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Open Eyes · 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellion

Maybe, sometimes I question if I should continue going....I mean I know the therapist is doing their best and all but sometimes it seems like more frustration than is worth the effort for because its hard trying to explain things. Also, I have a hard time dealing with it if the therapist comes to an incorrect conclusion about what I was trying to say or gets the wrong idea and says something potentially triggerring in an attempt to be helpful.

I have an appointment later I am not even sure I want to go to though I may as well.

Hellion I am responding to you first because you "should" go to your appointment. You need to share what you have stated here with this therapist as well.

When someone struggles with PTSD this is often a common complaint.
Yes, it is hard trying to "explain" things when struggling with PTSD. I have that myself and it has been a lot of work for me to articulate things I am feeling in a way that others understand sometimes. It is not unusual for someone who struggles with PTSD to be "misunderstood".

In fact, at my T session yesterday, I talked about that with my T. I have been slowly gaining on my ablility to slow down and articulate things better, however when I first began therapy I would try to talk about something and as I did that often I experienced too many thoughts coming all at once and I know it wasn't easy for him to follow me. I always felt that I had too little time in therapy to discuss where I was at the time as well.

Yes, I can relate to how you are feeling, I felt like that many times, even that my T might "assume something" that others assumed that was no where near my "reality". I didn't want my T to be "dismissive" in anyway either because that was a huge trigger to me, something that had hurt me badly many times in my personal history.
And, anyone that has a history of being bullied/abused will feel challenged this way.

Often times if a T is not really well educated about "PTSD" they can misunderstand the anger and frustration and verbal "push" as something very different than how the person is trying so hard to be understood and finally "validated". Often a patient can discuss one thing that is really bothering them and be very emotional about it, and it can seem "something small and manageable" to a T or average person to deal with. However, for someone with PTSD, it isn't small because often it is connected to a lot of "hurt/damage/trama" from their past.

Honestly, it is almost like not being allowed to breath, holding on and finally getting that first breath and it is not normal, it is a huge gasp, because there was a definite "lack" that really challenged you.
And having someone tell you to "breath slowly" and just not get that you were being "suffocated" and it is impossible for you to "slow your breathing".

I know it is hard Hellion, but it is important that you actually make the effort to finally work "through" it, even though it is so tiring. You "can" get to a point where it becomes more "rewarding" if you work through it.

Open Eyes