Therapist Is Having A Hip Replacement

[Bookoffee]

I had my second session with my new therapist last Tuesday. So far everything has gone well. She told me last Tuesday that she will be out for two weeks due to the replacement. She will be having it in a couple of weeks. I was feeling OK with the absent for two weeks, but now I am wondering.

I went for a walk with my wife and dog, we decided to take a walk outside our route to look at the flowers and court yard. After looking at the flowers, I started to panic. I had a flash of a memory but wasn't sure what it was. after that I became dizzy and disorientated. I felt like I was out of my body. I couldn't figure out what street we were on and were we lived. It took me a long time to come back to my body. I showered then laid in the bedroom with AC on imagining being on a lake, swimming and laying on the dock.

I was triggered last night. My wife and I were talking about moving to a town that is very welcoming. The last time I was in that town, my step-father hit me with his truck while I was on my bike. He picked up my bike and kept throwing it on the back of my head. I went to that dark place and my body remembered the pain and terror. My hands are shaking just typing this.

My sister is still giving me a hard time about the wedding and my panic. She is treating me like my mother side of the family treat me when it comes to my PTSD. She wants me to be over it, deal with it and "fight" through it like her daughter does through her anxiety. I am thinking there is a difference between having anxiety and PTSD. It is overbearing. I need to cut communication off with them. The grass is never greener on the other side. I just met them and they do not know what I went through as a child.

How do you deal when your therapist is out?

 

[Lucycat]

For me it has never been quite like that. I have never had a 'regular' schedule of therapy. I saw my T several times a week in the very beginning, but since then it has always been as and when. I might see him every week for 2 or 3 weeks then nothing for months. It depends what I need. The advantage of this strategy is that breaks become less significant. He always tells me if he is going on holiday, in case I do want to schedule an appointment and he is not there, but it has not been an issue.

I get what you are saying though, and this is not simply a holiday. Your T needs the time out for surgery and you have no where to turn. Have you actually discussed this with your T before they go, so that you can have an action plan of *what ifs*? Sometimes I have sent T an email when I have known he is away - one that I know he will not get until after his holiday, but it made me feel better just getting something out. T is very happy for me to do that. Triggers and flashbacks will happen whether T is there or not. I have taken to making a list of things I want to discuss 'next time' when I know the next time is some time off. It wont make the situation better or worse, just that I feel the need to acknowledge it.

As for your sister. Well, I don't know what wedding she is speaking of - one in the past or one in the future. However it hardly matters. You must do what is right for you. Her opinion does not matter. If she is treating you like a parent, then it sounds like she is controlling - or at least trying to be controlling. You are not her daughter. Your illness and issues are different. It is none of her business.

And when your therapist is away there is always this forum :)

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

The last time my therapist went away, it was only for a week, maybe just over a week. I set up a meeting with a close friend. I wrote everything down in my journal (it's how I communicate with my T anyway). Whatever comforts you, that's what you need to increase during your therapist's absence. Of course, as I say this, I am freaking out that my therapist will be taking a vacation next month. I am thinking this forum will be a good place for support. When my husband was gone for a week and I needed support, I posted on one thread every night and it helped me get through the week.