[Wren_]

I was reading something this morning on here and thinking wow, I finally get one of the things my T has told me over and over again. It didn't seep in all that time and then in reading someone elses experience - it did! I get it

Then I was thinking about how many times it helps me in my journey when I read threads and posts here to know things like I'm not alone; that other T's do certain things; that the things I wonder about aren't totally unusual and so on and so on and so on (lot's there)

Just wondering about others experiences in reading and the impact it has on their therapy journey

[healed84]

I did find it comforting that I am not the only one that goes through this stuff.. and it is great to talk with people who are going through thearpy and get related. Nobody in my life does and so they just don't get it.

[pbutton]

I love it here because I often run across someone describing something that I feel, only they put words to it much better than I can do.

[Chopin99]

I also find it comforting that I am not alone in my journey to healing. I'm also reassured that it's okay and normal for the process to take a while.

I really think I learned how to "do" therapy by reading here, especially when I first started a few years ago.

And it really IS helpful to read that people do/have struggled with the same things I do.

I love this board!

[likewater]

I love everyone here and then sometimes i write things like reasons to live or not hurt yourself and take my own advice too.:-) also, i
feel a lot less alone, and i can be ok just like others here are ok

[CantExplain]

It's like watching my favourite program whenever I want, instead of waiting a week for the next episode.

I also find it comforting to know I'm not the only one. Also, I really love the way everyone bounces ideas off each other, and the way some threads and responses to them get me thinking about my own therapy, in some cases I've realised things I would otherwise have missed. I think I'm better able to progress (and cope!) with therapy because of this site and people who post here

[CantExplain]

We can all talk at once and still be heard.

[unaluna]

Originally Posted by CantExplain

We can all talk at once and still be heard.

-- which makes it the best group therapy ever! I HATE having to wait to take my turn to talk! (could you tell? ) Also: all of the above. this place has changed my life, and I only found it because my T effed up! really freaking amazing. sometimes we just look at each other in wonder at this particular chain of events, because it's a little weird, even for me.

Like many people, I too love knowing that I'm not the only one with the feelings that I have about therapy: the love for my therapist and our relationship, the desire that somehow we could go back in time and she could be my mom, the worry about becoming too attached yet simultaneously being scared that she'll leave me, the constant self-criticism, etc. Also, sometimes my therapist will use a certain language or explain things a certain way that is new (read sometimes strange) to me. But then I see someone else use the same language and I see better the meaning by the way that someone else has explained his/her experience, etc. Lastly, I'm pretty far along in my therapy journey - not that I still don't have lots of work, but many of the suicidal feelings are gone - and I hope that sometimes I can help other people by sharing my thoughts and experiences. I wish that I would have known about PC sooner, when I was really struggling (particularly with what I've know learned was a really bad therapy experience that I shouldn't have stayed in... patterns of abuse).

Originally Posted by pbutton

I love it here because I often run across someone describing something that I feel, only they put words to it much better than I can do.

That is exactly my experience here. That feeling that someone out there really gets it.

[growlycat]

I appreciate that we can "compare notes" on therapy. It wasn't fair that t's can talk to each other but patients never cross paths (except by accident or in a group setting!)
Thanks for evening out the playing field!

[nicoleb2]

I come here because it is a place I can be understood. Where if I say I really want to SI right now, people aren't going to think I am suicidal just because of that. Where I am allowed to have a bad day without people thinking I am suicidal. And most of all, I can come here and NOT put on a happy face, I can feel how I want to feel. I don't have to hide it.

[granite1]

i don't think i would be as far as i am in T and my path to healing if it wasn't for all the amazing people here on PC.i get encouragement and understanding when i most need it and when i am able to understand and help someone the feeling of self worth is priceless.i love all you guys

[bluemountains]

I love the posters here-I enjoy learning their personalities, I cry when they are hurting, I pray for them when they need a prayer-even if their faith isn't the same as mine, I heal through their healing. I see hope from those who are beyond me in healing, I am able to provide comforting words to those who are struggling. All of these things are provided for me as well on these boards.

Thank you everyone!

Bluemountains

[SoupDragon]

When I first came here, it took me a few months to even say hello. Reading others posts and really feeling the kindness on here helped me so much in taking some steps forward.

I learn so much from reading others experiences, have gained hope from reading positive posts and reassurance that it is not just me that struggles with all sorts of issues both within and between sessions. I also really value the support and knowing that there are people out there even just for a virtual hug, to know that I am not on this planet alone.

I once mentioned this site to T and he was not overly keen, but I stayed here because it felt right for me and I think he is the one missing out, being blinkered to how valuable this place is.

I think this is an amazing place with some really wonderful people.

[crazycanbegood]

i feel grateful that i am able to read and learn from others' experiences on here. sometimes i do get triggered but oftentimes i, too, learn about myself and how to improve my participation in therapy. Reading the threads has also confirmed that i have the BEST therapist. (Sorry to tell you that, truly)

ETA: Though I have embraced my crazy as a good thing, it is nice to know that I am in good (and crowded) company.

[CantExplain]

Originally Posted by crazycanbegood

. sometimes i do get triggered but oftentimes i, too, learn about myself and how to improve my participation in therapy.

I get triggered here too, and it can be very painful.

But in a classical group therapy situation, I'd either have to stick around and suffer, or storm out and get a telling-off. Here, I can just step back, take a day off PC, and come back when I feel better. It takes a lot of the shame out of being triggered, and some of the anger as well.

Also, if I get in a fight that I don't want, I can sneak away unnoticed.

[learning1]

I think I'm learning how to use therapy from being on here. It makes the things I talk about it therapy seem more real. Otherwise I might not take some things seriously but it is helpful to believe them. Also I learn what some common therapy words mean and I'm not embarrassed when my t uses them. It doesn't just feel like fake therapy-speak, it actually means something, since I've read so many other people using the same words and meaning them. It makes it easier to deal with embarrassing things too, knowing other people also go through something similar.

[Wren_]

It's so great reading about what others find here