Exposure Therapy Has Increased Symptoms

[Heather]

Does exposure therapy work for everyone? because everytime I try to deal with stuff, dig deep, talk about it, my symptoms get worse I'm in a tail spin for months and months, I'm suicidal. I end up in the hospital. and then when things do calm down I DON'T feel any better.

 

[anthony]

Exposure therapy will work for 99.9% of people if done correctly in conjunction with emotional processing of the event being exposed to.

Yes, when you do exposure therapy, you should have significantly heightened symptoms, suicidal even, etc. The difference is, is that you shouldn't be in hospital, because that means your not focusing enough on the process and what it achieves, instead you're getting caught up in the symptoms. Look at the end aim and desired result, not the symptoms.

When you go through exposure therapy, you should only be focused and reassuring yourself that it will lessen again, which you know, it will improve if done right...

Exposure therapy is useless if negative stigma is still attached to the traumatic event itself, specifically if targeting fear based events attached to the trauma vs. fear based events from social anxiety or isolation, exclusion from life.

 

[Heather]

When you say significantly heightened symptoms: I wasn't eating (I lost 30 lbs in 4 months), I wasn't sleeping, and when I did it was on the couch, I couldn't be touched, I had horrible nightmares, flashbacks, crying all the time, seriously agitated, I could barely function...this went on for over 8 months. Is this is how it's supposed to be?

How much is one person suppose to take? I checked myself into the hospital because I was going to kill myself. They adjusted my meds. and things got better.

I don't want another 8 months like that again.

 

[Nicolette]

I am no expert Heather but are they trying to dig too deep too fast? Is the physician an expert with this kind of treatment? Are you at a place in your life where you don't have a ton of outside burdens adding to what the therapy brings up? My understanding is that you need to have the right environment in order to do this therapy also.

 

[anthony]

You may simply not be at the right place in your life to be healing trauma right now... but yes, the symptomatic response to healing trauma and performing exposure therapy, is typically worse than experiencing the trauma in the first place.

There is only one way to heal PTSD, and that is first at the emotional core, then at the exposure level. How you achieve the emotional core varies, as there are vast amounts of emotional processing therapy types. The trick though, is who is delivering it and whether they are pushing you in the first place.

If you have secrets of trauma, if you haven't processed all emotional aspects first, then you should not be conducting exposure therapy. It is the last thing that occurs after trauma healing, which aids you to get back into life, face any last fears, etc... the core emotions must first be treated.

 

[Heather]

I wasn't even focusing on any of my traumas. They were in my past and I was doing fine. It wasn't until I saw my brother-in-law who( sexually assaulted me) in a parking lot for a total of less than 10 seconds that started all of this. I was trying so hard NOT to deal with it and it was coming out anyway. There was nothing I could do and I had to face it. I was sitting in my therapists office telling him to shut up at each question he asked because I was trying so hard not to cry....and then the damn burst open, the shit hit the fan and I was a mess for the next 8 months and I'm still not okay.

so, even when I don't want to deal with, try not to deal with it. I don't have a choice.

 

[anthony]

Yes... you must deal with it. You are taking this article off-topic though, and you should discuss this type of thing on the appropriate thread in the appropriate forum.

I have cut out some posts from this thread and moved them to the PTSD forum.

 

[kers]

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?

As Nicolette says, if you are decompensating to this point, it may be that the therapist and you are not titrating the exposures effectively. The idea is to trigger the fear response, and give you a chance to recognize that it's over and you're safe. If you can't have that safety component, something isn't working for you. It should be awful, uncomfortable, shame and ear inducing, but if it's driving you suicidal, then you need to develop more present coping skills and/or adjust the exposures. All just my opinion, of course.

 

[Heather]

I was just asking both Anthony and Nicolette general questions about exposure therapy. I never have had exposure therapy with my therapist.

My current therapist doesn't push me to talk about the details of the abuse/assaults because my first therapist forced me to. And he refuses to do that because he feels that would be retraumatizing me all over again. I have told him some stuff, written down things and given it to him but he leaves it up to me whether or not I tell him what the details of a flashback is.

 

[kers]

I'm sorry, I misunderstood.

 

[anthony]

Sounds like useless therapy to me... sorry... honesty. What is the point of getting trauma therapy if the therapist isn't pushing you? The entire concept of trauma therapy is built upon the response to provoke the trauma and obtain both an emotional and conscious response to the discussion, thus the emotions are released and can be discussed, can be targeted specifically to be lessened or removed, identified as what is normal, what is traumatic, etc.

Attending therapy to do as you wish... that's not therapy, that's... give me your money to do what you want and I will take it and listen, do little to nothing, because you don't feel like doing it. That is wasting time, both yours and the therapist IMHO. Some therapists tell you your wasting their time and come back when serious, some just take your money and rob you blind, regardless what you do.

 

[Heather]

Anthony -
I've thought quite a lot about what you've had to say and I value your opinion quite a bit especially coming from a place where you were suffering pretty badly and worked through it and have come out the other side...gives me hope that it's possible.

I'm gonna copy down what you've said and bring this to my therapist because we've gone 10 rounds over this very issue. He wants me to try EMDR and there's a person where I go for counseling that's trained to do it and specializes in trauma. He does have experience working with people who suffer with ptsd. But I often accuse him of not knowing what he's doing...maybe you're right I'm wasting my time and his but when I bring him suggestions he is open. I'm not going to jump ship just yet.

thanks Heather