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Feel More Anxious After Therapy?

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roaringrachel

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After I leave therapy and come home, I typically feel more anxious?? I talk about really difficult things often with her (my therapist), but when I get back from therapy I can't stop thinking about it. Like I'll spend the rest of the day just thinking about what she said and just ruminating on what we discussed. And I end up in a very heightened state of anxiety. Does anyone else experience this? Thoughts on what to do?
 
First of all, it's great that you are taking to her about difficult subjects. What you are experiencing afterwards is incredibly common.

On one hand, therapy isn't just supposed to stay in the therapy room. It is designed to be something that impacts us throughout the week.

On the other hand, anxious ruminating can be really counter productive...

I'd suggest asking your therapist about ways to "contain" the work, and how to leave the thoughts and anxiety in the room.

Sometimes, when I get stuck ruminating about therapy after the session is over, I'll journal about it, and make a note of what I was anxious about as something to talk about in therapy the next week. If I'm super anxious, I'll actually skip the journaling and just make a one sentence note to talk to the therapist about whatever's on my mind. I'll physically write it down, in just a few brief words, and then purposefully put it away. I'll put it in a drawer or close out the file on my screen. Then as it comes to mind later on, as it almost always does, I'll remind myself I've put that away for later. I'll remind myself of this as many times as it comes back up, and eventually my brain will get the message. One common CBT technique is to picture a stop sign when stuck. I picture a sign that says "later" - because it still gives myself permission to deal with it.

If it really gets to me, then I'll schedule a limited time to think about it and then at the end of that time, I'll go do something else that takes as much of my attention as possible. Anything safe that requires me to focus on this moment now. Stuff like cooking a really complicated dish or shooting hoops (which I'm terrible at.) This kind of active mindfulness, to this moment now, can help pull me out of the loop.

Finding physical ways to downgrade the anxiety can help. Excerise, doing deep breathing, engaging in fun healthy distractions, etc.

Addressing post symptom spikes is a common part of therapy, so be sure to talk to your therapist about this.
 
Every week I feel blindsided. While we are in the session, it doesn't seem so bad. I leave smiling and then get in my car and a tornado of thoughts begins to swirl in my head and for a few hours I can't even begin to sort it out. Some weeks I feel like I got too much. If I tell her in the session, that I am healed from something she finds a way to make me realize I am not. For example...last week I told her that I no longer blame myself for the rape and trust God again. Lol. Ummm, so she said the simplest thing. I told her I need to see the middle of what happened to me and she said, you may never see it. Also, she knows the word "responsibility" is a trigger word for me and that is the last word she said in the session. She encouraged me to journal. She said that the painful processing throughout the week is normal and encouraged if we want to heal. It is her job to open the wound, and she is very good at that. Sooo, I spent all of last week extremely angry. Snapped at people, needed to isolate, tried to hurt my arm. Luckily I have chat on this site for humor and two really good friends (one on here and one in person) that help me sort it out. I will be going back this week with a journal full of self hatred and angry thoughts. Some knew realizations and a glimmer of hope mixed with a ton of pain.
 
I think its pretty normal to mull over what was talked about in therapy. If we discuss something really difficult in therapy I sometimes find myself thinking about it over and over for a couple of days. Sometimes it makes me anxious, sometimes just curious. I generally don't try to do something about it. It is what it is.
 
I would agree with the comments of all those who have posted above.
Speak to your therapist about strategies on how you can ground and cope with 'post' session.
I also do a journal , i read my old notes as these remind me of how far i have come and how i have previously overcome obstacles. I find Mindfulness also helps me 'ground' and calm me.
Please speak to your therapist.
 
First of all, it's great that you are taking to her about difficult subjects. What you are experienc...
Wow thank you so much for the fabulous reply! Tons of great, helpful tips. I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to try journaling for like 5 minutes when I get home and then quit and put it away. I just need to realize that thinking about it doesn't help me come to a solution.
 
I would agree with the comments of all those who have posted above.
Speak to your therapist about str...
You're right, I should talk to her about this...but that's so hard. Ugh. I'll just have to convince myself to. Just this week I was able to tell her that I am frustrated with myself about not being able to talk about my trauma. Now I'll have to tell her this too...ahhhh.
 
Every week I feel blindsided. While we are in the session, it doesn't seem so bad. I leave smiling and then get in my car and a tornado of thoughts begins to swirl in my head and for a few hours I can't even begin to sort it out. Some weeks I feel like I got too much.

This is EXACTLY me. I leave feeling great, like I made a lot of progress and then it hits me and I can't stop thinking about it. So at the end of the session I seem fine and she doesn't notice anything.
 
I really struggled to open up. I still find it difficult to say the words so i will write it down and email my t, she then asks me about it in session. It also gives her an insight to what i am struggling with or how i am feeling.
 
After two years I still have the same issue!! However, it's gotten slightly better with time. One thing that I have noticed is that if things seem easy while in therapy the feelings will come and crush me later. If on the other hand the session seems super hard and I let myself somehow not on purpose feel a lot of the pain then after I feel great and relaxed. Don't know if it might be the same for you. Maybe slightly let yourself feel things rather than just talk about them?
 
I have this same thing happen and often it's because of dissociation in session. I will leave and be "fine," and then get in my car and start shaking so hard my teeth chatter and it's hard to drive. Sometimes all of the thoughts and answers to her questions start spilling into my mind when in the room it was impossible to access them. I am not a verbal processor, and don't do well with being on the spot. I need time to think and process first. And talk therapy doesn't leave a lot of room for that while in the actual room. I have found emailing my T after session when I'm feeling overwhelmed has been absolutely crucial to my progress. Then she knows where I'm at and now she understands she can't judge how I'm doing in the room by simply asking. And it gives me space to process what we talked about and respond the way I wish I could verbally. It keeps our momentum going. I'd say once a month or so this happens. The rest of the time I debfrief with a friend and/or journal. Is that something you can do?
 
After two years I still have the same issue!! However, it's gotten slightly better with time. One thing that I have noticed is that if things seem easy while in therapy the feelings will come and crush me later. If on the other hand the session seems super hard and I let myself somehow not on purpose feel a lot of the pain then after I feel great and relaxed. Don't know if it might be the same for you. Maybe slightly let yourself feel things rather than just talk about them?

Interesting! I think I may be doing that actually. I'll definitely try to slow it down and try to feel more.
 
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