Quote:
Originally Posted by Amelia112
How honest are you really with your therapist about how you really feel or what has happened in your life? Is your honesty sometimes compromised by fear of how the therapist might react? Do you wish you could be more honest with your therapist?
And a bit of a provocative question, but one that surely is important...
Have you ever exaggerated an event or a feeling in the hope to get more empathy, care, love, attention, hugs etc?
And does your therapist sometimes call you on something that doesn't seem right?
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I've always been completely honest with my therapist, but I'm very slow to give my trust, due to past experiences. So, just because I am completely honest with her, that doesn't mean I instantly shared everything with her. Being able to trust and being honest are not the same thing. I have slowly revealed more and more of myself and my story to my T as my trust grew.
My honesty has never been compromised by fear of how my T will react, but my ability to trust my T enough to share certain things has certainly been influenced by fear of how she might react. My T has proven to me that she will react in appropriate ways, but it's very hard to give up a lifetime of wariness because one person has shown she's trustworthy.
I've never exaggerated anything. Rather, I tend to minimize my own experiences. I don't want sympathy or attention from T - that would freak me out. There are several things that I've not told T the full extent of, because I just don't think it's all that important. In reality, it probably is important to share, but I'd rather minimize it.
My therapist has never pushed me to share anything and has never doubted anything I've told her. If she thinks there might be more to something that I'm talking about, she will ask questions, but it's always my decision how much to share. The only time she ever calls me on something is when she asks me how I'm doing and I say I'm fine when I'm clearly not.