My T disallowed the "I don't know" response and gave me the time I needed to "know what I know" and express it; she taught me to "check my heart." I have honesty and courage despite being so fearful of my shadow so that all worked :-)

I was getting frustrated because my T said I was an emotional thief, like a kid at a picnic all laid out and I'd wait until I thought she wasn't looking and steal food off her table :-) Lots of my T's analogies made sense to me but many of them weren't something I felt I could do something about. When we'd be talking she said I was like someone driving down the freeway then I'd suddenly take the exit :-) but loop around and come back on a bit later. LOL. I could understand that one and got better at recognizing when I did it and eventually could stop exiting, just slow down longingly :-)

The best breakthrough I had was I was writing cards and letters and sending them to my T every week, for about 5+ years, it helped me feel connected, especially when she was away. My T and I finally talked about it and how I had this "fantasy" relationship with her where she had no input and then the pressure wasn't so intense in therapy to respond to her there, where she was each week. I finally decided to do a 6 week "test" where I wouldn't write her at all, would just talk to her/be with her in therapy. Part of the period she was going to be away too, so that was going to be doubly hard. But it worked; I started "seeing" her and therapy for what they were and how they were here-and-now, "real" things whereas all my inside-the-head stuff and writing, etc. were not real interactions of any sort. I got much better at being present and being with my T and my problems/sadnesses/joys/anxiety and saw how dealing with them when they arose in real time made them not a problem anymore.