Benchmarks. Mostly based on interactions with others, including t. Where before, i couldnt stop myself from talking to strangers in my apartment elevator, i gradually became calmer and quiet, eventually without much effort.

Conversely, i became bolder with friends and t, not so afraid of rejection if i spoke my mind. It helps that i was pretty pathetic to begin with - at the start of my therapy, i couldnt even accept a glass of
water from t. Around the middle, i had given him a set of coasters. By the end, i was complaining that the glass looked unwashed!

So, nothing to do really with the content of our meetings, but the result was i was able to respond as a healthier person. The past was no longer dogging my every step.