[Claritytoo]

I have an young alter who freaks out when ever she hears a dog licking their paws. Totally freaks out. Does anyone think it would be a good idea to desensitize her to the dog? It's not the dog but the sound made by the dog that disturbs her. Would desensitizing her to the dog help to keep her from freaking out when she hears that sound? Or would that only work on that dog and she would still be freaked out if she heard that sound being make by another dog? I am trying to figure out if desensitizing could help.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Claritytoo

I have an young alter who freaks out when ever she hears a dog licking their paws. Totally freaks out. Does anyone think it would be a good idea to desensitize her to the dog? It's not the dog but the sound made by the dog that disturbs her. Would desensitizing her to the dog help to keep her from freaking out when she hears that sound? Or would that only work on that dog and she would still be freaked out if she heard that sound being make by another dog? I am trying to figure out if desensitizing could help.

only you and your treatment providers can say whether you should do this or not.

for some people desensitization (other wise known as exposure therapy here in NY) helps and for others it doesnt.

your treatment providers will know if this kind of thing will work with you.

[Claritytoo]

My treatment provider thinks it is a good idea. Why does it work? How does it work? I guess that is my question.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Claritytoo

My treatment provider thinks it is a good idea. Why does it work? How does it work? I guess that is my question.

I see. how does it work....the process is simple you just expose your self to what ever you fear for how ever long you can stand it, then take a break and do it again, and again, how ever many times it takes you /your alter to not be afraid any more.

why does it work, no idea, it just works in some people and doesnt in others just like one medication can work in one person and not work in another. everyone has their own ways that work for them.

maybe you can do a google search on ....exposure therapy....and that might have more scientific, psychological or medical explanation.

[Wren_]

my T used this on me once ... and it involved slowly introducing things related to what I was scared of and gradually increasing the intensity of the trigger (eg. in an example we looked at in a cbt book the illustration was fear of spiders so it went from seeing the word spider in a book, seeing a spider in a book, seeing a spider on tv crawling towards them, seeing a spider in a jar, touching a spider etc)

you might spend considerable time at each stage and while going through it practice a lot of self care and calming/grounding techniques and only progressing to the next stage when you feel completely safe with the current stage

as you go along the idea is you feel less fear and can better handle what you are exposed to as it becomes more familiar to you

from memory i was stuck on some stages for weeks; and only got to about stage 7 out of our proposed 10, which was still a massive difference to where I had started

with a child or young alter I think you'd want to go even more carefully again
the main thing is the idea is making it safer rather than retraumatising and to formulate the steps before hand and know it's ok to take time

[Rohag]

Hello, Claritytoo. What you describe sounds much like "misophonia."

[Claritytoo]

Originally Posted by Rohag

Hello, Claritytoo. What you describe sounds much like "misophonia."

This very interesting but it seems that only one or two alters are upset with the sound. They associate the sound with sex. And they are young and should not be associating anything at that age with sex. My assumption is that something happened and that sound triggers the negative emotions associated with that sound. After the young one stepped back and someone older came forward he was able to pet the dog and let the dog sit on the couch next to him. But when the dog again started to make that sound I could feel the young one start to panic. She was not out so I was able to stay in the room. I don't have a memory or visual image that goes with the sound only panic. There are times when everything is too loud. When I can hear every sound with in ear shot. When that happens I have to isolate and cover my ears to relieve the desire to escape. Today I feel emotional exhausted from my experience at session yesterday. It just seems like a long road ahead of me that I might not be prepared to take. I am second guessing therapy. I am just too tired to do the work right now. Thanks for talking to me.

[Claritytoo]

Today I have an appointment with my t. Sinse the sound episode I find many of us not wanting to go. Today we are going to talk about past and present. Many of us do not have a sense of past. We seem to be missing that. When our t says past as opposed to present we have no idea what she is talking about. I try to find it in my brain but it isn't there. Nothing feels like it is in the past. When I remember something good from my childhood it is visual. Like us at the park. It is like looking at a photograph. There is no sense of time. I think I have to learn what past feels like.