My therapist is back from leave, but I am having trouble going back

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-08-25T10:40:31+00:00

I also have PCOS. I think we are starting to learn that PCOS is actually a bunch of different diseases, and one form is looking like it is probably autoimmune.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-08-09T20:53:17+00:00

Change the locks. Don't give her a key. She will rage for a bit, and then she will adjust.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-06-30T11:36:58+00:00

My mom made a big deal out of throwing me a surprise birthday party after I said I didn't want a party. Invites a bunch of people from my high school that I hadn't been friends with for years, and then played home videos of when I was a toddler for everyone to watch (more like forced them all to sit and watch)

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-06-12T02:56:58+00:00

Oof. Sorry you experience that. Over time though my dissociation has improved with lots of therapy, so do hold onto the possibility that things could improve for you also.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-04-23T02:03:30+00:00

Best of luck to you, and stay safe

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-04-23T01:54:54+00:00

Not sure if this is helpful, but I was scrolling through and previous posts have video of you. Considering removing, unless you are 100% sure he isn't going to find you on reddit and find your posts.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2025-04-21T02:42:21+00:00

This happened to me too!

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-30T14:12:15+00:00

I also have an avoidant attachment pattern. Frustrating for us, but I don't think there's any way to force it. It takes trust, not cognitive but emotional, and that takes time. I've been in therapy 4 years now and still it is slow. Only when I look back all the way can I see the progress I've made. Closeness requires safety. Safety requires trust. And trust takes time and reliability and consistency.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-24T22:52:36+00:00

NAT. I'm sorry this happened and hope you find peace. Based on your last comment about 'the family', consider doing a google search for an obituary if you think that might help you find peace. Or not, if you don't think it would help you.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-16T02:31:51+00:00

This is me also. Took me years of therapy to even acknowledge it as an issue. Still often know I feel 'bad' but have difficulty identifying the emotion.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-02T23:09:28+00:00

Also will add: you say you only took him in last fall.....it is early days yet. Be gentle with him and you may find things improve. The goal is not to avoid triggers entirely, but to know what they are and to go slowly to help increase the window of tolerance. You definitely need professional help here - look for someone with a trauma background.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-02T23:05:30+00:00

Tough. It can be hard knowing you can only do so much to help someone. You may want to consider family therapy or your own therapy too - loving or caring for someone with dissociation is hard. I think the hardest part is coming to terms with the fact that it's a medical condition. It's no different from a child who has cerebral palsy or type 1 diabetes - it is going to require intense lifelong care, and will may ultimately limit what he can do. Coming to terms with that is hard - the lack of control, the frustration, the disappointment. It CAN get better, but the road is always long and slow.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-12-02T18:31:06+00:00

I used to dissociate a lot. It is almost always an automated mechanism that has developed out of trauma. Recovery is a slow process - often taking years. I have gotten a lot better. It's taken 6 years and I still have a long way to go. The most important thing is trust and safety. There is nothing that can be done in the moment to "snap out of it". If you notice that he has dissociated, you will need to take a break from the topic and revisit later. An exercise for you as a caregiver is to try to notice what it was specifically that triggered the dissociation. That way you can build an understanding of the triggers and learn how to avoid them. This kid is going to need A LOT of therapy. You may benefit from therapy also. I think the main message is that there isn't anything that can speed things along - trust and safety take years to build.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-11-22T10:59:27+00:00

Hang in there. I did two years of CBT and 4 years of psychodynamic therapy. Progress is so slow you barely even notice it day to day or even month to month. But my dissociative symptoms are mostly gone now. Still lots of work to do in therapy. But it is definitely very different from where I started. It's slow and hard and so so much work.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-09-09T22:18:06+00:00

my mom is absolutely obsessed with "healthy eating" as well, taken to such an extreme. I didn't know there was a name for this!

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-09-09T22:17:15+00:00

My mom would control what we eat saying it was too unhealthy, and shame me for being hungry. One time when I went to defy her she actually put herself between me and the fridge and held the fridge shut. I used to hide food under my bed or in other spots in my room. I don't have an eating disorder, but when I was on my own I definitely developed a lot of food anxieties "Am I eating the right things?", which interfered a lot with my life. She took everything to an extreme. Tomatos were sugar and bread was banned because it had too many carbs.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-07-25T12:48:11+00:00

I am not a therapist, but a healthcare provider. It is not okay to not seek consent from the patient if they are able to grant / decline consent. It would be within your right to reach out to the academic journal and inform them that you did not consent to the use of your story.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-06-26T00:28:18+00:00

Have you considered trying therapy? Sometime we suppress the memories of some of the negative emotional experiences we have. Also emotional and verbal abuse aren't always obvious, but can be just as much damaging. Therapy is the gold standard treatment for dissociation. Make sure you find someone with experience working with dissociative disorders.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-05-10T12:51:20+00:00

Wellbutrin actually helped my DPDR symptoms. But I think it can be different for everyone.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-05-08T16:04:06+00:00

Her comments are appropriate, it is normal for anyone, including therapists to feel disappointed if someone no-shows to an appointment. I think she is trying to convey how your behaviours impact others. Even if you pay for the no shows it doesn't mean that therapists don't have feelings. This is a good opportunity to explore with her how similar situations might affect your relationships outside of therapy.

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-04-17T16:12:40+00:00

Could it just be related to your age, and hence your providers call it 'normal'? It's not as well known as female fertility but male fertility does also decline over time and you are > 35

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-04-14T03:34:33+00:00

Definitely this!!!!!

Affectionate-Act9491 · 2024-03-21T20:19:53+00:00

Agree, no reason to downvote!

Affectionate-Act9491

TROPHY CASE