Search results

I don't think you are overreacting, you are obviously in distress. If you are afraid to talk, print out what you just wrote and hand it to the therapist. I am very wary of diagnoses...but finally accepting PTSD helped me reframe everything I had been told was wrong with me in terms of...

Oh...baking! A fine idea. In the throes of one of my worst depression in years, I "canned"...fruit, vegetables, pretty much anything I could get my hands on. We're still reaping the "benefits". Unfortunately, I only have one jar of the killer Rosemary Fig Jam left...and I was too spaced out...

@Trauma, you are not too young to know pain and you (very obviously) have a lot to worry about. From a purely existentialist point of view, there are no happy endings - Shunryu Suzukie said "Life is like getting in a boat that is about to set sail out to sea and sink." But that doesn't make...

Oh @KwanYingirl ,I am so sorry you are having to deal with this difficult person....the only advice I have is trying one of the DBT interpersonal skills (like DEAR MAN) (or get a voodoo doll). ...but this thread has made me laugh. Having 3 boys, I've had may share of strange things go down the...

I agree with much of what others have said. I think her message was probably meant well (and valid) but not well delivered. I suspect that what she was trying to point out was that your negative self-talk is not serving you well. I think if she had, perhaps, validated your feelings first...

You are being both skillful and effective in recognizing that it's the therapist not the program that's triggering you. To me, there are a couple of red flags about this therapist - first that she is running 8 "drop in" groups (seems like a lot of groups and a little chaotic on who will be in...

I have a good friend with PTSD who, unfortunately lives far away...but we've talked a lot about how wonderful it would be to have a group of folks to talk about how to overcome the challenges of parenting when you have PTSD.

I know the last thing you probably want is another book to read...but...Darlene Cohen's "Finding a Joyful Life in the Heart of Pain" is a wonderful book about living with pain. My dealings with physical pain have been, thankfully, acute episodes - mostly associated with cancer treatment, so I...

I agree 100% that there are so many things in "how to navigate life" that many of us never had the opportunity to learn (or never had someone to teach us). And I know, personally, I spent a lot of time "hiding" what I didn't know...faking it so that I didn't stand out. I have been in a DBT...

This was me...except, after my drunken suicidal crisis, I had what I can only describe as a "sunyata" experience. It was very profound and has stuck with me (so far).

I went to a Smart Recovery group for a while and really liked the approach. I don't consider myself an alcoholic (as in I'm not addicted to alcohol), but rather used binge drinking as a coping mechanism, so the CBT/REBT approach made sense to me, since I considered the binge drinking a choice...

I never found AA to be very helpful - it was too rigid and dogmatic. And I met some of the sickest people I've ever met in AA. What eventually helped me most was realizing that my binge drinking was, like you said, an attempt to numb my symptoms - so it became a symptom too. What has helped...

I occasionally take diphenhydramine (Benadryl) to sleep. It looks like at least one of the Unisom products contain this. As @Justmehere says, it's an antihistamine and it has sedative properties. For a temporary solution, it's probably harmless and could possibly help. For me, I've found it...

I am so sorry you are going through this @shimmerz. In response to your question, I suspect you're feeling "different" and (relatively) symptom-free because you are in survival mode. When I was diagnosed and treated for cancer, my symptoms disappeared. I thought maybe the chemo had altered...

I think there is a lot of good advice given above but wanted to add a huge "good on you" for being able to delay the urge. I think that's a really really big thing. I'm not sure if DBT is available in your area or if you would have access to a DBT group - but DBT was designed to work with...

It was a mobile crisis counselor. She came to the house. I refused to go in - so she called the police. I explained to them that I had been drinking but that I was safe and going to bed. Apparently, this was sufficient for her so she filed an affidavit the next morning. My son was at home...

This happened to me...twice. The first time, I wasn't taken in. The second time, the police came and left, but the "counselor" swore out an affidavit and the next day, the police showed up at my work and took me in (in handcuffs - claiming it was protocol). I was "incarcerated" for almost a...

"Opposite to Emotion Action" :) - I'm working really hard on this skill! I have a "cheat sheet" I've put together for the holidays...mostly focusing on self-care (eating right, not drinking, sleep, exercise...the basics) and mindfulness. I've also committed to keeping my own expectations...

...and...her reaction to you was, in my opinion, totally off...I would have totally frozen up.

I've seen a couple of therapists in their home offices, definitely not my cup of tea, but I don't think that alone is crossing a boundary. The bartering for services, to me, definitely is - it creates a dual relationship. There are a lot of unskilled (and some out right dangerous) mental...

This really resonates for me. While I definitely have a "it isn't/wasn't that bad" side like @FridayJones, I can also get sucked into the flooded/trapped/it's always going to be this way vortex as well. (and part of the vortex is me trying to convince myself that "it isn't / wasn't that bad")...

I agree with this 100%. I think a lot of folks have families that can be...challenging. I absolutely need to have a plan in place when I visit with my family. Mostly, I keep a list of distress tolerance skills handy. Last year, when visiting my parents, I also did a phone check-in with my...

I'm so sorry you are experiencing this kind of distress. I have been in therapy where things have gotten terribly worse and have come to the realization that very very slow is what I need. I think a lot of folks here will tell you that stabilization and learning grounding skills are...

Happy Birthday! I hope all of the surprises were small and tolerable.

I consider myself Buddhist, although I attend and am very active in my Unitarian-Universalist congregation. I have found the principals of Buddhism to be very helpful in my healing - and in my life in general (maybe because the healing part is movement towards life?). I am currently doing DBT...