Struggling with dissociation in therapy

[SinkorSwim]

I do a type of therapy called brainspotting. It's where I think of a time something triggering happend and my body works through it while I stare at a triggering spot. So while I work through my thoughts sometimes they trigger flashbacks sometimes I can tell fully what's going on in the flashback and my therapist can guide me through it and I can feel all my feelings. Other times I am so overwhelmed that my brain is triggered and I am feeling awful but I don't necessarily know what I'm processing. It's a big fog and I feel so overwhelmed after therapy but eventually I cry it out in a day or two and I feel better. I just don't know what I'm crying about. It's so frustrating because I want to tell my therapist what is triggering me so she can help me but I can't even get to that point. This is with loads of grounding exercises too. Anyone else experience this? Any tips?

 

[Freida]

I tried brainspotting and another version called flashing (they are similar I think) and they were so overwhelming I couldn't continue and we had to go back to doing just plain old emdr. So--- not really an answer to your question but maybe something to talk about with your T? If it's to overwhelming how do you work through it?

 

[SinkorSwim]

I tried brainspotting and another version called flashing (they are similar I think) and they were so overwhelming I couldn't continue and we had to go back to doing just plain old emdr. So--- not really an answer to your question but maybe something to talk about with your T? If it's to overwhelming how do you work through it?

Thanks I talked with my T about my overwhelmed feelings and she gave me some tips. I have alters. Little Katie and teenage Katie. She reminded me how far I've come with helping little Katie so I have to be confident and not let teenage Katie boss me around. Tell her that adult Katie is in charge and she will listen to all the overwhelming feelings once teenager Katie is nicer and can communicate in a calmer manner. We took the day off brainspotting in therapy. I was happy about that.

 

[Angelwings]

I found that brainspotting is too body focused for me. Anything related to my body is triggering. Now I am only doing DBT.

 

[Starfire]

Please share again how this is going for you. Tried it twice with T. Was so overwhelming for me that my T said it amounted to reabusing. So we stopped. Wonder sometimes if it would have benefited if we would have stuck it out a little longer.

 

[shimmerz]

It is a bad idea, from my experience, to allow anyone to push in a way that it triggers random brain spinning events. I would, myself, stop that immediately.

I would replace it with safety (safe place) building exercises. Retrieval exercises (what to do if brain spins - how to get out of that without help). I would be doing this to shore myself up for other rounds of brainspotting in the future.

The psyche is a delicate thing and most of us are A type personalities that have had a history of pushing ourselves beyond tolerable limits.

I feel like your T should be paying attention if you are saying it feels like too much. That is helpful in your mission to tap into internal self regulation. She is just teaching you to ignore that. Not sure why....

My thoughts, which are not necessary correct...