I am on and off have been for years
I would be if I could afford it.
Yay for unmanaged mental health in a capitalist healthcare system!
I’ve had some really expensive therapy about this but unless I’m giving it 100% of my focus, which is irritating in of itself as I’m already overwhelmed by all the other things I need to focus on, I can’t feel it.
I may at some point get started with it but I had to push it off for other things.
Describes recent traumatic event that’s taking over my ability to focus or think clearly about anything.
“Have you eaten today”
Oof. I’m in this picture and I don’t like it.
I had one session dedicated to how investigating root causes for trauma, all the way back to the very moment it started, wasn’t necessarily all that helpful. My therapist was right, of course - the present-day triggers and mindfulness are where to focus - but for a heated moment, I had a very hard time agreeing. Inside the same session I was also beside myself in disbelief that I actually argued with my own therapist without a second thought.
Intellectualizing your feelings is part of the problem
… Is it!?
Thanks I’m cured?
(not in an offensive way. I seriously don’t understand what to do with this. Should I just stop being like this? How? This goes on and on)
Oh fuck. Thanks for that rabbit hole.
For anyone who wants to join: https://neurolaunch.com/how-to-stop-intellectualizing-emotions/
I was already aware of my alexithymia.
Ouch, feeling called out by that one. I’m way better than I once was, but definitely only really got halfway there in my year of doing self administered CBT, meditating, and dropping acid. (Actually currently in therapy for this).
I am curious about that link, but I got enough diagnoses that the backlog of reading is already too long, much leaving any quality time to obsess.
It’s no shame not to open it. I’m just trying to fix my situation and that is just one (small) part, but the state I am in I am in urgent need of relaxation since i have already damaged my body very much.
When you feel bad, just don’t. That’ll be $200.
Let me give you 250!
Listen, it may be part of the problem but it’s not the cause of the problem so it’s allowed to remain until the root cause is found. Then when we pull that out we’ll take all the parts with it.
Obviously.
He would go on to do himself no favors, intellectualize his feelings and talk himself out of any real resolution, forever.
The root cause is you’re a biological being and feelings kept your ancestors safe but now you live in captivity with a bunch of rules and feeling aren’t made for that
Bingo. My life changed when I learned about neurophysiochemistry! We answer to our biology, period!!!
Well it’s all of the problem
Got stunlocked by that question when I started crying during a therapy session. Therapist noticed that I choke up so badly while crying that I can’t speak and just wanted me to notice it too. “Does it feel like you can’t share what’s going on inside you because nobody’s going to listen?”
Fuck all the way off. That was so helpful but so so so painful to recognize.
That sounds like they were doing their job correctly then, yes?
ugh, I hadn’t put such succinct words to it but I experience the same thing, makes talk therapy really difficult. There’s the part of me that feels like if I’m crying I need a REALLY GOOD reason for it and if I don’t, I need to stfu so whatever I say in the moment isn’t thrown back at me. I guess it all boils down to trusting someone else in a vulnerable moment… so fucking hard.
I have never been able to answer that well. I don’t have locational feelings as far as I know. I don’t get it.
It’s not possible to not have “locational feelings” because they are physically located in your body.
But you probably have trauma that would rather you die than feel them. So you need someone who can help you at a high level.
It’s not possible to not have “locational feelings” because they are physically located in your body.
Yeah, in the brain. Which is famous for not having pain/temperature/etc receptors of it’s own
What? Where did you go to Dr school?
YouTube?
Lmao, you’re not gonna find a doctor that believes in feelings, unless there’s a pill for them.
One of the most important thing I learned in therapy is that feelings don’t happen in my brain.
What if they do? I mean, most feelings are just vague thoughts to me, I do not “feel” them in my body. It was wild, as an adult, to discover certain physical descriptions for feelings being actual things, that do people feel physically. I have been guessing, that I may have learned, what I should be feeling in certain situations, so I have learned to assume I feel that way - or that I just cannot remember most feelings, after experiencing them. I do have even very strong feelings though, just not that many, and mostly negative. It is some weird shit, as feeling-emotions-wise I now know, I basically fluctuate between a robot, and an upset little kid.
I did therapy for two years (because of severe depression), and all it caused, was me getting tired of talking, and becoming very anxious, if I try to remember those years.
Yeah; it wasn’t until years after I left therapy that I discovered that the body’s reaction to an emotion actually performs a vital part of processing that emotion, and you should try and notice it where you can.
And that it’s actually really important to talk about those feelings
Had that question in one session and honestly: it helped me a lot!
I’m over rationalizing my emotions to the point where it’s difficult to actually feel or even properly differentiate how they feel. Trying to shut down my head and actually listening to what’s going on in my body is a good exercise. I can now properly distinguish fear from anger which subsequently changed how I view myself (I’m not vicious, angry, mean or aggressive all the time, I’m not like my abusers!).
Sometimes therapy feels weird and it’s creeping me out but I never regretted playing along and trusting in my therapist. But I also chose her very specifically.
Literally me 4 weeks ago. Finished my explanation and therapist said “yes, that’s interesting and possibly true, you didn’t talk about your emotions at all”
Wait, I have a body? What nonsense is that? And I should have refilled water regularly? Why isn’t there a manual?
You are a nervous system contained within a space suit made of meat.
Also unclench your jaw and drink some water.
He said, ignoring his own advice
Yes! A manual! Fuck yes. Where is this thing. Needs to have a tl;dr and a cheat sheet simplified version and an ELi5 to every theme in the back. Plays an audio track through your molars, if you buy the pro version and upgrade.
Believe it or not, I’m walking on air, never thought I could feel so free…
Yeah been doing it for a few years and still struggle with this question or even being able to answer how I feel to be honest. It has still been really helpful though
Yes. It’s pretty useful. My therapist is also autistic and it’s really helpful to be able to communicate in my natural way and not be misunderstood.
I’m not autistic, but am very neurodivergent (ADHD and CPTSD) and yeah, currently seeing an autistic therapist and it’s really nice. She’s not trying to fit me into the neurotypical experience, and after screening me for autism, isn’t trying to fit me into the autistic one either. For once I feel like a therapist is managing to get close to meeting me where I am mentally and not trying to jump to conclusions about how my brain works.
I’m a bit sad I’m only seeing her for EMDR before going back to someone else
I highly recommend “The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy” by Steph Jones, cleared up a lot of things for me
