I want to take a break from therapy

Why don’t you start with talking about your pattern/ knee jerk reaction of canceling/ rebooking your appointments? That seems to be your standard response when things get tough. Talk to him about developing healthier coping mechanisms and how you can approach those situations differently in the future.

We have already worked on that and I haven’t done that in a long while.

But wait- didn't you cancel appointments last week? I'm sorry, i'm confused by what you said.

I think something to work on is maybe working on owning your behavior. I just always see a lot of “buts” from you for things that you very obviously did and very obviously have a problem with. If you cant accept that you need to make changes, and cant own when you struggle with it- its going to be hard to learn.

Again. I say this not meanly. But just observing

L is teaching me to use AND instead of BUT. It's part of DBT. It takes some getting used to AND it helps. It teaches you that there can be two contrasting ideas, thoughts, or feelings, 3both can exist at the same time.

Sorry if this is totally off topic.

Scarlet...I have learned so much from DBT. For example, I have made a lot of progress working on X AND I slipped by doing it again this last week. I am going to work harder at using my skills to my advantage next time.

Mindfulness is also great for calming yourself when emotions are strong. They do however call it mindfulness "practice" for a reason. It is something you have to practice everyday before you start to see the benefits.

Underover does have a good point as well. We can only work on what we are willing to admit as our shortcomings. Just as in any job, one must be open and accepting of receiving feedback for both strengths and opportunities. We don't learn anything from our strengths yet opportunities are what allow us to improve and grow.

I did that last week but what I meant was that I hadn’t done that in a while until last week.

That's interesting. I read some of your past threads and it seems like you have done it a few times this year. Maybe it would helpt to keep a journal of personal observations like this. It can be hard to see pattersn easily. Hugs hugs

I know that I have a lot of problems. But, I know where I was before working with this therapist and where I am now. If I had not made any improvements, I wouldn’t be sitting here posting about anything.

that's super cool and helpful. glad i read this

I know that I’ve done it a few times this year but it was beginning to decrease.

Setbacks happen. Now you can go talk to your therapist about why it happend and get insights on it. it's part of the process. hugs