[Griff2015]

Someone posted a video to a Ted Talk by Brene Brown about vulnerability a few days ago (sorry, can't remember who) and I watched that and another talk of hers that deals with shame. She said something in the shame video that describes exactly how I feel about therapy--she said after her first Ted Talk she had a "vulnerability hangover." Unable to function or get out of bed or...etc.

This is how I feel the hours and especially the next day after every therapy session. I can't even process what we talked about. I can't even bear to think about it so I try to push it to the edges of my mind, because it just makes me cringe inside and have impulses to hurt myself. I just want to hide from the shame that washes over me in endless waves. This lasts a few days and then anxiety about attending therapy ramps up for a few days and then I go to therapy. Is the process like this for anyone else? I had to have a few beers to even walk into my last session...

Just wondering if anyone else deals with this...and how you cope.

[connect.the.stars]

I have similar anxiety about attending therapy because yes, it's very scary to open up about our emotions. But you are doing the right thing by attending your sessions. It is natural to want to push away the thoughts that make us feel shame (I am guilty of this too).

My best advice would be to treat yourself to something nice after your session. Rather than trying to drink away the anxiety, you can just keep your little reward to yourself in the back of your mind. Maybe that can be a different way of motivating yourself to get your foot in the door to your therapist's office.