Repeating therapy... when do you give up?

[blackemerald1]

If you guys took breaks from therapy for a time?

^Yes I can recall clearly when I took my first big break. I'd had enough talk, failed medications, idiotic therapists and psychdoc's and roll the eyes moments in group therapy. So I decided I give it a very big break. I lasted ok for the first few years and then started a gentle slide backwards in the last couple which ended up me needing some hospital visits. I was convinced to return to a consistent therapy environment after that and have periodically taken breaks but not for long.

Did you find seeing someone consistently was the way for you?

^For me.. yeah. I need consistency in my mental health professionals. I don't do well at all with scatter gun therapists. There is some comfort in being able to trust enough to move forward each time I see them... and not necessarily regularly either. But just that they know my basic background.

But I'm a bit like that in most aspects of my life... I like the known and the predictable, the gentle movement onwards.
My days of skirting along in chaos and havoc and getting a buzz out of complete spontaneity have gone. So it may just be my preference now and it may not suit a younger person at all.

 

[Changing4Best]

I have had 2 therapists over a 20 year period or so, say that they can no longer treat me, because I was not making progress. At those times, I was kind of lost for a bit, trying to find a new therapist. Then there is that old filling in the blanks for the new T. Basically I felt like I was starting over. In one case, a previous T and company even refused to forward my records from their office to my new T's office. So, we had to start over from just about zero, but it was OK, going over the same stuff over again kind of takes the umff out of it the next time it might get triggered in real life.

 

[MrMoonlight]

I was convinced to return to a consistent therapy environment after that and have periodically taken breaks but not for long.

Maybe I haven't accepted that I have ptsd and that it's cyclical. Not to mention accompanying diagnoses/disorders. My therapy started just two years ago, in that time I have though difficult when we dig or do emdr enjoyed/needed/benefited from having a therapist. I see her weekly but can imagine a time where I would be comfortable with biweekly appointments. To me having a professional there to guide and encourage has helped me improve my life, don't think I'd be here without her, this place (you) and taking small steps. Not scattered small steps in every direction but thoughtful guided small steps.

I like the known and the predictable, the gentle movement onwards.
My days of skirting along in chaos and havoc and getting a buzz out of complete sponaity have gone.

You sought that buzz? I've always been really cautious, not very spontaneous or risk-seeking at all....something that would probably be good for me...the spontaneity bit not risk-seeking.

So it may just be my preference now and it may not suit a younger person at all.

Out of curiosity do you think I'm a young person? Just curious how I come off because I've had other people think innocently enough that I was young, people who actually interacted with me online for some time.

 

[Starfish]

For me, I needed to see myself clearly and I wanted to explore my thoughts and feelings about me and others to learn what I did not learn as a child cause I was too disassociated and survival mood.

I can relate to this, grit! I am just getting calmed down enough inside to be able to see the importance of exploring my thoughts and feelings and feeling like i might even matter. One thing I get is that if I don't, I am screwed!

 

[Starfish]

the fact I'm still alive some days is a success in and of itself

I hear ya on that one! good point

 

[blackemerald1]

You sought that buzz?

^Yes - I was an adrenaline junkie in so many aspects of my life it was stupid. But not now... probably overly cautious now if anything.

do you think I'm a young person?

^I hadn't thought about it but my feeling is that your outlook is youthful? A good thing too!

 

[Tinyflame]

I think the adrenaline-fueled stuff also becomes less attractive when the body gets more worn out. Especially if energy reserves are at a premium. Sort of forces the mental component to be more front and center, and behind that is the emotional one, and I think under that, the existential and even practical one: why am I here, what do I want to leave behind, what can I do 'this day'. JMHE though, I could be all wrong. :confused:

ETA @Innordinate I think there's some saying about not giving up. Which is different than saying I can't do this on my own, that is wise, it's not giving up. One thing I do think is, it doesn't matter what it takes from one person to another to get there. Just what works for you, and finding that and keeping on trying. Not necessarily in exactly the same way or order, but in a way that might produce even a smidgen of results for you (or more). And then knowing yourself, to keep building on that. I guess hang on to the good things and don't spend time beating yourself up if it doesn't work for you. They usually say try something about 6 times. If you can break down what parts are not effective or difficult and why, that can help change the way you approach it too. :hug:

 

[TruthSeeker]

I see therapy as an ongoing need, not something that I pick and choose types for. I have had some trauma based therapy and some not. I took a DBT course when it was offered to me by the mental health clinic I was going to at the time. I know I don't do well in group therapy, so I ask for one on one. That is what helps me most. I know that therapy does help me, so I do carry on with it, even if one session here and there seems to do nothing. I don't believe that therapy has ever hurt me, so I carry on....

I don't like groups either, and group therapy.....nope...not for me. I found taking "therapy breaks" for several months to be really powerful. The therapist was "in the wings" but I carried on with what I had learned, and the break gave me a catalyst to realize what specific things I wanted to work on. It also showed me that I could live without a therapist if I had to. I don't see that continuous therapy will be an expectation forever. Consider taking a therapy break.....would you consider a T break if there are too many sessions where you walk away without goals and progress.

 

[Changing4Best]

I don't like groups either, and group therapy.....nope...not for me. I found taking "therapy breaks" for several months to be really powerful. The therapist was "in the wings" but I carried on with what I had learned, and the break gave me a catalyst to realize what specific things I wanted to work on. It also showed me that I could live without a therapist if I had to. I don't see that continuous therapy will be an expectation forever. Consider taking a therapy break.....would you consider a T break if there are too many sessions where you walk away without goals and progress.

The way my T. and I do that is to have a month between sessions. I am doing that this month. We might even move up to a month and a half, or even 2 months, but I don't want to be off his schedule entirely, because he is very busy and it is hard to get in with him. He is also the T. for an in patient floor in the H.