Quote:
Originally Posted by darkrunner
Vickie, your encouragement means a lot to me. 
One thing I'm afraid of, is that if I start facing the fears I will spiral downward and go back to using a lot of the bad coping mechanisms (SI, eating disorder, alcohol, sui). I'm at a place where I am functioning pretty well right now, and I have to be ok for my family. I know I could 'just do it' --- but then I don't know how I would handle it. 
So...when you did it, did it make things worse for you? How did you handle that?
|
Darkrunner, if you agree with your T and you think that you do need to "just do it", then I would be willing to bet that you can. If you agree with her. The key is, you are in control. You don't have to do it all at once. You can go slow enough to where you don't have to feel out of control and start spiralling. With your T's help, identify one tiny step, one small movement toward facing part of your avoidance that you believe that you could handle. Make a decision to face it and do it. You will succeed and probably feel much relief and a little more confident. Then, plan the next step. And so on. There's a saying. You can eat an elephant one bite at a time. Since I do not know the specifics about your trauma, you may have to be creative when planning the steps. They may seem silly to others but that doesn't matter at all. They will be meaningful to you. Any single action that you take which takes you closer to overcoming your avoidance is a step in the right direction and is going to help you. Keep a journal. Write them down. Share this with your T and get feedback on it.
I'll be waiting to hear how it goes.