Hi Julies,

Avoidant personality disorder was part of my diagnosis the first time that I got a diagnosis (years and years ago). That T confronted me with things that I couldn't deal with one day, and I ran away from him and never went back. When I got his bill, I looked up my dx in the DSM and found out that quitting therapy is one more thing that is typical of that diagnosis. LOL.

Trust has always been difficult for me too, and opening up about personal issues. I spent lots of time in therapy really not going anywhere because I just couldn't say the things that really mattered. APD doesn't mean that you don't want to cooperate or don't want to be social, but fear of rejection is so powerful that we avoid situations where we could be rejected. That really makes it hard to do therapy work, and it's got to be very frustrating for therapists. I think it takes time, and building trust, and it also helped me to write down the things that were too hard to say out loud, and give my T that information in a letter. Once it's out there, then it's easier to talk about it.