[sittingatwatersedge]

T2 and I decided to try something; she turned on two lamps in her office, and shut off the overhead lights; this cut the light level by more than half.
We were sitting near enough to a table lamp that I was able to read from my journal if I wanted to, but elsewhere in the room it would have been difficult to do that.

What surprised me was what a big difference the reduced lighting made, in terms of my feelings of safety. I was thinking, for any of you who are struggling with the same, you might talk to yr T about trying this, maybe it will help you also.

to all

[WePow]

How very interesting! Thank you for sharing!

[granite1]

that sounds like something that would help me.i'm not sure what kind of lighting my T has.i know that she has i light on the table she has .she turns that on but i know she must have an overhead light .i guess i need to look up more often.i would love to just have the small lights on.

[stopdog]

It is interesting. Prior to the light experiment, had you felt unsafe with the therapist or with the office space itself? I ask because I think mine is with the person, not the space (which in my memory is always quite dark -like dusk even though I go in the middle of the day) and I wonder if you had a sense before this was tried.

[critterlady]

My T has harsh overhead fluorescent lighting in his office. I hate it. One time I went in with a migraine and he offered to to turn on the small lamp in the corner and turn off the overheads. It was so much nicer. It felt so much more intimate. That was the day I disclosed my CSA.

I wish he'd do it every time. I should ask him.

[sittingatwatersedge]

Originally Posted by stopdog

Prior to the light experiment, had you felt unsafe with the therapist or with the office space itself?

with the person, who is new to me (and has never acted in the least scary, it's just me). With the reduced lights, it was still T, but talking with her seemed much more personal and less official, if I can put it that way. More confidence-inducing. I don't know why, but it seems to be what I needed. BTW this was T's idea, not mine. I must say she's good

[sconnie892]

My T uses to table lamps and sometimes there is a desk lamp on. There are also two windows for natural light. It feels very relaxing and cozy and that helps me immensely. There is an overhead light (I looked one day), but I've never seen it on.

[Nelliecat]

This works for me too. I hate the harsh overhead lighting and have turned it off before in my thursday room. It makes me feel so exposed and 'under the spotlight'. My new tuesday room has soft lighting and this makes me feel much safer. Things don't feel so sharp and dangerous.

[FourRedheads]

Originally Posted by Nelliecat

This works for me too. I hate the harsh overhead lighting and have turned it off before in my thursday room. It makes me feel so exposed and 'under the spotlight'. My new tuesday room has soft lighting and this makes me feel much safer. Things don't feel so sharp and dangerous.

Yes. I like how you describe the Thursday room as "sharp and dangerous."

That is how I feel about my T's office. Overhead fluorescent lighting, no windows, very institutional. I don't like that.

Thank you for sharing, sawe. Very interesting. I'm glad you have a T who will try things like this for you.

[rainbow8]

SAWE, I'm glad the reduced lighting helped you and that you shared it with everyone. I don't even know what kind of lighting my T's office has! I know many have said they wouldn't feel safe closing their eyes, but for me, that's what works best. Then there are no distractions and I can "go inside" myself. Hmm. That sounds very scary, doesn't it? But I know my T is right there with me so it's not. She's the one who told me to close them whenever we used to do IFS, and that's how she does EMDR also. Whatever works for us, is what we need to do.

Because I'm having issues with how I feel about my T, I don't think I want the lights any lower than they are. LOL. He uses lamps and has a corner office, so there is a lot of natural light. I really like that he keeps the blinds directly behind his chair closed so I'm not looking into a glare while we talk.

That works on me too.