It's undeniably difficult...it forces you to think about something you'd, understandably, rather not. It's a trigger, in one of the most textbook cases of it. It's a link to prior trauma.

It, I suspect, lessens with time, though I don't suspect it ever wholly goes away. It's a scar that heals, but never really fades completely away. On the bright side, you've already taken a major step by talking to your T about it. It *will* get easier...it takes time, but it does. Promise. Eventually, as time goes on and you talk about it more (even briefly) and mentally process things, you begin to retrain yourself on the notion that uttering the word doesn't necessarily signal the subject, in a manner of speaking. It breaks (or lessens) the link. It's like someone who is afraid of spiders being shown a tarantula in a glass cage for 15 minutes daily. The first few days SUCK. But, after some time, the person begins to realize the sight of the spider isn't cause for alarm. The mere sight of it does not include the fear of touching the spider or a bite or whatever (personally, for me it's the hair and the eyes ). It's a form of desensitization, in many ways. But analogy aside, it does get easier, and you're already doing well by having talked to your T about it. Congratulations on your strength and courage there.

I do hope things go well for you...please feel free to shoot me a PM if I can be of any help.

Hugs,
Harley