Self Help Therapy

[Hashi]

Should I ask if they have experince with complex ptsd and relgious cults? I seem to find someone with expertise in ptsd but no idea how to deal with the religious aspect and how it affected everything

I think anything that's important to you is a good thing to ask about.

When I asked questions of potential therapists, I tried to keep the questions as open as possible, so they could answer from their own views and experience. (An example of a closed question, which they could answer with yes or no or not much more, is "Do you think you can help me?". An example of an open question, which allows them to answer more personally/fully and give you more of a sense of them, is "How do you think you might be able to help me" or "How do you think we might work together?".)

Maybe you could ask something like, "X has been a factor in my experiences. Have you got experience of working with clients who have experienced X?" or "How would you feel about working with someone with experiences relating to X?"

Something I'd say is that I don't think you need to have a right or wrong answer in mind for your questions. If you're making your questions open, it can be good to be open to a variety of answers. You'll know if what they say resonates or not.

 

[99Phoenix99]

Hi Cora, I agree that seeing a therapist is most important.

However over the past few months I've realized that while the therapist is integrel there are so many other things you can do to help yourself as well.

There's an app called the PTSD Coach that's for free that I've found very useful. If you feel your anxiety building the app will prompt you with questions and possible solutions to help you. Such as drawing, breathing, relaxation, and attention diversion exercises. It'll even prompt you to record your triggers and think about how you could possibly avoid it differently. Now, this is no substitute for an actual therapist but it's certainly handy.

Reading and gaining information is always great.


And most of all having patience with yourself. There will be good days and there will be bad days. But with time the good days may begin to outway the bad :)

 

[TeaLeaf]

I have PTSD from multiple childhood trauma and I would say that you don't necessarily need a therapist that deals with complex PTSD. I chose my therapist because one of her specialties was helping trauma survivors and she has been excellent. Since the DSM has not yet accepted the diagnosis of complex PTSD (though it is totally valid of course), I think some therapists might not mention the specific words "complex PTSD" but they would be able to help someone with complex PTSD if they have training and lots of experience with trauma survivors.
I agree with the other posters that say you can't heal PTSD alone, it has to be healed within a relationship.

When I first started therapy, I had a hard time with paying someone to help me. I think the doubt is part of the PTSD, not being able to trust someone, doubting they actually care. It took time to be able to trust my therapist and one of the ways that I was able to do this was to talk about it with her. After a lot of time, talking and reassurance and care on her part, I was able to let go of the doubt about whether someone cares about me when I am paying them. I feel like my therapist cares above and beyond what she has to do because it's "her job". I've also found a lot of help from therapy in dealing with day to day issues, "Am I angry/frustrated/sad about something that just happened because of past trauma or because its reasonable to feel that way?" Trauma mixes this up in a persons head and a therapist can help you untangle it.

 

[Meredith Monthcomery]

So I am looking to self heal but the problem I've run into is I can find the information and what to do but I cant divide what is past behaviours and what is present. For example if my bf makes me upset I feel confused by whether I am being realistic or this is old issues and survival techniques.

So I am just wondering your thoughts on this. Is self healing possible? If I should see a therapist how can i get past the idea of paying someone to care about me?(I live on actions not words)

Look online for books. Amazon has related books that will give you even more resources.