Do you have certain words you can't say?

purplelephant · Aug 25, 2012, 09:58 PM

Wow there are actually a lot of words I have trouble with. Very interesting to see others are the same!

rainbow8 · Aug 25, 2012, 09:59 PM

I also struggle with the anatomy words, especially putting the word "my" in front of them. When my T had me write out a "story" of how I wished my Mom had told me about those words, I read it to her about 4 times, at her request. But that was last year. I don't think I could do it again.

Last session, I wanted to talk about something and I had to say one of the words. I somehow managed. I'm getting scared/triggered and can't write them here at all. Reading some of the replies is hard too.

Hearing the words is hard too. Throughout my whole therapy, my T has asked where in my body do I feel something and I used to panic and maybe even dissociate when I heard those words.

Thanks for this thread, Peridot.

Lallenel · Jun 19, 2013, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peridot28

I'm in such a great place in therapy. I've come so far and healing has become so apparent that it is pretty close to tangible. Life is sweet, and my therapist is beyond amazing.

So, you know when you clean your house and you walk into a clean room and you can immediately see when something is out of place, dirty, or unorganized? Well, that is where I am on my therapy journey. We've cleaned up all the larger-than-life messes and now the little piles of yuck are more noticeable to where I can be specific about what they are. This helps me to relay to my therapist exactly what I need and she is always ready to help.

One of the things we have been working on for the past three weeks is a list of 43 words that I have extreme difficulty saying out loud. Some of them are very innocent words or words that shouldn't be shameful, but they are for me. I brought in my list of difficult words and every week we have picked five words for me to practice saying out loud with her and at home. Then, at my next session she gets me to say them out loud to her. I have one of my stand-in moms help me and she makes up funny sentences with the words, which makes me giggle like a little kid. It takes away some of the sting of the words, because she is just so funny.

When I say them to my therapist she likes to hear the funny sentences and then I get tickled again. Every week we review all of the previous weeks' words plus the current week's words. I can't tell you how neat of a process it has been. I still get a tiny bit squirmy about some of the words, but not totally mortified and embarrassed by them.

Do you have certain words that are painful, embarrassing, and/or triggering that you can't say or even have difficulty hearing? I want to see if I'm the only person who struggles with this or if there are some fellow onomatophobics out there.

Yes, I have always been that way. Many times it let my to get in trouble. I couldn't say people's names when asked. I avoided doing certain assignments in grade school if it involved my own ideas. My question is if you are that uncomfortable with certain words, how can you bring those words into the "limelight". Sometimes this phobia can actually be a fetish if the words are even loosely associated with childhood sexually related experiences.

Miswimmy1 · Jun 19, 2013, 01:47 PM

I find it hard to say, "I'm not ok." It just makes everything so real

critterlady · Jun 19, 2013, 01:53 PM

I have a lot of words I'm not comfortable saying. Most of them are anatomical or describe specific activities. My T uses r*** to describe what happened to me and I physically flinch every time he says it.

Telling him what actually happened was excruciating. I doubt my face could have been any redder.

harvest moon · Jun 19, 2013, 02:06 PM

Same here...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Starry_Night

There are several words i cant say, and i cant write them either.

haier · Jun 19, 2013, 02:20 PM

I have a bunch of words i absolutely cannot say or hear. Usually i write my therapist and let her know and she's really good about not mentioning them...right now they are,

Trauma/traumatic
Body parts
Healing{shudder}
Other words mentioned here that i can't write either..

There's a reason for that, it messes up my head so it's best not to say them...not right now at least.

Raging Quiet · Jun 19, 2013, 02:54 PM

I could never say 'Anorexia' just 'eating issues'

Mapleton · Jun 19, 2013, 03:19 PM

Depends on the context

1) with therapy, nothing seems to be out of bounds. In fact I'm worried that when we get to more intimate subjects that somehow I'll embarrass or offend T by being very literal.

2) with direct family, I have lost the battle with my ability to promise better outcomes, like my ability to remember better next time, or to not be so impulsive. I can't in good conscience, promise something that I have so many experiences of failure with, despite my best intent and efforts.

Basically I can't say "I'm sorry, I won't do that again."

3) with strangers in real life, there are so many things I can't say. I stick to the most polite and civilized platitudes, hoping to just get through what needs to be done.

Thank F*** for the anonymity of the Internet... It's a poor substitute, but it allows for a freer disclosure.

2or3things · Jun 19, 2013, 04:11 PM

Here's my (not so) random assortment:

- Care
- Nurse
- Touch
- Healing
- Shame/Ashamed
- Vulnerable. (That one's completely awful!)

Most of these are true in general, all are true in the context of T when we're talking about myself.

Oddly, I have absolutely no problem swearing like a sailor or talking (in general terms, at least) about sex when I'm at T's. But anything that gets close to talking about my feelings, and it's

. (If there were a "vomit" emoticon, I'd probably have chosen that instead!) Ugh!

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Do you have certain words you can't say?

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