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talk therapy
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So therapy is supposed to offer you the space to explore how your brain works and how you interact with life. It's a guided exercise in you. That being said "talk therapy" isn't for everyone, so if th…
What qualities to look for in a therapist — Previously, I had been working with a somatic therapist for 6 years (on trauma healing, not specifically attachment related) and a few months ago they closed their practice for personal reasons on *ve…
EMDR therapy fail — Today I was so excited to start EMDR. Before booking treatment, I told the therapist that I need help with sexual dysfunction resulting from child abuse and multiple SA’s as a young adult. She said 95…
Help/advise needed please: “Spiritual awakening” or/and brain inflammation, thus spiritual psychosis, etc. — This is extremely important to me, and I think to humanity as well, so I appreciate you taking the time to read and potentially respond. This is my personal ongoing testimony; I fear no psychological …
37/m. 3 months ago, I committed an act of domestic violence on my ex partner and I am trying to make sure the version of me that did that stays in the past. — In December I physically attacked my now ex gf of 4 years. It is the single worst thing I have ever done in my life, to the person I loved more than I have ever loved anyone before. I moved out immedi…
EMDR therapy? — Hi! I’m curious if anyone suffers from trauma-induced anxiety. I do, and I’ve been in talk therapy for it, along with seeing a psychiatrist. My current therapist, who I’ve been with for about 6 year…
Is healing even possible? At my wits end. — So just some background. My healing journey started off really good. I grew up with alcoholic parents, was bullied a bit in school. When my Dad got in recovery he recommended al-anon to us kids fo…
does anyone else feel like they have a way of existing and can’t go out of it? — i’m 16 and 6 years passed from my trauma, i don’t have certificates that proves exactly that i have a trauma/c-ptsd but i have all the symptoms, i am going crazy cs just now i’ve realised how many tim…
Does anyone else feel like they’re trapped in a version of themselves they can’t escape? — Hi. I’m 16 and I feel like I’m stuck in a “mode” of existing that I can’t get out of, no matter how aware I am of it. I went through something traumatic when I was 13 (humiliation, isolation, sexual …
Have you ever been close to someone who also had CPTSD and it made both of you worse? — I didn’t know anything about CPTSD until last year. My first relationship was with someone who had BPD, but now I think she had comorbid BPD with CPTSD. It lasted 5 years and it was super toxic by the…
Advice on therapy services — Hello, I’m currently trying to help my girlfriend find the best therapy service. We are fresh out of college and don’t have local insurance, so the best bet is an online service that won’t charge an …
Therapy is not going well, I don't know what to ask for or where to redirect sessions. — I came here seeking advice for a different path to try or how to ask for or seek the right help, even if it's outside of therapy. This post grew and grew as I found myself struggling to describe what …
How are therapy sessions meant to go? — I’ve been going to therapy for a couple of months now, just a handful of sessions as my appointments are biweekly. I do like going in and “venting” about my current issues and I’ve started to unearth …
Anger rant — So im 31 this year and decided to go back to therapy but not talk therapy, im in CBT/DBT therapy. I know that things are supposed to suck before they get good but I just feel so much anger and rage.…
What psychotherapy modalities would be best for TRD? — I am 36F. Tried multiple meds, TMS, to no avail. Still trying different meds, on the transition to a new one. Done the genesight as well. I am scared of ECT and I will talk to my psychiatrist for eske…
I think I’ve discovered a technique to get out of freeze/dysregulation — **What’s this about?** Hey there! Over the previous years of my recovery journey I’ve done quite some talk therapy, Somatic Experiencing, EMDR, Brainspotting, plus craniosacral therapy. Shortly after…
Why is therapy so expensive? — Genuine question, like I understand why psychiatrists are expensive, they can do surgical procedures, and recipe medications, which I also understand why they cost so much, but why is basic sit down a…
Did anyone cry to the point of vomiting? — Hi, I went through talk therapy for 6 years and we uncovered a lot of traumatic experiences (related to home life). My relationship with my mom is strained. Therapy can help just so much with comple…
The mental health industry is continually failing people with trauma — I am currently looking for a new psychologist and a new psychiatrist. I am 45M with CPTSD and 20 years of continual searching for further education and a relief to my pain….. I’ve reached a breaking…
Therapists keep pushing SSRIs, but I want to focus exclusively on talk therapy. How can I set this boundary effectively? — Hi everyone, I’m currently struggling with a recurring issue in my therapy journey. I have a strong personal preference for a non-pharmacological approach to my mental health. I value the process of …
How do I access specialized care within budget, given the current job market. Is there hope? — Hello, hope this reaches the right people. I am in need of therapeutic help but do not know how to access it/what exactly is needed. I've faced childhood sexual assault(repeated), childhood kidnapping…
Diagnosed (kind of) and questioning talk therapy. — I’ve been (kind of?) diagnosed. My therapist often refers to complex trauma + PTSD, and last session, I outright asked why he differs the two vs. mentioning CPTSD itself, since he recommends books abo…
I recommend the following YouTube channels: The Crappy Childhood Fairy The Personal Development School by Thais Gibson Paulien Timmer - Healing the Fearful Avoidant Heidi Priebe The Crappy Childh…
CBT helped me significantly but it definitely burned a hole in my pocket. There is self guided CBT though which you could try. After getting into CBT I realized talk therapy really wasn’t enough for m…
I'm sorry to hear that, it's incredibly painful to go through this dynamic. I like to believe they can change, but I just think unfortunately they have to: 1) Want to change 2) Do the consistent w…
Yeah, that's basically the same as him unfortunately. He went mostly for me, but I guess he did also want to go for himself. He just didn't like the type of therapy that actually touched on any of his…
This might be due to a lack of internal confidence perhaps. I know that when I was younger and would get involved with someone with an anxious attachment, they’d internalize almost everything while tr…
I would say that not being in a relationship for a while could greatly improve your sense of security. If you can couple that with some talk therapy, that would be very helpful.
This post has so much information! I really like the charts. In the past I was mostly anxious avoidant with some avoidant tendencies. I've been in a healthy relationship for a year and I believe I'm …
Wow, thank you for replying. I’m genuinely glad to receive at least some insight into the situation. My psychologist had me take the TSI (Trauma Symptom Inventory) test to determine how traumatized I …
I think AA and hyper-vigilance, they are all coming from the same place. AA is hyper-vigilance regarding abandonment. You don't want to be abandoned by your partner. One or both of your care givers li…
I recommend therapy. Also YouTuber Heidi Prieb (I am butchering her name) is a former avoidant. She has great video skills for all attachment styles, but her videos do not replace talk therapy IMO.
It’s the opposite! CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) can fix avoidant personality disorder in like two years tops, and that’s at the extreme end of avoidance. If I had to describe my experience: I ac…
Uh, it took me three years and I never properly got over him until I got all of the things he had given me and my daughter out of our house. And then it was kind of like a light switch. So if any of …
I tried to do the normal thing of going to talk therapy, working out, eating rights, getting good sleep, socializing etc but was still firmly stuck in thinking about my ex day in and day out. Eventua…
It sounds like you're on the right track if you're aware and in therapy! I feel like attachment reconditioning work and trauma healing work overlap significantly. Lots of reading books about atta…
Thanks so much. I’ll be honest, I think I wouldn’t have been so aware now if not for my love. Dating and meeting her pushed me to awaken more. Not that I wasn’t aware at all, but I didn’t recognize ho…
The whole thing is nonverbal, and it’s where your interaction with people is just like your interaction was during the traumatic attachment process with the family system. You could die, so it’s bet…
Finished talk therapy years ago. I was very proactive in working through as much as I could. Practical stuff is a lot more difficult to do safely.
I can relate to nearly every comment posted. I believe that I actually realized my life would never be “normal“ after having read “the body keeps the score“ by Dr. Van der Kolk. That concept actually…
I know, I'm not undermining therapy by any means with this sentence. It's just that the most widely available therapy in my area is talk therapy where the therapist just lets you get it all out and th…
From my perspective, experience, and understanding, I no longer believe talk therapy is a useful modality for actually healing. There is something to be said about creating a safe space to express fee…
yeah, talk therapy has done me dirty too I really do recommend you check out Internal Family Systems, even just learning the concepts and frameworks
It helps to do research on therapy modalities and then pick a therapist that you works with that modality. Also, interview your therapist during the first session. Come up with a list of questions t…
- Breathwork in the form of 1hr group sessions 3-4 times a week for approx 6 months. - Talk therapy. - Eastern philosophy, specifically podcasts by Ram Dass. Helped to put everything in perspectiv…
She means that you need therapy not sex. This forum is very against casual sex and generally shames anyone who seeks to engage in it. Personally, I have found mind-blowing sex more therapeutic than …
I don't diisagree. But i've had 500$ dollar VALUE epifany style sessions. Is disabled my life for the better, in a way tobsay i was not going to exist anymore, and it's been almost 9 years consecutive…
I had a different therapist that I was doing talk therapy with, and she recommended this other lady.
I am so proud of you for advocating for yourself! That's so hard to do and so impactful! I really hope you find a better therapist, this one was a turd. EMDR has really helped me! I experienced CSA/…
I couldn't imagine even doing talk therapy in that setting, let alone EMDR. Good for you, OP.
You did the right thing. I'm proud of you for standing up for yourself! That is a very weird situation. I've never had a therapist share a room at the same time with another practice like this. I've b…
That is just. I can't even come up with a descriptive that's appropriate. My stomach turned reading, and imagining, that. I would think a student should observe (quietly and authorized by the patie…
I’m sorry you had this experience. Please keep trying. EMDR was so helpful for me. I did find it very different from talk therapy. I’m us d to talking things out and EMDR was a little different. I h…
It’s the hallmark of avoidant attachments, the low end avoidant attachment strategies just inhibit negative affect from consciousness. But from mid-high the strategies start engaging in false positive…
I don’t know what a trauma specialist is. But I have a psychiatrist as well as tried EMDR, at least 20 different antidepressants, and TMS, none of which helped at all. The EMDR made it worse and I had…
I'm really sorry. I didn't realize how ignorant I was. I trusted my former psych when she was explaining EMDR and that's how she explained it to me. She did a training course that lasted a few weeks, …
even though i was the one that left, the remnants of a past break up has been stuck in my body for years. the body keeps score and it doesn't lie to you. i have never had issues with anxiety before an…
hey - this post really resonated with me. i feel im in a similar situation with my bf... like this post HURTS how relatable it is. but your partner clearly loves you and wanting to fix the problem is …
I was you when I married my husband. I have CPTSD from years of abuse, and I was absolutely bringing some abusive, toxic *learned* behaviors into my relationship. I'm also an addict; I got clean bef…
talk therapy gives you an outlet to process your feelings. somatic therapy helps you with chronic pain/self esteem issues and feeling in control of yourself. cbt/dbt teach liveable coping skills f…
What you said about suicide feeling like it would help, that's way more common than most people realize, and it makes sense that you'd be afraid to bring it to a therapist. But here's what a skilled t…
You're not broken! PTSD does stick with us for a long, long time, long after the event. It's hard to treat with just talk therapy, although talk therapy is good place to get started. My therapist (a l…
You’ve been treated worse than many prisoners of war. To have it come from the one person that’s supposed to protect you at all costs is really heart-breaking. And to crawl out of that dark hole and s…
I have (now) well managed BPD. After I was diagnosed after some talk therapy combined with psychiatric care I opened up to my mom about it. Her response was “well I’m glad you’re getting help” and the…
You have a similar profile to me. I found talk therapy only ever went so far, but there was a layer underneath that never seemed to get resolved. I've since realized part of my cPTSD stems from prever…
Your research is solid, and if anything you've understated it. The 2-7 years figure comes from some of the more conservative estimates. Simon et al. found telomere shortening equivalent to as much as …
I’m struggling too. I’m planning to see a therapist that specialises in trauma, and have EMDR. Normal talk therapy is not always enough to recover from these types of relationships.
First of all, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Being caught in a panic loop can feel so isolating, not to mention terrifying beyond words. The good news is that all your test from the ER came b…
I had my first attack in my late 30's and over the years I found it did lessen. I was told that is normal with age you can get much less anxiety. I was so bad I wished I could cut an arm or a leg off …
Thanks. It's getting better but my anxiety is still really bad. The trial takes a lot of energy from me and I'll be starting anxiety meds since talk therapy isn't helping. I'm down 30 lbs so far th…
I’ve struggled with this all my life. It’s why I don’t even bother with talk therapy anymore. Just the act of forming language in my mind activates my sympathetic nervous system. I think this issue st…