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Prolonged Exposure Starting Tomorrow...

  • Post starter Post starter tatertot
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tatertot

I couldn't sleep last night in anticipation of starting the big part of this therapy tomorrow. I've done the breathing exercises and tomorrow I am to start the sharing of the memories. :(

I'm scared.

Yet, I feel like I'm detaching now from it all. Nervous to talk about the abuse and go there.

Any advice? How were you feeling after this?
 
I haven't gotten there yet, but here's what I usually do in that kind of situation. I pause in the parking lot for a moment and remind myself that one of the good things about being an adult is that I can tell someone to F_ off and walk out of the room any time I want to. Maybe not the most mature approach, and I've never actually done it. It DOES help me to remind myself that I can be in control of the situation and that helps.

The first time I ever talked about any of this stuff with anyone, he had somewhat figured it out and worked real hard to get me to talk about it. When I finally did (and, in the end, I couldn't talk much, just answered "yes" & :"no" questions.... When we went our separate ways that night, I was SURE that the world would come to an end by morning. I was sure he's see me differently and hate me or avoid me or think I was "damaged goods" or something similar. That's not what happened at all. The world was a different place the next day, but in a good way. If your therapist is good, that's where you're going to end up too, It's like jumping in to a pool of cold water in the summer. You dread it on the way in, but once you get there it's not so bad.

Good luck! I'll be thinking of you!!
 
I take a deep breath and tell myself that she is safe to tell things to. It takes some of the strength of the memory away, at least I find, when I share. Or of my thoughts, which I might think are horrible, and, once they are out and we are discussing them, I find the world has not collapsed. I find it, overall, freeing.
 
If there is anything you are not ready to talk about, anything that brings up a big NO inside, respect that and don't discuss it. It can be retraumatizing to talk about some things and it isn't always necessary to give details. I might see it in my head but only talk about how it made me feel or I might use a metaphor. If you trust your therapist, it makes a world of difference. It helps me to know I don't have to do anything I don't want to do anymore. And I can do what Im ready to in my own time.
 
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