[AnxiousGirl]

Hey guys as some of you may or may not know, I've been seeing a psychologist for a year for anxiety + phobias (very intense). So far it's been helping a lot so we moved on to exposure therapy. It's been about a week that we've done it and I've managed to get through one part of our "exposure ladder". I see T weekly and just got back from a session about an hour ago and we did some intense exposure. The thing is, I have perfectionist issues so when we did the exposure I kept telling her I'm okay or it's easy and whatever. So anyways, I recently lost a pretty close relative who I looked up to greatly and even though it's been sort of a while I'm still not over it at all. All the time my therapist brings it up I just talk as if I'm okay but inside I'm trying hard not to cry. So of course today after the session she said that for hmwk I would have to read about the illness that she had and I really dont want to. She asked to do it in session with her but I quickly said no so she said to do it at home. I want to email her (she lets me email as many times as I need to because she knows I dont like to tell her things face to face) saying that its hard for me to do that because it reminds of all the horrible things she had to go through. Is that a good idea?? Sorry for the long read. Thanks for those who read and help out

[skeksi]

It is a good idea to let her know how you are feeling. An important part of exposure therapy is being honest bout your reactions so the T can gauge where you are with the anxiety and when to move on to the next step. Your T will welcome your sharing!

[Rive.]

Definitely tell her. It can be more damaging to go faster than you are able to cope with.

I would also suggest being more honest with her i.e. if you are not okay, or if it isn't easy, please tell her so. There is no judgment in the room. And she probably gave you this assignment because you told her you were okay - when in actual fact, you aren't.

It's okay to proceed slowly, at your own pace. It is not a competition where one has to rush. Take care of you and check-in honestly with her. It would really help prevent you getting overwhelmed or struggling on your own...

[AnxiousGirl]

Originally Posted by Rive.

Definitely tell her. It can be more damaging to go faster than you are able to cope with.

I would also suggest being more honest with her i.e. if you are not okay, or if it isn't easy, please tell her so. There is no judgment in the room. And she probably gave you this assignment because you told her you were okay - when in actual fact, you aren't.

It's okay to proceed slowly, at your own pace. It is not a competition where one has to rush. Take care of you and check-in honestly with her. It would really help prevent you getting overwhelmed or struggling on your own...

I told her and she gave me some advice on how to make it less anxiety provoking. She even told me how she knows its very difficult and knows how hard I'm trying. Glad I told her!

[skeksi]

I'm glad you took the risk and that you really felt heard!