Posted by DaisyM on August 4, 2004, at 11:05:59
In reply to Therapists being available outside therapy, posted by Susan47 on August 4, 2004, at 10:21:59
I think it completely depends on what you are working on in therapy. If you are working on trust and opening up, you would probably be encouraged to call in when you are really stressed out. If you suffer from anxiety "all the time" then you would probably be working on coping methods with your therapist.
There are a wide variety of coping methods that people use. Babble is a huge one for me, I write when I'm stressed. Journaling or writing letters "as if" you are talking to your therapist is another.
Having real life friends or family who understand what is going on is a great one, if you can get it. For some of us, our issues are so private that we feel we can't share. Other people here have talked about support groups that they get a lot out of. Some people run, or do other kinds of exercise, some listen to music... My son has a whole arsenal of breathing exercises and visualizations he was taught. (He is 12)
Ideally, one would get a place where their therapist is internalized. This way they have them at 2am, at least in their heads.
In my own therapy, we talk a lot about the concepts of attachment, safe base and internalization. He feels the part of me that was so badly damaged by the sa was my ability to trust that anyone else could help me emotionally. So learning that he can, and will, has been huge. This means regressing to needing him a lot, touching base, very much like a young child does. The idea being that this trust will strengthen me, globalize and I'll be able to move further and further from my safe base and trust other people too. It is a slow process. It does not mean that I act like a dependent child all the time and can't live my life without talking to him every 2 seconds. And if my life hadn't gotten so overwhelmingly complicated, I would never have thought I needed emotional support or help from anyone else.
It is my understanding that when you become overwhelmed to the point of not functioning in your day-to-day life, medications are a good choice.
poster:DaisyM
thread:373932
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20040728/msgs/373953.html