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Old Nov 09, 2013, 10:56 AM
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TheShins TheShins is offline
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Member Since: Sep 2013
Posts: 9
I'm sorry your T reacted in a way that left you feeling more exposed and unsettled in your relationship. I've been through this same cycle with my T many times over the last 4 years where I finally disclose a little more and then have a vulnerability hangover and retreat. It is hard for me to believe he doesn't feel impatient and frustrated. But for me, personally, I find it honest when he admits it (after much pestering from me) because it also makes the kind/ reassuring things he has to say more believable (trust issues often get in the way of me taking in the good stuff).

My point is that your T could really care about you, feel dedicated working through your issues with you for the long haul, and also occasionally feel frustrated. I would try not to interpret her frustration as a sign of her giving up on you. The two aren't necessarily linked at all. It would have been much more helpful is she had followed up her admission of frustration with reassuring words. Something like, "it is frustrating to me because I'd felt we'd had a breakthrough, but this just shows me how strong your defenses are and how difficult it is for you to trust me. Even though you retreated afterward, it is still progress that you were able to open up to me the way you did."

Also, for what its worth, in my therapy it got much much more difficult to disclose the more I got attached to my T. Seriously, about 2 years in I really had a much more difficult time talking with him than in the very beginning. So yes, we hope to learn to trust more and work at doing so. But sometimes the cliche is true that it gets worse before it gets better. Hopefully your T understands this and will show you the patience you deserve. I think it sounds like you are working really hard and that you showed a lot of bravery in showing her a video of you in your world. That is definitely more than I could do.

Best of luck.
Thanks for this!
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