Exposure Therapy

[Blackbird89]

Has anyone been through this type of therapy? I did straight CBT for 5 years and we've recently started exposure therapy via writing that my therapist reads and we discuss. ( I have issues verbalizing what happened without becoming physically illl).

It is all very new to me and I'm kinda wondering what's ahead for me in this kind of therapy.

 

[Ariane]

I have not personally, so I can't offer any advice :(

I'm sorry it makes you ill, however. :hug: I hope it gets easier for you.

 

[Friday]

I've been working on the written version, off & on, for about a year. It's incredibly hard going for me. Either SUDs decides to take a flying leap before I've just begun, or I start kicking into flashbacks, or I get lost in my mind. Frustrating. Still chipping away at it. Just very, very slowly. The recommendation is to start with the BigBad, but as yet, the best I've managed are the edges. Pieces here & there, as I can. I figure it's better than nothing, & I'm bound and determined.

Bound & Determined... Because I've been doing the physical version of ET, that manages stressors & triggers, since pretty much day 1... And that's been the only effing thing I've ever come across that actually works. Freaking love it. Well, love/hate, but mostly love. Results. Mastering myself. :sneaky: Love. It.

The written version? Is a natural extension of the physical one. It's brilliant, IMO. Exact same principles, no time machine required. Flirt up to the edge, back off, flirt up to the edge, back off. Keep bushing boundaries until the boundaries move, and then push them some more. Sigh. It's just a lot more difficult for me to manage than the physical one, where I can monitor myself better. I don't have good mental breaks, yet, so I tend to simply find myself jumping in the deep end, instead of working my way in gradually. Vexing.

I also can't make myself linear, yet, although I'm working on it. I don't know about everyone, but for me linear is important. My mind tends to group things together, and those groups kick things into overdrive wicked fast. Forcing myself to slow down and not group them? When I can do it, it's a helluva lot more manageable.

 

[Friday]

Link Removed

...on Exposure Therapy

 

[Blackbird89]

Thank you everyone. Friday, I'll give that a read.

 

[Blackbird89]

I've been working on the written version, off & on, for about a year. It's incredibly hard going for...

What physical ET are you referring to, if you feel comfortable explaining. I feel like it would be really hard to do with my situation but I would love to hear what it does work for!!

 

[Friday]

What physical ET are you referring to, if you feel comfortable explaining. I feel like it would be r...

Physical... Pick a stressor, any stressor... And work your way up to it. Whether it's being in crowds, or the smell of a certain cologne, or an aspect of sex, or a uniform, sound, doesn't matter what. Anything that triggers you or overwhelms you...and play with it.

Say it's your left knee, if it's touched it sends you into a panic attack. Start off touching your shoulder, or hip, or anywhere that has zero response. Then move closer. Just until you get the barest hint of a response. And stop. Because you're in complete control. Then keep doing it. Over & over. Over days/weeks/months. As whatever area starts to lose the response? Becomes boring? You move closer. Until you're touching your left knee & get no response whatsoever. Same thing with any stressor. You work your way up to it, flank it, chip pieces off of it, until the power is gone.

IME different things take different amounts of time, and need to be approached different ways. But it blunts stressors and triggers, until they aren't stressors and don't trigger you anymore. Either ever, or only under certain circumstance (like being surprised).

There's more detail in the link.

 

[Blackbird89]

That article was incredibly informative. Thanks, Friday!

 

[Biz]

@Blackbird89, I did exposure therapy for approximately 6 months. It was too much for me, and I didn't trust my therapist. I became way dysregulated, and eventually left to find a new therapist.

I have trouble with verbalizing too and most exposure therapy involves repeatedly verbalizing the story and many therapist also ask clients to listen to recordings of the story between sessions.

Although, the term is also used to any methods that help one look at the situations/triggers they are frightened of (exposure therapy for phobias for instance is not the same thing at all). If you have a good relationship with your therapist, I think whatever method you use will be beneficial and that relationship will help you come down if you're going too fast.

 

[Neverthesame]

Slowly is key absolutely. Also the control aspect of the very important as well. Being able to quickly stop and put your mind onto something that will calm you, is a very important skill, and it is a skill. You have to practice it or it won't be effective.

Definitely don't do what I did. I took a job working with a big trigger of mine. Was alright until the economy took a dump, then I found myself stuck in this job to make ends meet. It has been helpful sure, but this has pushed me to my breaking point more than once.
I could have and should have been smarter about this than I was.

Here I am right now, sitting next to one of my triggers.

 

[Blackbird89]

I do have a fantastic relationship with my therapist and he's always asking if I'm ok or if I need a break. Exposure therapy (from what he said) can be a long road for sexual assault victims, so I guess it's time to buckle in.


Thank you for your comments and support. It's helpful to know others experiences with this kind of therapy.

 

[Leigh925]

I did exposure therapy for sexual assault. I trust my therapist a great deal. We worked slowly but it really worked for me. I am no longer triggered by some of the things that used to send me completely over the edge and I can now discuss the rape without throwing up or becoming physically ill. In fact I can now discuss it (if I even need to) without being pulled back in to it. I went from having four and five nightmares a night to once a week.

So it was a really positive experience for me although going into it was one of the scariest things I had ever done. I couldn't even make eye contact with my therapist much less stay in my own skins while we discussed those details. So I was petrified.

I can imagine the therapist approach would be a huge factor in the outcome and mine prepared me and made me feel safe. So it worked great for me. It has been two years since I did it and I have had only a couple of issues dealing with that particular incident and it was around the anniversary so I think that is to be expected. Good luck. Hope things go a smoothly as possible and hang in there and follow it through. Thr middle is tough but the other side is soooo much better!