I like that formula!

One of the most successful moments in my counseling has been when my T very gently confronted me on my inability to speak. I didn't feel blamed or criticized at all, but he expressed how frustrating it was to see me week after week in such pain and unable to reach out at all, even drawing back when he tried to reach out. That was when I understood that connection to another person might be the way out.

It's not like I came in gabbing the next week--I still don't--but I at least got to the point where I could say, "It's hard to talk." I hadn't realized that even that was a way of reaching out, tentatively.