[Lrad123]

A couple of weeks ago I caught my therapist stifling a yawn. I sort of looked away, trying to be polite. I completely understand that he’s human and that yawning is something that we all do, but I’m already in a phase where I’m ambivalent about therapy and when I got home later that day, I used it as an excuse to cancel my appointment the next day. In my therapy we don’t work with parts, but I suppose I felt like the yawn made a young part of myself feel insecure and boring to my T. The following week at the end of our session I mentioned to him that I had seen him yawn the week before and I was surprised by how touched or affected he felt by that comment. I saw him the next morning (I see him 2x/week) and that day I told him how I woke up at 4:00 a.m. stressed about work. He disclosed that he was also up at 4:00 a.m. thinking about what I’d said about his yawn. He emphasized that he thought it was good that I could tell him this, but he also looked like he was fighting back tears. The yawn itself wasn’t that big of a deal to me, but his reaction to my bringing it up is really interesting to me. It seems like an overreaction, but I’m also sort of touched by it. Have you ever caught your therapist yawning? Have you discussed it?

[zoiecat]

My T yawns almost every session. He trys to hold it back but I can tell and he usually ends up with yawn tears running down hus face that he doesn't wipe off.

I have discussed it with him a few times. I am the last session of the day on noth of my appt days each week and he has bad allergies that he takes meds for. I am over it niw. I know he can't help it and as long as he is attentive to what I am saying I cannot hold him in negative regard. He is very attentive and remembers exact words I have said that even I don't remember saying.

[Salmon77]

I have not caught my T yawning but I do notice if he seems tired or in a bad mood. My first reaction is always to feel as though it is about me, like I am boring or annoying. I started asking about it when this happens and usually he tells me if I'm right, and maybe what the reason is, if he was up late or whatever.

With your T, I imagine he is very aware of how ambivalent you feel about therapy and tries to avoid doing things that exacerbate that feeling. Some things, like yawning, are impossible to avoid though.

[autonoe]

My therapist yawns...a lot. It used to bother me, but he always apologizes for it and will usually tell me that he didn't sleep well or that it's been a long day. I also see him right after his lunchtime, and maybe that's part of it. But there's a part of me that always wonders if I'm boring the hell out of him.

[LonesomeTonight]

Don't think I've caught my T in a yawn, but ex-MC would sometimes yawn very obviously, even exaggerating it, which really bothered me. Like, at least try to hide it! Or apologize. Don't think I ever said anything to him about it though.

[ArtleyWilkins]

Therapists yawn. We all yawn. Yawning has many different causes. Boredom is only one of them. Fatigue is another obvious cause. Less obvious -- medications; breathing issues (I yawn more when my oxygen levels are low because of asthma) - sleep apnea is another; one study says it is an automatic physiological action to cool the brain. I also yawn when I'm cold -- probably because I tense up and don't breathe as deeply.

[Lonelyinmyheart]

I'm on hyper alert for anything my T does, whether that be yawn, glancing at her watch or anything that suggests she might be losing interest in me. One thing I have realised about myself is that these days I'm tempted to mention it, whereas in the past with other Ts I've always been too scared to say anything because I didn't believe my feelings mattered. I think being able to say something now is partly due to personal growth on my part and partly due to having a really safe T. My T wasn't looking and sounding well a few weeks ago and I asked her if she had a virus. She immediately answered me and I was able to discuss my anxieties about her health.

I think that anything like a yawn or indeed anything that bothers you about a T in session, is therapy fodder. More often than not it's simple tiredness on the T's part, but it's important to say how it feels if it's bothering you. I never could on so many occasions and I was left feeling scared that the T was not really paying attention to me.

[Lrad123]

Yeah, I’m aware of the physiologic causes of yawning and that it’s something natural that we all do. What intrigued me was his his response to my bringing it up. He seemed super interested and even slightly emotional about it (his eyes watered as he spoke about it). He even brought it up the next time we met, saying that it had been on his mind. He rarely disclosed things like this. I was surprised by this reaction and touched by it.

[ArtleyWilkins]

Originally Posted by Lrad123

Yeah, I’m aware of the physiologic causes of yawning and that it’s something natural that we all do. What intrigued me was his his response to my bringing it up. He seemed super interested and even slightly emotional about it (his eyes watered as he spoke about it). He even brought it up the next time we met, saying that it had been on his mind. He rarely disclosed things like this. I was surprised by this reaction and touched by it.

There have been times when my own yawning was constant and completely out of my control, and it was an embarrassing problem that I was self-conscious about because I was afraid people would think of me as rude even though I couldn't have stopped it if I tried. Maybe this.

[Lonelyinmyheart]

Originally Posted by Lrad123

Yeah, I’m aware of the physiologic causes of yawning and that it’s something natural that we all do. What intrigued me was his his response to my bringing it up. He seemed super interested and even slightly emotional about it (his eyes watered as he spoke about it). He even brought it up the next time we met, saying that it had been on his mind. He rarely disclosed things like this. I was surprised by this reaction and touched by it.

Maybe a counter transference reaction to what you said. Maybe he was emotional because you can't normally express your feelings about anything he does in session and that touched him, or maybe he was reflecting how he comes across with you in light of your reaction and feels emotional that he may have come across as uninterested in you. It does seem quite a strong reaction for him to have, but it's good he has been reflecting on it, as long as it doesn't obviously get in the way of your process!

[stopdog]

I don't recall noticing if the woman yawned or not. I would have attributed it to tiredness before boredom but even if she was bored - she chose the job not me so I wouldn't have worried about it

[NP_Complete]

My therapist has yawned occasionally. He doesn't try to hide it. I don't look at him so the only way I know is the little noise he makes. I don't take it personally although I may jokingly ask him if I'm boring him one day just to see what he says.

Amusingly, I've yawned several times while reading this thread. I didn't realize that just talking about yawns was contagious.

[JaneTennison1]

My EMDR T was stifling a yawn during EMDR the other day but I don't mind, it was 4pm and I know the afternoon can get to everyone lol I get how it impacts some people though

[susannahsays]

Boredom doesn't cause me to yawn, personally. But sitting around all day can have that effect, and therapists do a lot of sitting.

[~Christina]

Lol everyone yawns.... I can yawn when I’m bored, tired, in the middle of something.

I can’t imagine being bothered if my T yawns lol

He does this weird yawn stifle that is way more distracting than just yawning. On one hand, I really appreciate the effort, but on the other hand, just getting the yawn over with would be way less distracting. I tried to make it into a joke so he’d get the hint to just take the second to yawn, but it didn’t translate.

[nottrustin]

Emdr T yawned once and was mortified when it happened and apologized. She explained she was up much of the night with her 3 year old she was so focused on what I was zaying she did realize the yawn was coming. Yawning is not something that bothers me. I see her at 5pm and it happens.

T us to stifle yawns on occasion. I would intentionally look the other way. I knew she sidfeeed from sleep issues and I saw her at 6:30pm.

Your Ts reaction does seem odd. I wonder if it is because he was angry at himself but realized the progress you made by speaking up. When I told Emdr T we meeded to slow down a bit so I could build more trust, she felt honored ghat I truated her enough to tell her. She knew it was a huge step for me.

This happened to m me early in with T.
I said "am I boring you?" she replied "am I not allowed to yawn?" her reply at the early stage in my therapy crushed my poor delicate ego lol. I sulked for the rest of the session.
Next session T brought it up. She said her reaction to it was I think she said a bit over the top or something (can't remember exactly now) and thats because someone in her past would always remark in it. But that where I was concerned she wasn't bored but that may or may not become part of the therapy. I was like 'what!!!? " 😂

I had no idea what that could mean at that early point in my therapy either.

I get it now. I understand the therapy and how it works.

boredom hasn't become part of the therapy and if it had, it like everything else would be discussed.

Funny enough. I've never seen her yawn again. Lol

[TunedOut]

When I first went to therapy and my talk was making my therapist sleepy during one session, it was a reminder to me to get to the point, have a point, etc.--sometimes I can dribble on and on about everything on my mind and it can get quite boring. I know I need to talk less unless I have something interesting to say!