Trauma work

[Woollymammoth63]

Hi all. Can you just chat a little over the weekend please? Have started some deeper trauma work and might need some company over the weekend. My eyes feel like cotton wool from crying.

Hi I'm here if you need a chat ❤️

Hi . Am ok for the minute but wondering when it will hit me.

I'll check in on you through the weekend Woolly, I tend to be on in the middle of the night so you won't be without a hand to hold even if it's stupid o'clock

I'm here too. Trauma work is hard going, hope you are ok.

Thank you all :)

I will be quite busy this weekend, but I will look in here to keep you company.

Do you have anything planned?

Hi I will be arround, hope you are ok.

Look after yourself- can you do some self soothing/ distracting? Maybe if you're feeling ok now go for a stroll in the sun and buy a sudoku book (if you do them?!) and snacks.

Hello you lovely lot thankyou for replies. I felt a bit off this morning and was expecting that, but better this afternoon. Am going out with a friend tonight later on so that's good. Am going to go and get the last of the daylight now outside then have a cup of tea.

Sounds like a plan Woolly, having nice stuff arranged and taking care of yourself seems a really sensible way to approach these next few days to me We'll be here if you need us x

Hello. Mixed day. Kept quite busy because I had pre - planned things on. I just want to keep things moving forward but that's hard when you have to look back.

Yes it must be but I'm a firm believer that some things need to be worked through in order to put them behind you and move on, I hope it brings you some peace when the process is over. In the meantime it sounds like you're doing all the right things and, in fact, you are moving forward because you're dealing with the past rather than letting it fester. Any plans for tomorrow? I'll be around for a while yet if you need a chat or a handhold, you sound like you're doing great though, good for you

Hi hiding thanks for replying. Tomorrow nothing definite but have some work to do. What I find with the trauma work is it brings out such mixed feelings it sometimes makes me feel angry with my therapist, yet I understand that's just an outlet and really I am angry at myself / the events. It makes me feel a disconnect from my therapist which I also then find hard.

I think it's pretty normal to feel angry with someone who is drawing tough memories and feelings out of you, it's good that you're aware of where that anger stems from though. Does the disconnected feeling impede the therapy do you think?

Yes I understand those feelings perfectly. They're very normal but can bring up so much confusion. Could some of it be transference? It can be (subconsciously) easy to put all the emotions of the abuse/trauma/abuser onto the therapist as it is easier to deal with that way. At least that's what happens with me. A good trauma therapist will completely understand that. I hope you're doing ok. Have you heard of Irest? My therapist is starting it with me and I'm finding it very helpful, though it is hard work.

Thankyou for replies
Hiding: I usually feel she is very calm, supportive, with this subject she always seems more challenging and I feel disconnected. If I felt like that in the therapy I would find it hard to keep going.
Unicorns : yes I'm sure it must be transference since unless she has a problem with this particular topic, why would she appear to be different, and why would I feel angry? It's so confusing.

Hi all how is everyone this evening?

Hi Woolly! How are you?!
What are your plans for this evening?

DH and I've had a row about him not looking after himself properly. Worried about him. How are you wooley

Well a bit mixed. it's hard to identify feelings sometimes isn't it, and where they are coming from. Sometimes like tonight it's just a general feeling and sort of unease about the last therapy session. I find this so hard. I suppose that's what trauma up is, it's sufficiently horrible and difficult to cause trauma so it's so hard to deal with.

Obviously don't know your situation but it sounds like your therapist is trying to allow the difficult thoughts & memories to be renacted in a safe space to allow you to explore the reasons behind how you reacted but more importantly to for you to get angry, to challenge the situations/person/people in the way you wish you could have done at the time & to help you to help yourself make sense/peace of it.
Transference & countertransference are key characteristics of psychodynamic therapy which allow all previously mentioned to occur.

Hope I've explained this well enough.

Thankyou Helsinki that's really helpful. Feeling a little bit better :)

wooley, I just felt like someone had put my head on spin cycle after psychologist had seen me, I hated it, thats why I stopped seeing him and tried a different therapist. You seem to have a good relationship with yours though.

I do, very good so that's helpful. I find it hard if I feel disconnected though especially at the wrong times, when I feel most upset. But I think it's part of the approach - maybe in trauma work you have to suffer to get it all out .

Hi everyone, it's that day of the week again. Tomorrow that is. Feeling so anxious. I wish someone would give me a rule book and say - cry/ don't cry/ talk/ hold back etc . I always cry but at the same time hold back. God only knows what's going on with me sometimes. I age such a lot of self control but is that a helpful thing?