Should I take a break from therapy because of the amount of anxiety I have?

I'm seeing a therapist for anxiety other phobias I have. I see her weekly. Today for example, we started doing some exposure therapy to face some of my really intense fears. She asked me if I wanted to do some with her but I said I rather do it at home, but after some convincing she helped me do it there. During the whole process she kept asking if I was feeling anxious or scared to which I lied to and said only a little bit. After the session she told me to continue doing it at home but I really dont want to. I mean I managed to do some things that I was never able to do but now the exposure is getting way too hard. I hate showing raw emotions in her office so I just told her I was okay. She asked me why I would rather do it at home and I straight up told her it's because I feel more safe. I got home and my face was red, my head was pounding, and my face was burning up from all the anxiety I experienced. Because of this I sort of want to take a break from therapy for a few weeks (longest I've gone without therapy was a month when my T was on vacation and I was busy) but I know if I do then the fear would just come back stronger. Any idea about what I should do or what I should tell her? I see her weekly. Thanks!

If you take a break, you take a step back. I'd advise you to revisit hire you are your therapy sessions - are you going to them for help, or just to go? Getting the help you want means facing this fears, and there is no other place you should feel as safe as you are at home than in your T's office. Don't give up! Therapy isn't easy. But your T int wants to give you the help you need, remember that! Keep it up and eventually you will have some relief, I promise.

Thank you! Do you think I should email her and tell her?

Openness seems like a good idea to me. She is trained to know how to help you

I think you should push yourself and push through it.

I would stick with it but be more honest about how you are feeling. Only then can she really help you.

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Hi anxious girl. Honestly to me it seems the real problem is with your relationship with your therapist. If you don't feel comfortable showing your feelings or telling her the truth about your feelings it means you dont yet feel fully comfortable with your T in general.

How long have you been seeing her? It maybe that just not enough time has passed for you to feel comfortable with showing your emotions to her yet. It could also be her personality is just such that it's hard for you to open up.

I don't think you should stop. But you may be moving too fast. You may need to give it more time to develop a relationship with this T and trust her. If it's her personality that you feel is preventing you from showing your feelings then perhaps you could look into seeing a different T.

Just my thoughts. You definitally can do this :-) keep trying.

Thanks for this! She's honestly amazing though, and she has SO much patience with me which helps a lot. It's me though. I trust no one, and if I do it'll take YEARS before I can fully trust them. I've been seeing T for a year now and just recently feeling more comfortable talking but still have a lot I dont include or emotions I dont show. That's why I want to send an email but on the other hand I dont want to seem dependant.

I understand. Therapy does takes time. And its okay that it takes time. The more you share about yourself overtime you should start to feel more comfortable. Also dont underestimate yourself. You maybe suprised when you start being able to show more feelings. :-) When you say your unsure if you should send an email I'm not sure what you mean. Email about what?

I want to send her an email asking/telling her that the exposure is too much and it brings up a lot of emotions and want to know if I can just focus on one thing instead of multiple exposures at once. I mean it's not her fault at all, it's mine because I keep telling her I'm fine so she just keeps adding more exposure.

Does facing anxiety phobias, like social situations, really work?

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I understand now. No one can tell you what the right thing to do is in this situation. Discussing your concerns with your therapist is never a bad idea though she might be able to give you the reassurance you need or have some other support.

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