Therapy 'homework'

[Poppycocteau]

Anthony, thank-you for your advice. I am willing to do the work myself and realise that no-one can do anything for me other than myself, I am just used to tackling something, waiting until I've calmed down, and doing the same again when I feel grounded enough to, rather than doing something every day regardless of how I feel. But, of course, you're right - this is a wussy approach really and I now feel confident enough to make the commitment to do something every day based on the advice and encouragement from your post and the others here :).

Simply Complex - I will try that in the mood diary the therapist gave me, thank-you for that idea. It occurs to me that whilst I can often instantly identify how I feel - it's invariably anxious, stressed or angry - I often can't explain exactly why, and should practice this.

Now I am going to spend half an hour reading the leaflet about eating disorders that she also gave me to read as homework.

 

[ericaboo]

I didn't understand how the homework was going to make a difference, but I got so desperate, the meds were getting less and less effective, and I know they are not the ultimate answer.

It is really painful completing forms on the incidents that happen on a daily basis - it's like reliving it all over again. But...

My therapist is starting to get the REAL skinny on what is going on with me - completely different - night and day - from what I was able to ramble at him during our short sessions which I am paying an arm and a leg for out of my own pocket.

It's really true - I WILL have to do the work myself, and I'm hell bent and determined to succeed with this.

 

[Hashi]

Before I begin journalling about trauma I usually acknowledge that I'm anxious and don't want to do it. It actually helps to say to myself that this is really hard for me but I'm going to do it all the same. At the end, I'll do something symbolic like draw a line under what I've put and write that I'm leaving all that in my journal now, it's going to stay there and I'm safe.

When I've felt really disturbed by something I've written, I'll take the pages and shred them, then take them right out of the house straight away. It's a way of working on things but still keeping it contained.

 

[ClairBear226]

At the last appointment, however, she said that she wants me to do half an hour of 'homework' each day - that is, half an hour of tackling my fears and exposing myself to triggers. I guess I'll try it, though I am very apprehensive and threatened by the idea - after all, it can't make me much more grumpy and horrible to be around than I am already . . . but has anyone else's therapist told them to do this?

This looks like a pretty old thread, but it looks like it's been bumped up. Exposure to triggers was something I worked on a few months ago. I was about the most "anti-therapy" person on the planet, but I'll openly admit, this really worked wonders for me. I did about 9 sessions of prolonged exposure therapy, and aside from listening to the tapes of me telling about my trauma every night, I also had to expose myself to several of the triggers. The first one I tackled was the same type of rope I'd been tied with. My immediate reaction to it was severe and immediate. But the goal was to be exposed to it until the anxiety subsided. For me, that was about 40 - 45 minutes. Inside of a week, it had little to no effect on me at all. I found the same to be true about every trigger I faced this way. I'll admit, it sounds horrible, and sounds almost cruel to have to face such a thing. But it was amazing, how well it worked for me.

 

[maddog]

I must say that quite in contrast to my remembered experiences at school, I have found therapy homework to be an extremely productive, very rewarding and, at times, very grounding and secure part of my overall therapy experience.

I say grounding and secure because it often helps me to maintain a form of psychological and emotional connection to the process and to my T between sessions, which, during the toughest of times, is extremely important for me in order to keep myself afloat.

As one who finds it very difficult to speak and articulate myself well verbally sometimes, I often find that written homework tasks, such as to write about the meaning or interpretation of an event we have discussed, can be an excellent means of my exploring and communicating concepts I couldn't call to mind and voice at the time, which then allow us to work with and discuss those insights at the next session.

My T is big on homework, needless to say, and I also frequently self-generate my own when I feel the need. My homework tasks do sometimes include explicit practical taskings and trigger confrontation such as is outlined above... come to think of it, I've been instructed to engage in daily train rides and crowd exposure between now and my next appointment on Thursday, and failing to comply just isn't an option, either for my T or I.

Maddog

 

[Poppycocteau]

I freely admit that when I wrote the first post I was really scared - forcing myself to feel terrified and angry to the point of panic attacks and nausea seemed counter-intuitive. It's hard to rationalise that even though it feels terrible now, it will help in the long run. Some months on, I can see that Anthony, and everyone else who encouraged me, was right - I'm a different person to who I was last year. Cigarettes and that nicotine stuff for giving up smoking are a big trigger for me, and I used to feel choked and enraged whenever I had to go to a store with them in. I have to go to a pharmacy every day to pick up my medication, and I realised yesterday that for the past week for so, I had been standing near the 'Quitting Smoking' display without even really thinking about it. I was so proud and grateful to have reached that pint - I never could have imagined it last year.

Ericaboo - I love your determination and hope - you will succeed, and I wish you strength to do so xXx

 

[ClairBear226]

Sounds like you've come a long way. Good for you. You faced the fear, you did it anyway, and you came out on the other side. (where's an applause button when you really need one?) :tup:

 

[Hashi]

*applause*