Notme,

Your explanation makes sense to me, and I've read similar things before. The difficulty seems to be that I am unable to tolerate the pain that is involved in acknowledging and working through those unmet needs, without tangible outside help from t to bear it. I am not sure how to fix this.

I know that things like understanding and validation are sources of help, and my t does do that. But it is almost like there is a part of me that when I get triggered cannot understand or take it in. It is as though at those times I need just what a child would need who was suffering or in danger -- someone to rescue them out of the bad situation and soothe them. I know I am an adult, and maybe this does not make sense. But it is exactly how it feels when it happens to me. Like, "It hurts too much. Help me! Help me! Take it away!" I don't actually say those words, but that is what I am saying in my head when the pain gets strong enough that it makes me dissociate.