Chronic Ptsd And T's

[shimmerz]

I found this today while looking up vasovagal response information. It is a piece by Babette Rothschild. I was wondering what your thoughts were on it. Do you feel like this is what your T is currently doing for you?

"Certainly a reassuring and comforting attitude on the part of the psychotherapist is important. But when the trauma is long past, simple comfort and reassurance will not be enough. The victim of PTSD will feel unable to contain his traumatic experience(s), will have become afraid of his body, and will have lost the sense of what was then and what is now. It is these three areas - containment, positive body awareness, dual time awareness - that must first be strengthened, before addressing the memory of a traumatic event can be done productively.

Containment of out-of-control emotions and thinking processes will help restore a feeling of control over the psychological self. Positive body-awareness will help restore a sense of the body and its sensations as friend, not foe. Dual time awareness will help to separate that the trauma occurred in the past even though it feels as if it is occurring now (Rothschild 1996, Rothschild 1997)."

I wonder to myself if this is what separates the good from the not so good T's. Have we been taught these skills before we delve into the trauma? Do you feel something else should be included here?

 

[Bravo06]

Well for me I have been in therapy for almost 4 years on a weekly and then by weekly schedule. I just recently got a new therapist and she is much warmer then the other one that I had. For me this is a really big thing as I did not have a close relationship with a woman until I got married.

Both therapist are female are very knowledgeable but I have been able to connect with my new one in a way that I did not think was even possible. I find myself craving and looking forward to seeing her again because of the way she makes me feel. In the past with my pervious therapist I would have soooo much anxiety leading up to getting into her office that it would give me incontinence. I have been seeing this new therapist for like 8 visits and have not had one accident yet. I would say that is a success.

So for me the caring part is the first to being able to even consider talking about the worst things that have ever happened to me. I cant just talk to anyone about this stuff. I hope to be able to attend and even run a PTS group but am taking baby steps to get there.

I guess containment is a little different for me. If I was not able to laugh about it I would be crying all the time.

 

[scout86]

A problem I see with what was said is that it seems to assume that everyone experiences this the same way. For example, "emotions'. While some people may need to learn

Containment of out-of-control emotions and thinking processes will help restore a feeling of control over the psychological self.

My own emotions are "contained" to the point that I don't notice them often and often can't even put a name to a feeling, even if I notice the feeling. Can't get much more "contained" than that! In my case, my T has pointed this out an encourages me to consider it, be aware of it, and maybe recognize "feelings" and then learn that they are "ok".

It seem to me that the point is, with "chronic PTSD", you have been in a long term traumatic situation and that has given your brain a chance to learn to run abnormal pathways very well. To :fix that, you have to learn to recognize the paths, then "practice" running better ones.

If the "chronic PTSD" goes back to childhood, there's a good chance the individual NEVER LEARNED a lot of "normal" stuff. The get to "normal" ( or a reasonable facsimile) you have to be able to see that as true, then work to learn the things you never learned, and probably replace learning that is no longer useful at the same time. But the process has to be more than hand holding, for sure.

 

[Bravo06]

Normal Stuff? Like what for instance?

 

[scout86]

"Normal stuff" is NOT my best thing!

But, things like, "a family is a safe place to be". "Someone being angry with you doesn't mean the world is coming to an end." "It's ok to have 'fun'." I'm sure there are tons of things, skills, world views, that "normal" people acquire by growing up in "normal" families. Things about having safe, sane relationships. Things like you're not imposing on the universe just by being alive.

 

[shimmerz]

Normal Stuff? Like what for instance?

I am guessing (because I have had to go through this process) we are talking attachment issues, our sense of what is safe and what isn't, proper defense mechanisms, etc.

 

[FindingMyself88]

Normal also consists of learning boundaries, especially for childhood abuse survivors.

Containment of out-of-control emotions and thinking processes will help restore a feeling of control over the psychological self. Positive body-awareness will help restore a sense of the body and its sensations as friend, not foe. Dual time awareness will help to separate that the trauma occurred in the past even though it feels as if it is occurring now (Rothschild 1996, Rothschild 1997)."

I think one and two can be combined to some sort. I definitely agree with @scout86 as I too repress my emotions. My T tells me that I must learn that feeling the emotions and allowing them to follow their course is better than the anxiety of avoiding them in the long run. She is always encouraging me to notice my body and see what I feel. She is also always encouraging me to use self soothing skills and be kind to myself. As far as the dual time awareness, whenever she senses that I am going into a flashback, she will start reminding me that I am in her office, it's a memory, it's in the past, etc. She will make me look at her and realize she is with me, I am safe.

So to the original question, I think both a reassuring T is JUST as important as the other skills they equip us with. I would not be able to trust my T so much if she wasn't so reassuring. I think, like everything in this world, it requires a balance. If you become too much one way or the other, it can be a bad thing.

 

[scout86]

Oh yeah, "boundaries"! One of the things I tend to forget about. LOL Maybe we should start a new thread, because I'd kind of like more ideas on what "normal stuff" actually is.

 

[KwanYingirl]

I am on my third therapist. He specializes in trauma and taught other therapists for ten years but missed being a therapist so he's back in private practice. While my first two were pleasant and felt safe, those days I was just trying to stay alive nor did they speak of containment, or the mind/body connection.

My present therapist is so different than them and I have made so much progress with him, I never thought it was possible to have a day that I didn't want to die.

From the beginning he taught me and constantly reminds me that trauma lives in the body and encouraged me to take yoga and reiki to help me reconnect with my body in a peaceful manner. He taught me early on about extremes of emotions and to strive to lessen the wide swing of the pendulum that leads me to self harm because I can't tolerate my emotions he asks me to notice where in my body I feel my emotions. As far as time traveling, well I am constantly out of my body floating above myself and losing a sense of who I am. He asks me how old to I feel?

My therapist has studied with Bessel van der Kolkata, the woman who developed EMDR, Marsha Linehan to name a few. I know I've got the cream of the crop with him.

His opinion is that healing is a process not an event. My recent work related trauma he is framing as a process to help me learn to survive my emotions by expressing them, not trying to STOP them and then to take action.

I've been with him for a year and eventually I want EMDR but I dissociate to much still. I cal him Steady Eddie because he maintains a calm accepting persona. I feel very lucky to have found him

 

[Deleted member 19804]

Very insightful, thank you for sharing. Her first paragraph really described how I'm currently feeling about my therapy. Good thing I'm going to get therapy with a separate therapist about those "emotional basics". It's a good reminder of why I'm doing that.

 

[Bravo06]

Oh yeah, "boundaries"! One of the things I tend to forget about. LOL Maybe we should start a new thread, because I'd kind of like more ideas on what "normal stuff" actually is.

I think it would be a great idea to see what others think about "normal stuff".

I'v spent a good portion of my adult life looking for what TV and media consider normal. I have craved that feeling of being loved unconditionally and giving that love back with out fear of loosing that relationship. I guess thats why I am always trying to get close to friends and the little bit of family I have.

My T is just such an amazing person I can't say it enough.

When I have to leave her office I get a feeling of disappointment because I just really want to be around people like her. She makes me feel like I am the most important person in the world.

Its different from the relationship I have with my wife obviously. (My wife is a very good mother and great person)

My therapist has great people skills and is someone I have the utmost respect for. I guess she is the closest female role model I have ever had.

(Sorry if I kinda went off into my own little world with this. Im a very emotional person and am trying harder to talk about my feelings as they arise)

I wish everyone the best with your journey to what your "Normal" is.

Bravo06

 

[Bravo06]

His opinion is that healing is a process not an event. My recent work related trauma he is framing as a process to help me learn to survive my emotions by expressing them, not trying to STOP them and then to take action.

I've been with him for a year and eventually I want EMDR but I dissociate to much still. I cal him Steady Eddie because he maintains a calm accepting persona. I feel very lucky to have found him

My T is working on a similar thing with me. She has taught me that in stead of trying to STOP my anxiety all together, rather learn how to carry it with me. This is such a simple thing but something that I have never been taught before.

I just want to crawl into a hole when my anxiety gets bad due to having bladder and bowl incontinence related to extreme anxiety. So to be able to learn how to be able to be part of the real world is motivating to say the least.

Like most I really want to be the person I was before any of my PTSD stuff.


Bravo06