My T has expressed both anger and sorrow about things that happened to me. I was telling him about one thing [that I originally typed up, but then deleted when I realized how horrific it is and how much it might upset people.] He teared up, tried to speak and couldn't. He said there for a second, and then apologized and continued to talk to me about the incident. At the time, I was perplexed and, although I'm a little ashamed to admit it, I was thinking, "wow, what a pansy." Later, I thought it through and realized if someone else had told me about that happening to them, I would also think it was almost unbearably sad.

Here's the about that anger and pain though: if I had FELT either of those things growing up, I don't know that I would have survived. My mother and father both physically abused me badly. My father had to tackle my mother on a couple of occasions because he thought she was actually going to kill me. My father hit hard enough that I had a concussion at least once and had cracked ribs on other occasions. If I had expressed anger to them, they quite literally might have killed me. And as for the sorrow, well, if something seems unbearable, then it IS unbearable. If that makes any sense. The only way to survive it (for me at least) was just to keep saying that it's not so bad. I can live through this. I can live through anything for X years (I kept a countdown in my head until I could leave for college).

My T expressing sorrow or anger really does help bump me past the, "it's not so bad" barrier in my head.

sorry to write such a book. Not meaning to hijack, just trying to think through the weirdness of someone else expressing emotions about MY stuff.