Quote:
Originally Posted by Skies
This has to be on of the nicest post anyone has ever written to me here. You really shifted my outlook, just with these words. You are drawn to mentors, but maybe you have than mentor thing going yourself.
Speaking of mentors, when I was in my late teens, a business teacher talked to me a few times, sort of took me under her arm and told me I would do bigger and better things than those I was in the class for. Strange, I did do those things. Strange, I mean, because it didn't cross my mind that I could do them. She also taught me about assertiveness. It was an exciting new concept for me, perhaps the first 'social' thing an authorative adult ever taught me. Ever since then, I became naturally assertive in business, and ended up with several promotions before i was 22. It gave me social power, so it served as a catalyst for more things later, much more.
Your post was like that--thank you. It really helped that you genuinely talked about 'good' parts of me (strengths), that my therapist leaves out and showed me I could believe in them.
After reading what you wrote, I re-read some of my posts at the beginning, and they suddenly sounded ridiculous. I was making myself responsible for all that had gone wrong, yet, he is the expert. At least some could be his fault, if not more. Now that is how I was feeling at the time, no doubt, but I feel almost like a different person now. So a little can go a long way. Now if my therapist would do that from time to time, imagine what we'd accomplish. 
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Another thought, take it or leave it. I was really drawn to Kohut's ideas and tried to use them
within myself even though my therapist hadn't been trained and didn't seem to get it when I mentioned them.
From that perspective, what stands out to me in your post -- and it was definitely something that I needed -- is the "twinship" or "alter ego" function. It's like grandiosity + idealization + twinship draws me
out of myself into the (human/tribe) community at large. Then, it didn't happen for me b/c of a trauma at 13, peer relationships during adolescence. Then -- healthy ego functioning in a community with others!
I can kind of feel when my Kohut self functions are "on" and the peer relationships for me are just starting. But I can tell I'm doing better even though some days are still just awful.