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I'm really sorry you had such a rough time after the session, and am glad you were able to be honest with her about the self harming aftermath. Also very, very glad that she advised you to stop listening to the CD if it was stopped before your anxiety was lowered. This is an absolutely...

This thread prompts me to ask a slightly different, but related question. Has anyone ever used the empty chair technique in therapy to dialogue with an abuser? If so, what was your experience? This has been tentatively suggested to me as something to work towards, and quite frankly I haven't...

I offer this perspective with much care and respect, as I have, many many times, witnessed the devastation experienced by victims who try to have their cases prosecuted and are unsuccessful, for a variety of reasons. I myself have never had the strength or courage to even attempt this, in spite...

"Entitlement" or "entitled" is intolerable for me - the concept more so than the word, but it is the word by association. It actually makes me feel a surge of red hot anger/distress (a confusing combination of both) when someone says it to me. I know that part of the reason for this is my...

This may be a controversial viewpoint, which will obviously be somewhat dependent on any individual's beliefs, but personally I think it's quite normal and understandable that thoughts of suicide and/or death will hold comfort and reassurance at certain times. Death is, afterall, some form of...

Cutting off contact, permanently and unconditionally, with my parents. For some reason I just couldn't write this one yesterday, even though in many ways, it is the single greatest achievement of my life. I'm not quite ready to recognize it as such yet, but can acknowledge that some day, I...

Not in a space to say much about this very good thread for now, other than to say that having experienced all forms of abuse as achild, I do truly believe that the damage done by emotional abuse and neglect (they are different, yet overlap, of course) possibly runs deeper and more pervasive than...

Rather than merely asking your therapist to explain her strategy or technique, it may be useful to have a direct discussion with her about the ways and extent to which you do "zone out", what you experience/are aware of when you do, and the ways in which you have found it helpful for others to...

I have also done prolonged exposure in the past, and agree that it's extremely confronting and difficult, but also very effective if appropriately timed and delivered. I'm really glad to hear that you're going to take a step backwards and begin with a less direct exposure when reliving the...

Great thread, really healthy to think about the positive turning points, when so much of my time and life seem taken up with the regrets and could have beens. For me: Deciding to hold onto my love of nature and the bush. This wasn't a conscious decision, but rather it was a passion that...

I agree. Actions speak louder than words, and it is through observing my therapist's reactions, experiencing how he deals with my disclosures and my non-disclosures and all of my emotional reactions and experiences, that slowly builds the bridge of trust. It's not something I set out to do...

I struggle with the same thing, frequently, and especially of late. I feel as though I wait all week, holding in the feelings in search of the one place where it feels safe to share them, and then when I get there, often I just can't find the words, or they get drowned out by shame, or by the...

I don't personally equate sarcasm with healing, nor do I necessarily relate it to PTSD in any specific way, other than as a form of humour, which can be a very effective coping and stress management strategy for anyone, PTSD sufferer or not. As a form of humour, I think it has its place and is...

Realising I didn't mind at all if my therapist found me here, was actually one of my early indicators thatI had come to trust him. Actually, not only did/do I not mind, but I told him all about it, sat with him while he looked up the site, energetically explained some of the ins and outs of the...

Very belated congratulations and encouragement to you Abstract. I relate entirely to the inability to say no in any other than very subtle ways, and so definite relief that the professionals involved were, well, professional enough, and perceptive enough, to notice. I can only hope that...

Hashi, thank you for sharing your dream and its significance, that was very moving to me. I had a terrible panic attack of sorts yesterday when my T was leaving. Was already in enormous distress at the time and felt myself begin to shake and sweat and hyperventilate as the approach drew near...

Wow, Fyredrift, you really do get it, your T really does sound like mine, and absolutely all of the feelings and experiences you describe resonate with me. Thank you for sharing all of this, I know how strange and vulnerable it is to do that, even here where it has been shown to be safe and...

A small, but massive step, and they're always the most, well, massive. Definitely with the others in hoping it's soon, the less time lapse the better I am guessing... or perhaps just projecting. Maddog

Honestly, for some reason, one of the things that helps me when I'm about to share something really difficult, is to say... "this is really difficult". And then, somehow, in some tiny way, it's not so difficult. It sounds like he knows you well enough to have insight into how significant this...

T: "I believe there is hope for you Maddog, and that you will make it through all of this." Me: (thinks) "I truly wonder if there is a point at which you would stop saying this to me and would instead find a subtle but direct way to say that you think I'm past the point of being able to be...

What a pathetic disgrace that this situation should be handled so imcompetently. That would test anyone's motivation and follow-through, and it is grossly unfair that you should have to deal with that too. It may be a longshot, or totally irrelevant, but I wonder if maybe the need to take...

It's taken me this long to be able to acknowledge that I resonate very deeply with this need, and with the confusion and shame and aloneness that it brings. It is very very difficult for me to think about this at all without lapsing into self-hating certainty that I am just being attention...

I'm in a different state, so all ok on the home front, but watching the progress of the fires with much sadness and concern. These sort of events bring out the best, and the worst, in people... Maddog

Not wanting to stray too far into irrelevant anecdotes, but that scenario has actually happened for me in reverse, ie, my T asked me once if I neded to just "stay here for a while" after our session, and I said yes, and subsequently did, for a couple of hours. Does that classify as a new thread...

I was told, at age 20, that I would need gynocological checkups, as a matter of priority, on an annual basis. That was 12 years ago, and I've never been back. See, I can't even spell the word! I think it's partly my way of facilitating denial, but mostly a pathological terror of any such...