Posted by Dinah on February 8, 2011, at 15:16:25
In reply to one more thing..., posted by Annabelle Smith on February 8, 2011, at 14:32:47
Is it necessarily such a bad thing to have a public face? I think most people do. I remember my father. At the eulogy people were telling me their impressions of him and I remember thinking "Good heavens. They believed his telephone voice."
I'm probably altogether too open with others about my true feelings but even then, there's a reserve.
I remember after Katrina, I found it astonishing that very few people were walking around whining. (I was one of the few, I fear.) People would be saying "Oh, I was really lucky. We have a two story house and we're able to camp out on the upper floor with a camp stove." Or "My house will have to be torn down, but we're really lucky that we didn't lose anyone in the family."
When I was young, I was really acting out a lot as a teen. One day I decided it really wasn't gaining me anything I wanted, so I decided to pretend to be ok. To my utter astonishment, people accepted my about face, and thought I really was ok. I was a bit put out really, that no one could see how much pain I was in.
But there it is.
Sometimes life is like carrying a heavy load that you just can't put down, but can't possibly carry until you reach your destination. Yet of course you can, and do, because there is no other choice.
I hope you can see your therapist tomorrow. But if you can't a trick that sometimes works for me is to tell myself that had I seen him, it would be just as long till the next time I see him.
poster:Dinah
thread:978909
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20110206/msgs/978930.html