((((((Roseleigh))))). I know that feeling of wanting to give up and feeling like you have been spinning your wheels and going nowhere. I literally JUST asked my T yesterday, "have I made ANY progress at all????" He said yes, and I made him name it...name the progress....specifically. And, he did. He pointed out very specific ways that I have grown and changed and healed that I hadn't even noticed! Sometimes it really takes that objective person to see positive. So, I really think that you should ask your T what changes and improvements she/he has seen, and if there really haven't been any, then this should probably be a discussion as well.

I hesitate to tell you how long that I have been in therapy because I don't want you to become discouraged.....but it has been a really long time. I will tell you though, that most of that time was spent doing as you describe....engaging in abusive high risk situations, SI, ED, you name it......It wasn't until I got away from those things that my healing really took off.....

To specifically answer your question, I don't think that there is a predictable time frame, because we are all so different. Personally, I continued my very same self-destructive patterns for many many years while in therapy. I guess that I kept going to therapy because somewhere deep down I knew that I really REALLY wanted to heal. Now, I really feel like I don't care if I am in therapy for the rest of my life.....if that's what it takes for me to be healthy and whole, then so be it.....sometimes it is a slow process, and I think that's ok....though I understand it's very frustrating at times.

I hope that you can talk to your T and really share your feelings of frustration and disappointment. Hopefully she/he will be able to offer some input and guidance that helps.