(LONG) Honest, Open-minded, & Willing

Okay, so that the H.O.W of AA but it is also very integral in the therapeutic setting.

I have found honesty to be particularly critical in the "process" of doing therapy. If I'm not completely honest with my T about where I'm at, what's going on, what I want and need, etc I won't gain the FULL benefit of therapy. Honesty can be quite painful at times...but I have learned that facing the pain of the truth immediately lessens the sting a bit than if I wait until I get a cold, hard slap in the face with it. It's difficult at times but definitely necessary.

Open-minded. This has been the biggest difference in me between my last therapist and this one. I have to remain as open as I possible as I can to ALL possible solution/processes.

For example: my biggest problem when I entered therapy was an inability to regulate my emotions. I have re-entered DBT in November and it has helped. However, the real huge difference was never even spoken by anyone and that was a huge change in my diet...and it's probably been the biggest difference maker thus far...partly spurred on by my willingness to take and USE the skills suggested in DBT.

Willingness kind of coincides with open-mind for me. I had to be willing to try the solutions/processes given by my T whether I truly believed they'd work for me or not. Most of the time some adaptation was necessary...then it worked. I had to be willing to try things in order to find what worked for me...otherwise everything is simply hypothetical in my case because I haven't tried to apply the "skills" given to me.

For example: DBT: PLEASE part of PLEASE MASTER. A part of that is eating balanced. Well for me that meant being willing to completely revamp my diet. For others it might just mean smaller portions 5-6 times a day versus 3 big meals. The point is I had to be willing to try something and then let it grow from there...because in the beginning of this complete diet change was just the goal of eating healthier. For me that meant more fruits and veggies. From there it grew into a complete diet change for me.

If I hadn't tried something small I would have never known that my diet was playing such a huge role in my mood dysregulation.

Any thoughts are welcome. But just posted as food for thought.

Sorry for the length.

Eating balanced is so hard for me. Too little is bad, too much is bad. Its hard to know what is okay and how much is enough. But i just keep working at it, getting closer to the middle is getting easier, trial and error. Pardon me for bringing up pooping again, but i feel pretty good about getting that on track, after having isdues my whole life. Now probably going on two years im pretty regular! And my stomach is starting to feel light, just naturally, which ive never felt before. I think my mother kept me constipated in the daytime when she was home, and my father overfed me at supper when he was home, so that i would be in a physical stupor all the time and not run around too much. Its like depression and anxiety were developed in me, like muscles, like traits. Emotional and physical regulation. Then emotional regulation is not a matter of just putting a lid on it, trying to hold it in, but more like breathing in and out deeply every day, knowing you can deal.

P.s. you sound great! I am so happy for you

changing my eating habits seems insurmountable for me. wow and congrats to you .I be it was so hard. good work

Granite...don't beat yourself up. It took me a long time to finally do it, and even then I had to see insurmountable positive results to keep it that way. And it's still not easy.

I bet it isn't. I think it is great for you