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Struggling After Therapy

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Copper Princess

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I really am sorry if I sound like a broken record but therapy is so hard right now. I have a therapy journal now and I write my feelings down or what is going on and we focus on what I have written. It is easier then actually telling her but the catch is I have answer all of her questions. I just cried in my car for what seemed like forever. I just hate this!!
 
Totally get you, I had therapy today and I have to do a similar thing, though recently I keep turning to alcohol afterwards which is not such a good plan.

It may be worth discussing with him/her how to deal with once you have got out of the session? Maybe you can make sure before the end you switch to a easier topic to distract your or something.

Therapy is hard though so *hugs* well done for going!
 
I really am sorry if I sound like a broken record but therapy is so hard right now. I have a th...
Don't be sorry! (I do know what that is like; I am always sorry and I can't help it - I wish I could take it away from you! But I will always try to reassure on that front, as best I can!)

I've spent a really long time with therapy being a positive experience, enjoying my drive and listening to music and then a supportive session....but recently we've been "delving" and it is rough.

I find it a little concerning that you say there's a catch and you "have" to answer all questions. Maybe you could speak with your therapist on that one (or write!), and ease up for a little while? Not forever, because it sounds like you've been processing and progressing - but maybe it would be a good time to give yourself a break, and talk about some easier things? Just a thought.
 
Limits in therapy is tricky. If I had limited myself to what I thought was reasonable at the beginning, I'd have quit. More recently, I will say "That's really difficult" or otherwise check how important he thinks it is to explore a particular path.

And yeah, therapy is hard. It's important to let yourself be unhappy that it's difficult and painful. (So long as you're able to do that without quitting therapy.)
 
Good trauma therapy is also kinda awful. It's really hard. :hug:

I had a friend once who said she wanted to go to therapy every week like me, so that way she could have someone tell her good things about herself and so she would leave feeling super happy and recharged. "It's like going to the spa."

She had never done trauma therapy, and frankly, I felt happy for her that she hasn't been through a battle where she had to experience with the reality of how hard healing from trauma can be. I did tell her, "we don't actually spend much time doing things that feel good. It's more like walking through the fires of hell, and holding on for dear life, and then um, trying to put myself back together, and then...the hour is up and I have to walk out the door and work hard to function."

I'm glad that your therapist is helping you pace out the work. Blowing bubbles can be so soothing!

It might be good to talk to her about containment skills if you haven't already. These are skills that help leave the therapy work in the therapy office. It helps to not be so shaken by the process. Some common containment techniques that many therapists use seem kinda silly, like imagining everything being in a box, in her office, before leaving. Sometimes things like this can really help though.

Even with the best containment, there will be crappy days. There will be grief and pain. It stinks. You are doing really brave and courageous work! it will get better over time.

Sending you gentle hugs if you accept them :hug:
 
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Someone on another thread recently used the phrase "emotional hangover"....I think this is perfect and exactly what I usually feel like after a session--just wrecked and drained and sad. Sometimes I get frustrated--like how much can I take?--and other times I feel so deeply grateful: I get that this is changing me and changing my life. It's just hard though. If I didn't also have the reassurance of this community where I can at least recognize aspects of my own experience, I think I'd feel pretty lost/it'd be hard to hang with it....
 
I went today, and am still emotionally exhausted. I was ranting about an unrelated thing and my husband came over and gave me a giant bear hug. A good hug. Earlier I had told him that I am not having a good day due to therapy. A storm was happening and I wanted the lightening to strike me down. And when I got in the car and the wind seemed bad, in my head I was shouting, "bring it the f¥€k on!"
 
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