Recent content by susannahsays

Hmm. If she was black out drunk, she couldn't consent to sex. I might be scared to report because of this, although it is clear she engaged in some ethical violations even if she did not consent to sex. What a mess. If nobody's mentioned it yet, TELL (Therapy Exploitation Link Line) might be a...

Yeah, I've discussed some triggers. For example, I have a very low tolerance for being hot and sweaty. This is pretty inconvenient as I live in a region where summers are really hot and extremely humid. Every year, I go through an adjustment period where I get flooded with flashbacks when the...

@Rumors I don't really want to get into the details here (because, shame), but the origin of the shame is not a mystery. It has a lot to do with violating cultural/societal values and norms, and the fact that it was a situation I couldn't control actually just compounds my "offense." These...

Yes, we've been doing teletherapy for a few weeks. I didn't find the idea scary personally. I had done tele psychiatry with a former psychiatrist before, so it wasn't my first time doing something like this. I usually don't look at her in my sessions. I guess it feels kind of weird because she...

Thank you, @osiris, I really appreciate that!

Update I had my session yesterday. I was feeling pretty awful due to staying up extremely late. While my natural sleep rhythm is inconveniently outside the average range by a wide margin, I had stayed up late even for me (until 4:30 or 5 in the morning). Anyway, when I do that, I tend to feel...

I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but we have talked a lot about things that have happened to me. She does know a great deal about the topic. I just find it really difficult to talk about certain aspects. @grit I am not ashamed at all of having control to terminate the session. I don't find...

Qualification is determined on a state by state basis and LCSWs are deemed qualified to diagnose in most states. The National Association of Social Workers defines clinical social work as: Clinical social work is the professional application of social work theory and methods to the diagnosis...

I'm not judging you. I do think you should be cautious about this, though, because your motivation is likely that you wish to provoke some display of concern and caring from your therapist. From what I've read from others online, many therapists react neutrally when shown self harm injuries so...

I was originally going to title this thread "Going to discuss shameful topic." However, I think that it is a cognitive distortion. At least, if I am to believe things the therapist has told me in the past related to this topic, I do not need to be ashamed. Still, the shame is intense and...

The basic premise of CBT is that you feel bad because of your thoughts. There is some value in CBT theory. Cognitive distortions are certainly real and do have a definite impact on how we feel. It is probably reasonable for your therapist to start therapy by identifying what sorts of thoughts...

I was in a group home a long time ago. This was a group home for teen girls, not adults, but I'll tell you my experience anyway. First, I want to emphasize that I don't look back on the experience as a wholly negative one or one that massively traumatized me. The home I was in was much better...

I don't like to even look in the therapist's direction at this point. I think I start feeling really vulnerable as soon as I walk into her office. I don't have issues with eye contact outside of therapy. She has brought up this issue before and it is something she wants me to work on. I asked...

@Gs172003 Thanks for the response. Yes, I am in therapy.

I've been feeling a lot of shame lately about physical symptoms related to sexual assault. I feel broken and dirty and just... damaged. I feel angry and hurt. I remember being a kid during the CSA and the constant ache in my lower abdomen. I feel like having sex so young damaged me. He took...