Posted by Daisym on November 2, 2004, at 19:28:34
In reply to Retelling your stories » daisym, posted by littleone on November 1, 2004, at 15:37:17
You ask good questions with no simply answers. Most people have big, important events to talk about (births, weddings, car accidents) but they aren't necessarily traumatic or "private." They tell their family and friends about stuff, over and over, even if everyone around them has heard it before. They simply can't help it. I've had people tell me stuff in line at the grocery store.
But the traumas...the private pain that we bring into therapy...I don't think we process these with the outside world the same way. So if you have a story to tell like that, you find yourself a therapist, or a surrogate-therapist, usually someone who has "been there, done that" and is willing to listen. I know therapy is supposed to be a microcosm of your world in many ways. But some things ARE private, between you and your therapist. When I talk about getting support, perhaps joining a group, my therapist will remind me that many of the things we are talking about are not appropriate to share with my friends or family. I guess not everything translates into a skill you can use in the real world. But healing doesn't need to take place around everything.
As far as telling the story over and over again in therapy, perhaps desensitizing is a goal. More likely, releasing the feelings that go with the story is the goal. These feelings include horror, embarrassment, shame and many others. I think shame and embarrassment are the first ones to go when you've told a story more than once.
poster:Daisym
thread:409215
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20041026/msgs/410817.html