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I'm sorry you're having a bad time. Getting back into therapy is definitely a good idea. When you have resolved the trauma and addressed its effects (the thoughts about the trauma and your self, your coping strategies, your support system), the urge to self-harm will naturally dissipate. It...

You've gotten good advice here. It can help, especially in the beginning of healing, to have a boundaried place to share (i.e. therapy, pastoral counseling, a group). That way you know that your confidentiality is protected and that the person(s) you are sharing with will not get burnt out...

I'm sorry you had to go through that, and that you are suffering now. I completely understand not wanting to add to your mother's stresses. However, the issues you are having could get worse without treatment--and that would be harder on you and your mother. Many people here on the forum...

The thing with psychiatric medications is that they are used to treat multiple things. When a drug is used to treat something it's not specifically targeted/approved for, that's called an "off-label" use (and it's very common). For example, I take an antidepressant, not to treat depressive...

I hear that you are experiencing a lot of challenges and pain. Seek treatment, as only a professional can diagnose and truly help resolve a mental disorder or suffering. Self-diagnosis is a dangerous thing, as a qualified psychiatrist or practitioner has years of training analyzing the criteria...

Scary! I hope you don't need surgery or anything serious like that. I am cracking up about the pajamas!

What reaction would be ideal for you? Articulating that might make it easier to get what you want/need.

I think I can relate. Before I knew about the PTSD, I kept telling myself that whatever 'it' was, it couldn't be bad because I could hold a job and I seemed normal. Once I got into treatment I learned that we function in different areas--I am pretty nonfunctional in the area of personal and...

You're tortured by shame and guilt. That doesn't make you a monster, it makes you human. You--like many have us--have conflated your actions with your being. We are not what we have done. We are shaped by it, but we are more than that. As Anni wisely advises, finding a therapist to talk to...

When I first began talking about my trauma in therapy, I felt this way as well. I'd share one week, and the next come in all shut down. Finally my therapist had to explain to me boundaries, that I should only talk about what I was comfortable talking about, and then when it was too much, to...

Old post, but still an interesting discussion! I would never do this with my therapist, I depend on the physical boundaries we have and the fact that everything we do only involves words. But I've done a self-defense class for years, and with the support of teachers I trust, I am able to work...

I've read that stress worsens endometriosis, and it wouldn't surprise me if it was a major factor in causing it, too. I think many of the autoimmune disorders related to inflammation are strongly related to stress, especially in women. I am glad you are getting another opinion to see if there...

I think there's a difference between seeing multiple professionals for different treatments, and seeing multiple therapists. Some people have an individual therapist and a couples therapist, for example, or an individual therapist and an EMDR specialist, or an individual therapist and a group...

I've found this to be true, and I've also read about the issue. When I first began meditating, I often *thought* I was mediating, but in fact I was simply dissociating. I thought, "meditation is easy!" because all I had to do was zone out and be nothing, and I could do that for AGES. Being...

I've never read it, but a quick look at it shows that it's self-published, if that makes any difference to you.

I've made several big moves, ostensibly for education purposes, but there was a reason I chose to do my schooling so far away, you know? And every time, I found John Kabat-Zinn's book to be true: "Wherever you go, there you are." When I stopped moving, and sat down, dug in my heels, and faced...

In my experience this is alarmingly true. When I am talking and spending time with my friends--truthfully and not pretending to be a happy, 'surfacey' person--then I feel like I am not being blown around by the wind of PTSD quite so much.

If it were available near me, I think I would do it. I know I can't undo the trauma and have to learn to live with it, but I think I would give just about anything to be able to have some time without this crippling anxiety.

I very much relate to this. I do have intrusive thoughts that are not directly related to the trauma, but I can usually trace them back to it eventually. From "I think the house is going to catch fire" (worries of safety) to imagining my car going off the road, they tend to be related to either...

Canucklady, I do this, too. I find that it often means I am not coping with whatever is going on, I'm just buckling down and enduring it, usually avoiding as many feelings as I can in the process! My therapist has been frustrated with my case, too. It was scary for me to hear that, but it also...

It's unfortunate that your former treatment providers took the role of deciding what you could talk about. I know my therapist is familiar with this model (it's described in varying terms by most professionals in the field, I think), but we have gone back and forth between the phases. Different...

I just have to say how much I adore this explanation. Whenever I am feeling overwhelmed and get frustrated with myself for being stressed, reminding me of this visual helps me appreciate what's actually going on inside of me.

I'm sorry, I misunderstood.

Can you describe the exposure therapy you have gone through? I ask only because usually it is understood to be time-limited to some degree. It's not an open exploration as talk therapy is. What did your therapist/doctor think of the decompensation? Did he change the pace or pause the exposures...

Interesting quizzes. I think my scores reflect my personality pretty well. I was surprised that I could identify the faces so well; I don't think of myself as able to do that at all. Systemizing: 8 Empathy: 55 Autism: 15 Mind in the Eyes: 32