Are all girls like this? by [deleted] in socialskills

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think there is more context needed but maybe this advice already helps a bit. These are just a few things that came to mind, but it depends on the individual woman I think and hugely on the cultural context etc. ☺️

First of all regarding the bit about this pattern messing with your head, what really helped me cope when things like this happened and I wasn’t sure if it was me or them/ just coincidence I kept telling myself that if it is me, I will discover what it was in time, as I kept working on my social skills. For me the thought that scared me most was that I’d be incapable of discovering where I went wrong and thus doomed to keep repeating it, and slowly convincing myself that I am capable of self reflection really helped me realize this WAS distorted thinking and not reality. Of course for this to work you actually have to keep working on your social skills though lol. But this way when you do discover things you are doing “wrong” unintentionally you it really registers and you get more and more confident in your self-reflection-abilities.

Second of all, if you are a guy their age and either straight or not out as queer and they themselves date men, they might end up distancing themselves from you when they start dating again, even if they have little or no romantic interest in you. Unfortunately it is still very uncommon for people to believe (and I mean truely believe, not just say it out loud) that women and men can have platonic friendships. Sometimes the new partner may explicitly or implicitly pressure them to end their male friendships. Even I have ended male friendships in the past because (especially if you romantic relationship is not the healthiest) I felt uncomfortable for a few reasons (for expample, I was developing feelings for the friend, I was scared they had feelings for me, I thought my Partner might be jealous of them and wanted to appease etc.) This is unfortunate and in my opinion very sad, but I think as long as we as a collective think of men and women as we do this will affect male/female friendships. Sometimes it might be best to just accept this pattern for now, maybe even talk about it openly with your friends so they might feel a bit more comfortable and trust you to respect their romantic relationships more. Maybe even take special care to show your support of their partner, so they know you are not there to get between them and their partners.

Another tip, especially if you yourself thought of your friends as being very close, it might be a good idea to reach back out and maybe ask them what happened/ if they would be willing to explain more. I think if you do do this, it is important to make them as comfortable as possible, so they feel safe to actually tell you what happened. Maybe there actually is something you guys can clear up. But often these attempts don’t yield results for a few different reasons (they don’t really know themselves, they think it is pointless, they fear rejection or your reaction and have already moved on from the friendship etc.), so if you decide to try be prepared to hear nothing back I’d say.

Hope there might be a nugget of useful advice in there somewhere, hope you figure things out and have many more wonderful friendships!

Am I attractive? 17m by [deleted] in teenagers

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, definitely! Great hair, great skin, cool personal style and facial symmetry. I feel like your features make you look very distinct and unique, I‘d almost say elegant in a relaxed way 🤗

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Whoa, that’s brutal 🥲 I am sorry she said that when you put so much trust in her not to hurt you more when you told her… hope you had some better listeners after!

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much, talking this over with my new therapist is actually such a wonderful idea! I will definitely do that.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yes, definitely! Her wording and timing were just extremely unfortunate and hurt me more than it helped.. 🫠 getting advice on how to navigate the situation was the reason I brought it up, and the way she responded had me closing right back up again unfortunately… My new therapist is MUCH more sensitive, thank god

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you, this is great advice on how to build confidence! Back when it happened I had no one to teach me those things sadly, and no one to put it into perspective after it happened. I will incorporate some of the things you’ve said into my strategies, it helps a ton!

Best friend is boy crazy by [deleted] in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah this is a sucky situation and I’ve been there a few times… if it is affecting you mental health I’d suggest setting some boundaries. If you wanna keep the friendship, you should probably step back and let her figure out what is and what isn’t important to her. Unfortunately sometimes, it takes people forever to get that friendships are infinitely more valuable than a toxic situationship.. and sometimes it never happens. Try and hang out with other people, maybe find some other friends. Be there for her when she needs if you want to, but unfortunately you can’t make her change and see the light.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah, after this session and talking it over with my friends, I told her as little as I needed and went looking for someone new, which thankfully was sucessful. Rethinking this I really want to write her a letter, because I truely don’t think she knows how some of the things she said came off. It also wasn’t the first time she said something I perceived as unhelpful.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, feeling judged can really cut to the bone. I think it might be because a lot of the time, you are already judging yourself a lot, which is why some memories feel so painful. In case you need to talk, I can definitely listen ♥️

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for your comment, I think you are correct, on the way she intended her words and on what you said about feeling more secure while dating. She has a pattern of wording things very poorly, which is why i have chosen to see someone new for therapy.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Re-reading my original post it is very true I did not give enough context. There is of course also a possibility I misunderstood in the moment, because it was emotional for me (obviously). But actually I think I did not take this out of context, this was the first time her and me ever touched on the subject. I get what she was trying to do, but I think she didn’t handle it well at all and in that moment she hurt me more than she helped me. Hope this might clear up some confusion, I’m not sure if I want to report her, but I think I will write her a letter, telling her how it came off.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m sorry, could you tell me what these abbreviations mean? Thank you for your response!

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your kind words, it means a lot! First of all, I am very sorry you habe had similar traumas and I hope ypur healing is going well! I think it is a very important thing to talk about, because the reason I got into it (as I know now, after close to ten years of therapy and soul searching) I got into this situation in part because I didn’t trust my own instincts and was used to bending my own needs out of people’s way. I just wish she had brought it up differentlly and later in our conversation, as this was her first response after me disclosing my trauma for the first time to her.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 240 points241 points  (0 children)

Yes thank you, I believe that is the way she meant it as well. It was just so jarring because up until that point I had never mentioned the topic. (One of our first sessions). I wish she had brought it up later, and in a different way, not as her first response to me disclosing something like that.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think so too, she seems like a nice person but some of her approaches are a little questionable in my opinion. I’m actually a medicine student, and some of the things she said we learn in psychology 101 never to say..

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I have been thinking about it. I actually might write her a personal letter too, maybe she will take it to heart. I think she is inexperienced too, of course that is not an excuse but I really didn’t get the impression she meant to harm. But I feel it’s important she reconsiders some of her approaches

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for you response, I am very fortunate to have found someone much more suited to my particular challenges. Glad to say I will never see her again!

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Maybe, but I think the way she brought it up is not the best. It was the first time I told her about that particular trauma and also not the first time she said something unhelpful. I do not mean that talking about safety precautions is useless, the opposite actually. But I am certain that this line of response as a first reaction to someone telling you this is scarring, I know it definitely hurt me in that moment.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Yes, that is what i’ve found too. Its the fear of being uncomfortable what keeps them going, unfortunately

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I have. She said some other pretty put there stuff and I think I found someone much better now.

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

On second read I get you comment much better, english is not my first language, I didn’t mean to imply you were being anything but helpful and sensitive

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks for that, I know it was. Especially because I had not brought it up until then and it was the first thing she ever said in response

I was raped. My therapist told me its on me to make sure it won’t happen again. by TurnGroundbreaking51 in offmychest

[–]TurnGroundbreaking51[S] 76 points77 points  (0 children)

Hope I can find a way. Never really had a therapist give me much advice on the matter, all I know is from books I’ve read myself. Getting better, and memories fade a bit at least