Posted by twinleaf on May 16, 2008, at 0:17:51
In reply to Think I am functioning better and pet correlations, posted by Happyflower on May 12, 2008, at 21:23:25
are not to be underestimated! I agree with you that pets are so healing, Once they know and trust you, they do give unconditional love. You have recently increased your total household members by quite a bit, and it sounds like the new little members are adding a lot of love and pleasure for everyone!
We don't have any new household members, but we do have a lovely old springer spaniel- she is VERY loving and faithful, and we also have a dressage horse, who lives out of town in a much prettier place than we do! He is in a way the angel of our lives: he screeches with joy when he catches sight of us, and then sniffs and nibbles us all over, leaving slobbers in our hair! But then, in his working life, he is, this year, the high point scorer for adult amateur riders, and also for musical freestyle riders (this is in our area- there are eight areas in the country). I find it hard to believe this is happening- this year his stall is festooned with blue ribbons!
But to move beyond pets, and probably none too soon, I thought you said such an interesting thing- that not only are we helped by our therapists, but, perhaps, they are changed in a good way by having us as patients. I think it's a testament to the wonderful quality of the relationship you have with your therapist that your mind is able to venture comfortably into this area. I do hope it will be so for me, but i do still worry that I might be a really hard patient to have. I tend to worry about that when I first go in to see him; then, the experience of actually being with him gradually banishes those fears. So far, I don't think I'm as far along as you, because I need to address this fear anew every time I go in. Looking forward to when that no longer happens.... (my T is so great, because every time I show him a weaker and more fearful part of myself, he seems thrilled, and is very encouraging and supportive!)
poster:twinleaf
thread:828787
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20080508/msgs/829364.html