Two things come to mind right now, they might not be exact quotes:

'I wouldn't advise anyone to go into therapy unless they really have to'

'You have to tell your T what you need'

Can't remember who said them.

[Soccer mom]

HazelGirl telling me several times I need to tell my T. I wouldn't have if she and so many others had not encouraged me.
And, overall making me feel more normal about all the crazy feelings I've had.

[BonnieJean]

We used to post on here about needing only 18 seconds of courage to get yourself started on talking about a tough subject with your t. It has often worked for me. The dread and anticipation of saying something tends to be worse than after you've gotten it out. Does anyone else remember this - I think it was 18 seconds we always quoted.

I thought my intense feelings towards my T were shameful and abnormal. I was relieved to find this forum and hear about other people's therapy relationships and feelings. I got a better understanding of my attachment issues and transference, and the feelings didn't seem so scary and freaky anymore.

For sticking - I full-out cried reading about Crescent Moon's attachment with her therapist and when her therapist read her the Runaway Bunny. Really beautiful.

This site has been incredibly validating for me, especially around subjects like transference and ruptures with T where I have felt completely alone as I couldn't turn to the one person who could help in real life (T).
I think what is great on this site is that it is universally supportive. Even where there is difference of opinion, people's feelings are validated and supported, and I think that is unique.

"When I see time is up, I stand up, toss money on the table and walk out."—stopdog

[brillskep]

Some people's stories.

Thanks to someone on this site, I found the Tales of a Boundary Ninja | Insights about therapy and life learned the hard way blog. That blog has been enormously helpful for me. I cannot remember who initially posted the link to it, but whoever you are, I am grateful.

[Soccer mom]

Originally Posted by My kids are cool

Thanks to someone on this site, I found the Tales of a Boundary Ninja | Insights about therapy and life learned the hard way blog. That blog has been enormously helpful for me. I cannot remember who initially posted the link to it, but whoever you are, I am grateful.

Her website helped me a lot too! She's great! I even printed one of her postings and gave it to my T.

[PeeJay]

The boards definitely gave me the courage to keep going.

I think Leah123 told me once that I earned the caring by being vulnerable.

FeralKittyMom told me to relax and see where the next stage of therapy takes me, after I freaked because I realized that my therapist plays an important role in my life.

Those things helped my therapy a lot. And helped me to relax a bit.

Overall I've learned good things from other people's journeys but I've learned lots of real life things like:

people who do not have children most often are not interested in hearing about yours

there are vegetables out there I never heard of let alone ate

that people worry about their patio furniture when an obese person comes to their house (I dont sit now at the few parties I attend.)

that people do feel disgust towards obese people and what people try to tell me is my imagination of someones reaction to me is probably real.

[Lauliza]

Originally Posted by BonnieJean

We used to post on here about needing only 18 seconds of courage to get yourself started on talking about a tough subject with your t. It has often worked for me. The dread and anticipation of saying something tends to be worse than after you've gotten it out. Does anyone else remember this - I think it was 18 seconds we always quoted.

I remember this but don't remember who said it. My t has said it before and I use it with my kids a lot.

Anything missbella posts about therapy. Very helpful and very true.

[stopdog]

That some people adore therapists. And that somehow whether a therapist cares or not matters to some.

[Asiablue]

When I started therapy 3.5 years ago, I didn't even know what maternal transference was until I came here and read about it. I'd never heard the term before but all of a sudden my inner feelings that I'd never dared admit to anyone for the shame of it all, started to make sense. Apparently my feelings were perfectly normal! It was a huge relief to realise that.
I didn't know it was ok to care about your therapist and feel a bond with them. I thought I was creepy and weird and couldn't understand why I felt the way I did.

There's a few people on here who've really helped me a lot in understanding attachment and trauma and even just how therapy is supposed to work. I can't think specifically of phrases or anything that have stuck, but just reading the collective experience of all our therapy experiences and it's ups and downs have been central to my healing journey.

[Depletion]

I've had these obsessions with teachers, and then therapists since I was thirteen. I always thought that I was weird and sick, and I didn't even know how to explain the problem to anyone. And then I came here and realized that I wasn't a weirdo, and that I just had transference .

I think it was Lola or feralkittymommy who said the 20 seconds of courage thing.

[feralkittymom]

I think Lola; before my time, I think.

The specific posts and words that stay with me are those that confirm what I know about myself and those that teach me something about how normal people act and feel. The latter kind remind me a lot of the large sugar Easter eggs we had when I was a kid (the look-but-don't-touch kind) where you peek through a hole in the shell to see a lovely scene inside, and if you should try to reach the scene you would destroy it.

[Crescent Moon]

Pretty much anything Stopdog says sticks with me.

[LindaLu]

I like reading about relationships with T because mine can be variable sometimes right on the money and sometimes out to lunch. So i like reading the healthy skeptism of some posters and the immersion of others with their Ts. It's increased my confidence in understanding a T is a tool not a magic wand. Thanks PsychCentral