what do you call this situation?

whenever i get overwhelmed in therapy room, i stop talking and i just feel like i just want to sleep so basically i would bend down for so long trying to take a nap.. usually i don't want to be interrupted .. it's like i need my space for a while.. i am present and can respond if i want but i feel so exhausted that i just can't talk..

Maybe dissociation?

Welcome to PC

i don't think so.. i don't feel detached.. i'm present

What does your therapist call it?

Welcome to PC!

Depression? Anytime I have to do things that would help me I'd suddenly feel exhausted and overwhelmed, like meeting my psychiatrist for example, or simply going out to buy things that I need at the grocery. But when I have to do things for others I have no problem at all. I blame my zero self-esteem on this, my unconsciousness thinks I don't deserve help or good things in life. Welcome to PC.

Therapy is hard work and if you're feeling overwhelmed maybe it's mental exhaustion you are feeling,just overloaded with emotions and it's like blowing a circuit breaker and you just need to rest afterwards?

When I'm mentally exhausted I feel physically exhausted too and just want to go to bed and rest my body and mind.

Hi kayak, welcome to PC and the PTSD forum.

I have experienced what you are describing. It happens when I get overwhelmed and I simply can't put things into words and I get very tired like you are describing. What you can try doing is when you begin therapy ask your therapist to take a few minutes with you doing a relaxing technique. What my therapist had me do is close my eyes and picture a blackboard in my mind, a big black board like they have in a classroom. Picture the shelf with the chalk and picture yourself picking up a nice big piece of chalk and write the number 10 on the board, then find the eraser and you can smell the chalk on it and take the eraser and erase the number 10 and then write the number 9. Keep doing this "slowly" until you erase the number one. This exercise should help you feel much more relaxed.

Often just getting to therapy itself is exhausting and I always found rushed and stressed by the time I got up the stairs and through my therapist's door and sat in the chair and often I would get very tired just as you have described.

What also helps is keeping a journal so when you think of things you can write them down and what helped me is deciding what I wanted to talk about in therapy instead of feeling like I was on the spot.

When one experiences a trauma they tend to "freeze" and get overwhelmed and often there is much more "shock" and "fight, flight, freeze" and "no language" or normal processing. And going to therapy can mean a lot of pressure to "talk" and often not even knowing "how" or where to start. The desire is there, but one can get overwhelmed surprisingly easily and this is when that tired feeling can happen.

So, if you get that way, it's better to take some time and do some relaxing exercised like what I just described. What this does is it helps your brain realize nothing is urgent and you don't have to produce any cortizol which is probably what you had been doing before you even got to therapy where you were already all pumped up and that can most definitely in itself be tiring, but what your mind really is looking for is to calm down.

Welcome to the forums Kayak,

I am sorry you are experiencing that.. It sounds scary and confusing to you. I wish I had answers but I dont. I wanted to extend a hug to you in digital space.

(((Kayak)))

Thanks,
Hd7970ghz

Im sorry I can not tell you what this is with in you, what I can tell you is what this is in me....

in me this is normal. my treatment providers call it boredom. and selective mutism (selective mutism in me means I choose not to talk at stressful or emotional times,)

one of my treatment providers one time called it the equivalent of throwing a 5 year olds temper tantrum of holding ones breath or not talking to someone. which is normal behavior for 5 year olds. his words why throw an emotional temper tantrum of not talking when the door is always open use it, more cost effective too.

since then when I am stressed out during therapy and dont want to talk I just tell the treatment provider I dont want to talk any more and I leave, go home, go do other things that I do want to do. that past therapist was right, there was nothing forcing me to stay there so why cause myself emotional distress by staying and not talking and curling up to go to sleep. I can do that for free at home. so now I save myself money, end my session and leave.

Hmmmm interesting, we have a discussion in CPTSD about Memories Rendering You Speechless, so this may be selective mutism?