[Nike007]

I’m assuming this happens to others too, but when I leave my therapy appointment, I will be either really anxious, depressed, angry, distressed, overwhelmed. This happens about half the times I go. I just need to “crash” after therapy. Like after my appointment today, I felt something was off with our session, and that maybe he hated me too for being a person with many things going on and doing the best I can but it doesn’t seem good enough. I am more certain than not that he doesn’t hate me, but I was somewhat distressed about this. And I was just kinda on-edge after the appointment. I was really emotional this time, so that was probably it. I guess I just need some time after my appointments to destress from the stress of therapy...

[maybeblue]

Yes! I have so been there. Sometimes I'll spend an hour after the session worrying that he might think I'm stupid because of one statement I made. And then I'll get mad at myself for over-analyzing stuff, and then I'll over-analyze the over-analyzing. And sometimes we'll talk about something emotional and I'm not done processing it when the session is over. And sometimes he'll say something that pisses me off.

I only actually feel better than when I went in there about a quarter of the time, but I keep going because overall I think it helps some. There's been many times that I've thought about quitting right after a session. Usually I'm glad I didn't by the next time.

[MoxieDoxie]

Yes I feel like drained and can not focus on work or any important task afterwards. Sometimes I feel traumatized and sometimes I feel so much better I have a skip in my step and get things done. This only last a day anyway.

[SalingerEsme]

I struggle with the aftermath of sessions anytime there is a break in the normal routine, or when I feel pressured to do any "prolonged exposure" of trauma images/memories. In those cases, I feel like I go to the edge of my inner resources and courage, and then it is like time is up go sit in the stairwell if you are not ready to face the city streets. There is something in there that feels like a male power play or some kind of heartlessness, that I do not feel otherwise about my bright and kind T. Therapy tests my strength and preys on weaknesses- it is the most grueling thing I have ever done, but I have learned many things. I bet it will be a decade before I understand if it hurts or helps in the long run.

That happens to me. I have stopped on t's road (she lives down a gravel road, has a home office) after going around the corner and sat in my car and cried and/or yelled and pounded the steering wheel. Then when I get home have a glass of wine and post here. Or journal. On occasion have taken a nap.

[emeraldheart]

I know what you mean. I run my own business and can work on my own schedule, so on therapy days, I don't do anything at all. I give myself time to wake up, watch some morning tv, walk to my session, go home and hang around in my pjs until I go to bed.

Even when I free myself of responsibilities for the day, I am STILL exhausted after sessions

[malika138]

Many times I just need to crash, go to bed because of the emotions of it all. I need to drive 45 mins home after appts and I can be too drained to do much. Sometimes I need to go back to work and that is the hardest. Being completely open with what I am feeling and having someone hear me and acknowledge me is draining.

[stopdog]

I found I was more anxious/agitated before the appointment. During was horrible but handled and afterwords I wanted to beat myself and the therapist into pulp. The during was sort of like the way a book I read described the anticipation of torture - the anticipation and first bit of unknown was worse in a way then the undergoing (not across the board of course) and then the horror of remembering.

[bounceback]

In the time when I was in therapy I had so many sessions where I felt emotional. Sometimes because i didn't feel heard, sometimes because the sesssion didn't feel long enough, sometimes because I had too much going on, sometimes because we didn't connect. I understand this. Many sessions I left in tears or overwhelmed. I found doing something comforting like going to a bookstore or going shopping helped.

[growlycat]

T makes the effort to “wind me down” after a tough session. In the last fifteen minutes he brought me back to the here and now with questions about my cat and asking if I watch stephen Colbert (of course!). I still left session a little dazed and foggy also strange muscle soreness. He does try to transition me back to “real life” but days like today are really hard.

I have that after family sessions (which sucks because then I get into the car.. with said family). And after trauma therapy, although we generally finish up with a grounding exercise. As for regular therapy - it's usually not extremely bad. And pdoc sessions depends on how hopeless or agitated I was before and what he intended to do about it during. It was bad for a few sessions these last months. However pdoc sessions usually last as long as they need to (slot is an hour, but he never says or indicates 'time's up' - he probably subtly finishes up if it's almost time for his next appointment, but I don't generally notice), which means if the business is finishable, we don't usually end with unfinished business. And, of course, those sessions are not quite therapy (I usually call them therapy-y. Or maybe I should say therapily ;-) ) so we don't spend the whole hour on the real difficult-to-talk-about stuff.