Triggered By New Therapist

[roaminggnome]

Here I am thinking that I'm a survivor of childhood abuse and boy was I wrong. I met with my new therapist for the first time last week. She asked questions about my childhood that triggered me to the point of high anxiety. They were the run of the mill basic questions and here I am on the verge of a panic attack. Now I'm left dealing with this anxiety with medication. It's been 12 years since I was asked those questions. Anyone else out there have a reaction like this or have any advice?

 

[Pencil]

I'm not sure I fully understand - do you mean that you thought you were 'over it'? If so, then I relate.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I disagree....you ARE a survivor!

I think it is normal to experience heightened anxiety when we talk about trauma related issues. I know I've had more than my own fair share of bad reactions.

I think it's important to remember that this stuff isn't easy. Everyone experiences a spike in symptoms at some point during the healing process.

 

[roaminggnome]

@Pencil That's exactly it. I thought I had dealt with it and was over it. But I guess I was wrong.

@Solara-Thank you! I never thought of it that way.

 

[Seasounds]

Yes, I think it is anxiety provoking to go through the first visit, the retelling of a history, that naturally brings up the past with all of the memories.

From my own experience it takes going through traumatic events quite a few times, until everything (pain, suffering, anger, and fear) is integrated.

You get to pace things with your new therapist. Take it slow if you want, weaving in plenty of time to be able to say, "since I left with such anxiety, i want toslow down," or "I need to focus on one event a session," or "I need to make sure to spend the last twenty minutes of our session doing positive affirmations or grounding techniques."

 

[Hashi]

Is it OK to ask why you decided to see a new therapist? Was it for something unrelated to trauma, but then the trauma felt raw again?

The reason I'm asking is that I'm wondering if there are still trauma issues you need to work through but you're seeing a therapist who is not a trauma specialist.

 

[roaminggnome]

@Hashi I just left three years of therapy with a trauma therapist. She was an EMDR therapist and I was done doing EMDR. I felt like I was chasing myself in circles focusing on the past. My new therapist specializes in childhood abuse issues (trauma) which is good since some of my abuse is coming back to the surface. So you are right there are trauma issues I still need to work through. And my therapist's questions brought that to light.