist but it does not allow the therapist to assess the patient based on his social or family relationships.

Family therapy is a type of therapy that involves the family as a group.

Group therapy involves around 3- 15 patients. It gives the patients the opportunity to receive support from people with particular issues. The good thing about this type of therapy is that it may be less expensive and it gives the patients the feeling of belongingness.

Couple’s Therapy is geared towards the betterment of married couples or those who are in a significant other type of relationship who wants to improve their relationship and functioning as a couple.

I never thought the simple question “What if,” can give so much impact to me, piercing my heart with pain. This question always pops in my head when I did a mistake, or rather a regret that I may no longer be able to take it back. It even sucks more than committing a big mistake, for at least I’ll have the chance to make up for it. But when regret is made, I guess I can’t do anything but mop around and ask myself with “What if.”

For those who have lived their lives without any regrets, well, I salute you for having a wonderful existence. But for us who have some regrets, well, I do hope that one day, we find a great way to deal with them…. and maybe…. just maybe…. we will be able to take it back.

Because regret is one of the most poignant thing that can happen to one’s life, here are some ideas as to how it can be an emotional burden:

“Shoulda, woulda, coulda.” This is an RnB song by Beverly Knight. Though it doesn’t express much about regret, but its title has already hit its essence. In fact it is similar to the question “What if,” only that this phrase has a larger impact on people who have regrets. Just thinking about the possible answers to this piercing phrase already gives an idea on how painful regrets can be.

Wishing to turn back time. It’s impossible, and the only thing we can do is wish that we have the power to bring back the hands of time. In that way, at least we wouldn’t be committing something that we’d regret.

The difficulty of acceptance. Since we can no longer take back what we did and it’s hard to take it back, acceptance will be the last thing in our mind. As we wallow, question ourselves, and wish to do something that is clearly impossible, it seems that we can never accept the fact that “it” already happened. And well, you know how hard it would be like dying without learning how to accept…..

The best thing to avoid regrets is to think carefully before doing something, especially if it will create a larger impact on the people. That is just one of the things that I learned from having regrets. And if mistakes are already done, I guess the greatest way to deal with it is to admit that you made a mistake, accept it, and do something about it…. before it becomes something painful…. like regrets….