Recent content by lux.

Here in Philly, it is mostly sunny with a high of 43 F today. But yesterday it was sunny and close to 60, which was a delight. And less than two weeks ago we had the polar vortex with negative-degree temps. So yeah, the planet is going to sh*t.

I’ve been hospitalized somewhere around 25 times, not including drug/alcohol rehabs. Some were general psych, some eating disorder, some dual diagnosis, and I think 4 in Sheppard Pratt’s trauma disorders unit. A lot of psych wards are really just to keep you safe for about a week. Most do not...

I think the best thing to do in these situations is to have an honest and frank discussion with her about your therapeutic relationship. This can be extremely difficult (it always is for me), especially because the feelings of abandonment can come with a lot of shame. But I have found that it is...

I don’t know much about EMDR, but I am about to start prolonged exposure therapy, and that involves telling things in as much sensory detail as possible. Over and over (not looking forward to it!). Maybe @Snowflake ’s therapist is just trying something a bit different because she thinks it will...

I haven't been there for a year and a half, so things may have changed. You have to get your therapist/psychiatrist to fill out a long form about you and they look at it in their big staff meeting and make determinations as to who can benefit, who fits into their milieu, and who doesn't. When I...

I struggle with alcohol and drugs and I hate AA. I went to AA meetings for years and liked it in the beginning, but that was back when my only trauma was in childhood. When I had a really significant trauma in 2012, I backed off from meetings and my friends in the program. I just can’t get with...

@NightSky , I totally understand this. The trauma that I do remember, I always think that it's not really trauma, and that the worst of it was my fault anyway. So I am very ashamed to tell therapists about it. I have been labeled with PTSD and a dissociative disorder by many shrinks, but I still...

I think a DBT group would be great. Standard DBT programs are very intense and rigorous skills-based programs featuring both group and individual therapy. You have weekly homework, you fill out a daily diary card, and you are expected to use the skills you learn every day. I think if we could...

I prefer female therapists. My perpetrators were all male, so I'm a lot more wary of men than women, but that's mostly just normal people. I saw a male therapist for a little while and I wasn't afraid of him or anything (it's not exactly fear...it's more like being hypervigilant around men)...

It does sound like you were really open and honest and that takes a lot of guts when it is about something you are very ashamed of. I don't talk about my relationship with my current therapist pretty much ever, but the last therapist insisted we talk about it pretty much all. the. time. I hated...

I must have heard that about The Center at PIW in DC, then. I’m not trying to bash any place; just repeating what was told to me.

Extreme sports in NZ. (F*ck camping.) Hermit crab or spider? (Hermit crabs are basically giant spiders, IMO.)

Hey. Did you end up going to River Oaks? I'd love to hear about it if you did. I've been to Sheppard Pratt four times, I think. It typically took like a week to hear back from them regarding the admissions decision and 2-3 weeks for the waiting list. But my psychiatrist said that it's been...