Patients often tell me what went wrong in their last round of therapy. “I felt better after venting,” one said, “but nothing in my life ever changed.” That is the trap of bad therapy: mistaking momentary relief for progress.

That is also what America is watching in Washington today. The shutdown may be framed as a budget fight, but it is just as much about performance. Lawmakers air grievances, storm out and claim victory on television. Like patients caught in a cycle of venting, they confuse expression with change. The country is left anxious and stuck. A shutdown is Washington’s version of screaming into a pillow. It relieves tension but solves nothing.

The illusion is familiar. Venting feels like progress because it eases pressure in the moment. But left unchecked, it keeps people stuck. I often see patients who have spent months with therapists who indulged complaints without accountability. They left sessions feeling lighter, but their problems remained exactly the same.

Washington is following the same script. Leaders rage on social media and cable news but avoid the harder work of compromise, trade-offs and keeping the government open.

The costs of this political catharsis are real. Each shutdown........

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