Recent content by LizardViolet

Does your therapist have headphones or vibrating paddles you can hold in your hand? I found it distracting moving my eyes and also they got tired. It's also totally OK to take it slowly and hold just one thought or image in your mind. I hope you're able to discuss your concerns with your...

EMDR can be very effective in healing trauma. I'm mostly a supporter, have had some small-t trauma and some symptoms, and EMDR helped me work through it. The first thing your therapist will probably do with you is build up your positive resources (with and without EMDR) and help you learn...

This is a good question, and really interesting. @Tesseract has a big part of it. - If you are helpless during the traumatic event, chances are higher that you'll develop symptoms. - If you have little or no social support after the traumatic event, chances are higher you'll develop symptoms...

Being in a relationship with a PTSD sufferer is a huge challenge, no question. Mood swings, anger, trust issues. When he's upset with me, he knows just the thing to do or say that will hurt the most. And I can't be angry at him or criticize him. It feels sometimes like parenting, the way a child...

I get the catch-22 situation when he is stressed out and reacting with anger. It is NOT your fault. However, if the two of you are going to make it, the two of you together will have to figure out how to cope. You will have to communicate during a time that he's not stressed. Don't blame him...

Well done, @MorningDove! Boundaries are excellent!

Yes, Somatic Experiencing therapy was developed/discovered by Peter Levine. There is a directory of Somatic Experiencing practitioners on his website, www.traumahealing.org. His organization runs trainings and also has many books and other materials.

It's absolutely important to get someone with enough of the right kind of experience to walk down that road with you. I will say however that in order to get certified to even use EMDR in a therapeutic setting, you have to already have an advanced degree or certification in counseling. The...

The community here can support you in some ways. There are places here to vent and to ask for help and advice. But it's essential to take care of yourself. @Justmehere is spot on. I've been with my boyfriend for almost six years. I couldn't have done it without the support of my therapist, and...

Congratulations on opening up! I am so glad your current therapist is someone you can trust more than the previous ones. You can't just talk about past trauma and have it be OK by talking. Talk therapy rarely works on past trauma. Trauma gets under your skin, it's still living inside you in...

This is a wonderful thread. As a supporter, I am always glad to see good things happening for folks who had a lot less good stuff in the past. Lion, if you feel like you have gone through a doorway, or are in the process of going through it, why not do something to commemorate your passage...

Glad you're on the path to healing. I can imagine that if that huge scary overwhelming feeling comes up near the end of a session, that's bad timing and there isn't time to get anywhere near it, start working through it, anything like that. I imagine that you and your therapist will do some...

There are various websites that list the symptoms associated with PTSD. You can check the list against your experiences and feelings. However only a medical professional can diagnose. Not everyone who is suffering seeks medical attention, but I can assure you that any medical professional who...

Abstract, with all due respect, it is possible that you are projecting a bit here. I don't believe I have suggested in any way that my bf is unreasonable in his choice not to read the script, or that he took too much time, or that there is or was anything wrong with his reaction. You quoted me...

Very sorry about how I've come across regarding him being upset. Yes of course, he is upset about something that is under my control, that I have done. I was speaking as a supporter here, only, with respect to MY experience of him being upset. It is upsetting to me when he is upset...