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anita
ParticipantDear Tom:
You are welcome. Other tips/ methods: (1) Adopt an attitude of Radica Acceptance of your emotional experiences: to accept rather than reject or resist (The more we resist the unpleasant, the more unpleasant it becomes), (2) Take on an attitude of Courage, according to the principles behind The Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference”, (3) Look up and listen to/ watch guided meditations online (free of charge), audio or video, topic: Mindfulness, (4) Try yoga stretches (see online YouTube videos) and Tai Chi (if there are You tubes on it), (5) Search for other Mindfulness Practices, (6) Journal privately, or here on your thread, (7) Have Alone Time (away from your partner, to relax alone0, (8) Plan Quality Time with your partner, (9) Understand better, believe, that anxiety never helps real-life situations, so it is to your benefit to not be anxious, (10) When all else fails, go back to The Serenity Prayer, Acceptance and Courage.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Tom:
You shared about your last company back in May- June, 2019, five years ago: Â “I have accepted the new role and am looking forward to the move. I am currently working my notice in my current position” (June 12, 2019)
Today: “After 5 years with my last company, I took a new job offer around and am now 4 weeks in, about to start my 5th week…Â Itâs a well paid job so I feel there is pressure to deliver and make it work. My partner and myself have a mortgage etc. so its not as simple as going to find another job. I feel my confidence is draining while I am there, and I come home unhappy etc. with it impacting my sleep. I know its only been 4 weeks and I will of course give it more time but any tips/words would be appreciated. Thanks“-
– You are welcome, and I am glad you posted again. My tip: Anxiety Management.
Psychology today/ strategies to manage anxiety: “Anxiety can feel like a monster that is out of control and you have no way of conquering it: nothing could be further from the truth. You can make choices to reduce your anxiety. You have the power. By adopting these seven strategies and restructuring your habits, the anxiety monster gets less scary and slowly loses its power. Schedule/Routine:… Awareness:…Deep Breathing:…”
Healthline/ how to cope with anxiety: “If you deal with anxiety, there are strategies you can use to help manage immediate symptoms, as well as long-term methods to combat recurring issues…Â Low impact exercises like walking, yoga, and tai-chi can often help people to reduce stress and manage anxiety symptoms… If anxiety is a regular part of your life, itâs important to find treatment strategies to help you keep it in check. If youâre unsure where to start, discussing options with a mental health professional who might suggest something you hadnât thought of before… If your anxiety is severe enough that your mental health professional believes youâd benefit from medication, there are several directions, depending on your symptoms. Discuss your concerns with your doctor…”.
I hope you post again, Tom, and that we can communicate here for awhile.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Meatball:
You are welcome.
“Each day I donât know which person Iâll be dealing with“- this is a bad thing for your mental health. You too need the following (from the online quotes I added to my previous reply to you: “Safety firstâŠÂ  a physically and emotionally secure environment⊠Trustworthiness and transparency⊠honesty, reliability, and clear communication⊠providing choices“-
– You need emotional safety in your own home; you need an emotionally secure home, where the person living with you is the same person every day, within certain perimeters, and not a person who changes from one end to the other.
For your emotional safety, you need the person living with you to be trustworthy and transparent, honest and reliable, one who clearly communicates, and who does not damage your ability to choose to live with her, or not live with her (by let’s way, guilt tripping you into having her live with you).
Please take care of your valid need for emotional safety in your own home.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Kshitij:
You are welcome. I am beginning to understand better how terrible the scholarship application fiasco was for you, how powerless you felt in an unfair situation, which indeed breeds rage! I doubted it before, that a scholarship application being stalled can be a trauma, resulting in post traumatic stress disorder. I changed my mind: in your case, it was traumatic!
“I was in a loop of enraging memories a few minutes ago as well. It becomes very difficult to not let the emotions take over, it is even interfering with my studies at time.. I took that anger on myself… I was taking some revenge by hurting myself… I began feeling anger towards life itself… I would like to know more about solving this unresolved anger“- angry, enraged, traumatized Kshitij.
“I too feel a lack of self compassion in me, I feel that the only person who would look down on Kshitij is Kshitij himself… I judge myself. It’s me who fixes my self worth on my external achievements and my work… I cannot do what is required for me to find some peace and solace“- Kshitij means “born of the earth”, or “horizon” in Sanskrit. The name signifies (so I read) the point where the sky and sea appear to meet, creating a beautiful and symbolic connection between earth and sky.
May your trauma and the rage it bred, evaporate as it meets the sky,; may it dissolve into the big blue, beautiful sky. You are a good person, Kshitij. I value you as a person, not as a student and professional.. just as a person. I don’t want you to suffer anymore. Please, give yourself the peace and solace that (I say!) you deserve!
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Zenith:
Good to read from you, and especially good to read that you are happy (at the least you were five hours ago). I like it very much that you decided where you’ll stay during the visit and let your husband know your choice: assertive!
How long will you be there, and what is the anxiety about, in regard to the visit?
And I am fine thank you, relaxing after 4.5 hours work outside.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Lily Margarette:
Welcome back to the forums. I am sorry that you are still suffering.
“My husband is selfish… Heâs insensitive… Heâs… verbally abusive and a bully… verbally and emotionally abusive… He has narcissistic tendencies“- We communicated back in Sept 2021. You were very unhappily married for 11 years at the time, a stay at home mom with 3 kids, having terrible relationships with your husband and with his family. We talked about you leaving your husband and staying with your family of origin, while legally separating from him, but you said that your family wasn’t able to accommodate you and your kids.
Back in Sept, 2021, you shared (I am adding the boldface feature selectively to the quotes): “Iâm a full-time housewife and donât feel as if I could cope financially if I were to split up from my husband. I used to work before I had kids but that was 10 years ago, and feel completely terrified of âgoing out to workâ again. Iâve tried various things to help me, taking online courses, even starting freelance work for a little bit, but I felt out of my depth and scared of failing. I think feeling dependent on him makes me feel trapped in a very unhappy situation“.
In Feb, 2022, you shared: “I do feel so incredibly regretful that I never had a proper career set up for myself. Iâm educated and always worked (but nothing leading to a specific career), but when I had kids I gave all that up. Iâm completely stuck in a rut because I canât see me ever being able to be independent and having a job anymore. Iâm so envious of working mothers because they have the confidence to work. I donât even know what work I would do as Iâm 44 now. Iâm getting on. I donât feel I have any skills to give. I feel lost”.
Your last words before posting today, were on Feb 15, 2022: “I would like help in being able to build my self-esteem in order to sort myself put with earning money. I think if I did this I wouldnât feel so trapped and helpless. The problem is I have no idea how to do this.”
Two years and 3 months later (today), you shared: “”Iâm fuming… Iâm really angry now… Now itâs me causing problems apparently. The sulking will begin, the slamming doors and being rude“-
– I think that your fear (feeling completely terrified, scared of failing) together with the feeling-belief of helplessness/ powerlessness results in you feeling doomed to be trapped and stuck forevermore (trapped in a very unhappy situation, completely stuck in a rut, trapped and helpless), and that makes you ANGRY.
The function of anger is to fight yourself out of a trap (to solve problems), but when the anger doesn’t serve its purpose day after day, month after month, year after year, and you remain trapped, problems unsolved, what happens to the anger?
It doesn’t go away, it lies right under the surface and whenever it gets triggered, it erupts like lava out of a volcano, an overreaction to the events that trigger it.
Psychology today/ learned helplessness: “Learned helplessness occurs when an individual continuously faces a negative, uncontrollable situation and stops trying to change their circumstances, even when they have the ability to do so… The perception that one cannot control the situation essentially elicits a passive response to the harm that is occurring”, passive and angry?
“How do I handle this?… How do I keep my cool?“- calm yourself today, one moment, one day at a time, and prepare to exit the trap: look for resources to free yourself from your very unhappy marriage. Believe that it is possible. Can you?
anita
May 23, 2024 at 7:53 am in reply to: Past Hurts & Present Concerns: Advice Needed for a Stronger Bond #433033anita
ParticipantDear HenryNahNg:
* This is a very long post because of all the quotes from 2 online sources that I copied and pasted here. Sometimes the result of the copying and pasting is lots of excess print. If that happens, I will re-submit my post without the excess print. Please feel free to read or not to read any or all of the long post to follow.
(I am adding the boldface feature selectively to the following quotes from your two posts:Â “Iâm navigating the complexities of relationships …Two broken engagements have left me with residual doubts… Iâm finding it challenging to discover a form of physical expression that feels completely fulfilling for both of us… What strategies have you found helpful in building a stronger foundation for intimacy and connection?… my biggest challenge lies in my perspective or outlook“-
– your choice of words indicates to me that you intellectualize emotions. It is a defense strategy that creates a distance between you and your emotions. It also creates a distance between you and other people. When you intellectualize your emotions, you suppress them, and suppressed emotions hinder connecting with others on a deep emotional level.
“What strategies have you found helpful in building a stronger foundation for intimacy and connection?”- one excellent strategy would be to stop intellectualizing your emotions.
From psychology today/ how to stop intellectualizing your emotions: “In a world that often values rationality and control, we frequently find ourselves intellectualizing our emotions. This process involves dissecting our feelings, analyzing them, and attempting to manage them with logic. While intellectualizing emotions can be helpful in some situations, it can also lead to a disconnection from our true emotional experiences…
“Intellectualizing emotions is a defense mechanism that serves as a shield against the overwhelming intensity of feelings. It’s the process of suppressing emotions by overthinking, analyzing, or explaining them away… While intellectualizing emotions might seem like a coping mechanism, it often has detrimental effects on mental and emotional well-being. Here are a few reasons why it’s essential to address this habit:
“Emotional Suppression: When you intellectualize your emotions, you suppress them. This can lead to unresolved emotional issues that fester over time, potentially resulting in more significant problems like anxiety or depression.
“Interpersonal Relationships: Intellectualizing emotions can hinder your ability to connect with others on an emotional level. It might make you appear distant or unapproachable, making it challenging to build meaningful relationships.
“Physical Health: Continuously suppressing emotions can lead to physical health issues such as increased stress, high blood pressure, and weakened immune system functioning…
“One of the most apparent signs of intellectualizing emotions is overthinking… Rationalizing is another sign that you’re intellectualizing your emotions. You might find yourself coming up with logical explanations or excuses for why you’re feeling a certain way, rather than accepting the emotion itself.. Minimizing your emotions involves downplaying their significance…
“Learning to Embrace Your Emotions… Practicing self-compassion is a crucial step in reconnecting with your emotions… Mindfulness techniques can help you become more aware of your emotions as they arise. By staying present and nonjudgmental in the moment, you can observe your feelings without trying to intellectualize or suppress them…
“Intellectualizing your emotions may seem like a way to maintain control, but it often comes at the cost of disconnecting from your true emotional experiences. To lead a healthier and more fulfilling life, it’s essential to recognize the signs of intellectualization and take steps to embrace your emotions authentically. The journey to emotional authenticity is a personal one, and it may require time and effort. But the rewards are profoundâa deeper connection with yourself, healthier relationships, and improved overall well-being.”
From nick wignell/ intellectualized emotions: “When was the last time you said out loud: I feel sad or, Iâm angry? If youâre anything like me, probably not so recentlyâlike, maybe not since you were in elementary school. We adults tend to avoid using plain emotional language to describe how we feel. When asked how weâre doing, it somehow feels strange to simply say I feel sadâas though itâs too childlike and simplistic. Instead, we say much more adult things like: Iâm upset or, Iâm just spread too thin or, Iâm really worried.
“But these more adult words and phrases we use to describe how we feel arenât really emotions at all. And our habit of using them allows us to think weâre communicating how we feel, when in reality weâre doing the exact opposite â hiding how we feel…
“Intellectualizing your emotions is an unconscious verbal habit of rejecting plain emotional vocabulary and substituting a more vague, conceptual, or metaphorical idea to communicate how you feel emotionally… Saying Iâm sad is a little more uncomfortable and raw than saying Iâm upset. And to avoid this emotional vulnerability and discomfort, we intellectualize our emotions to keep them at a distance and decrease their intensity.
“Weâre able to intellectualize our emotions like this through two tricks of language: 1. Umbrella Terms. Umbrella terms are generic words that act as containers for many possible feelings. If you got fired from your job, there are probably a lot of emotions swirling around your head (mad, terrified, disappointed, confused, despondent, etc.). These emotions can feel less overwhelming when we package them up in the linguistic container of upset… Common umbrella terms include stressed/ stressed-out, weird, upset, fine, okay, overwhelmed, off, etc. 2. Metaphors. Spread too thin is a really great metaphor for what happens when we have too much going on in our lives… And while theyâre illustrative and evocative, metaphors can also be shifty and vague, perfect vehicles for pretending like weâre saying something without actually having to say it…
“Now, at this point you might be wondering.. Whatâs so bad about intellectualizing my emotions a bit? Especially if it helps me avoid pain? In small doses, I donât think thereâs anything wrong with it. Your dry cleaning guy doesnât need to know the intimate details of your guilt over that argument with your sister-in-law… A little emotional suppression allows society to function. But when that emotional suppression and hiding becomes a firmly ingrained habit that we canât shut off, it makes us rigid and inflexible. Specifically, when weâre in a habit of not talking to ourselves or others about how we feel in a plain way, it becomes difficult to do so when itâs truly necessary. And this can become problematic in a few waysâŠ
“In my experience, there are three subtle but powerful threats to our emotional health and well-being that come from the habit of intellectualizing our emotions. 1. Lack of Emotional Clarity I see the problem of intellectualizing emotions all the time with my therapy clients who are struggling with some type of mental health issue… 2. Poor Self-Awareness… itâs difficult to change how we feel if we donât really know how we feel in the first place… By avoiding talking specifically about how we feel, we avoid thinking specifically about how we feel. And if we do that long enough, we really donât know how we feel. Like any other skillâfrom speaking French to powerliftingâif you stop practicing, youâll lose competency. And itâs no different with your emotional life.. So before you can work on improving how you feel, you have to establish the habit of describing how you feel in plain, genuine language. No metaphors, no vague generic terms, just plain emotions: sad, mad, scared, ashamed, disappointed, excited, etc.
“3. Isolation and Alienation The last major downside to being stuck in a habit of intellectualizing your emotions is that itâs isolating. One of the primary ways we human beings forge connections with each other is by being vulnerable and sharing intimate aspects of ourselves with others… While uncomfortable, sharing our feelings humanizes us and makes us relatable. Nobody wants to be friends with someone whoâs just fine all the time. We all crave connections with people, not robots…
“How to Stop Intellectualizing Your Emotions Below are a few tips for getting started changing your emotional language away from the intellectualized and general toward the plain and specific. * Awareness… * Prepare Alternatives… Try this: Google ’emotions list,’ print one out, and carry it around with you. Whenever you notice yourself using an intellectualized emotion, pull out your list and find a more appropriate emotional word. Do this enough and those real emotions will get easier to pull up and use on your own.
“* Lean into the discomfort. The biggest reason we avoid using plain emotions to describe how we feel is that weâre afraid that it will be too uncomfortableâeither to us or someone else. We worry that if we acknowledge our sadness, weâll sink back into depression; or that if we communicate our anger, weâll make our spouse feel guilty. In other words, we intellectualize our emotions because weâre afraid of them and their consequences. But while emotions can be uncomfortable, theyâre not dangerousâno one ever died from guilt or became depressed because of sadness (in fact, thereâs pretty good evidence that itâs the avoidance of sadness that leads to depression). In any case, to get over our fear of our own emotions, we need to start being willing to experience them and build up resilience. Start small: Instead of telling your spouse youâre just tired, explain that Iâm a little frustrated that youâŠ
“Wrapping Up Expressing how we feel in plain, clear language can be surprisingly scary and uncomfortable. And in order to avoid this discomfort, we all tend to intellectualize our emotionsâto take a genuine emotional feeling like sad or scared, and verbally wrap it up in a less intense idea like upset or stressed. While this is a natural and even useful tool at times, it can come with serious downsides if it becomes a mindless habit and our standard operating procedure including staying stuck in mental health struggles, having trouble with personal development goals, and getting caught in cycles of isolation and loneliness. But in small ways we can begin to change our emotional language by consciously choosing to use real emotion words to describe how we feel.”
Back to your words, HenryAnhNg: “the emotions surrounding these past relationships can still be intense.. I havenât been able to communicate this openly with her“- you can, if you would like to, communicate openly here, in your thread, by doing this exercise: translate your Intellectualized Emotions Writing (IEW, if you will), into Real Emotions Writing (REW). For example, taken from the 2nd paragraph of your original post (I am not you, of course, therefore the translation is my own, offered as an example of what it could be for you, but not necessarily so):
“My first hurdle involves overcoming past relationship experiences. Two broken engagements have left me with residual doubts about my ability to fully commit and trust in marriage“- I feel sad and scared because two of my previous relationships ended badly for me.
anita
anita
ParticipantContinued:
A few months ago, a younger woman irl said something negative that contradicted something positive she said before, going back on her word to me. I was disappointed and felt hurt me because I trusted what she said earlier, and felt stupid for having trusted what she said earlier. But I didn’t say anything to her, didn’t even consider the possibility of bringing it up to her, didn’t even cross my mind.
I carried the anger, partly told someone else about it, someone who said something to her, hurting her feelings, and otherwise, my anger at her expressed itself indirectly, unclearly, and she said the other day that I hurt her feelings. I apologized.
I realized today, that I need to gently but clearly, properly and directly confront people when they go back on their word to me, when they say or do something wrong, soon after it happens, instead of carrying the anger (which will express itself somehow!).
When my mother vented to me her anger at others but prohibited me to say anything to them, demanding that I act nice to them, I was enraged but had to hold the rage in. It was a torture. I never learned to confront, to ask questions, to bring what angered me to the person who angered me. I need to do it now and forward.
To be continued.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Arie1276:
On March 27, 2022, you shared that long ago, at a bar, a guy who Amy (your brother’s wife’s sister) was interested in dating flirted with you while she was getting drinks, she saw him touching your hair, and accused you of flirting with him. Fast forward, Friday night, March 19, 2022, you met Amy, her date, her sister, and a couple other people at the winery to watch a local band. Sunday morning, March 21, 2022, Amy texted you to never talk to her again, used a profanity against you, and falsely accusing you of meeting her date after the time at the winery. You defended yourself, telling her it wasn’t true, tried to convince her that it wasn’t true, but she didn’t believe you, and blocked you on everything. On that same Sunday, your brother called you, accused you of the same, and used profanities against you. You wrote at the time: “A real friend would have approached it differently. She is no longer my friend over something that was handled like an immature high school girl“.
More than 2 years later, yesterday, May 21, 2024, you shared again about Amy’s text that Sunday after the Winery gathering, calling you, “a slut and a boyfriend stealer”, and no matter what you said to defend yourself from her false accusations, she kept accusing you. Both your brother and his wife (Amy’s sister) believed Amy and not you. You blocked the 3 of them from your phone and social media for 3-4 months. Following that, you all reconciled and starting hanging out again.
“Then I was gonna play match maker and set up a date with a male friend and Amy. Well, my male friend confessed he liked me and wanted to date me. I said no. I told Amy this“- knowing that Amy has been jealous of you for a long time, that she believes that men prefer you over her, why- after telling Amy that you wanted to set her up with your male friend – did you tell her that your male friend likes you and wants to date you?
After you told her, she said negative things about you, and your brother and his wife, once again, believed Amy. You haven’t spoken to your brother and his wife since, and you and Amy haven’t spoken in a few weeks.
“I guess I just need some advice on how to deal with this type of situation or if anyone out there has been through this. What upsets me more is that my own brother turned his back on me and basically is sticking up for his sister n law!!!!!!“- if it is possible for you to get everyone (your brother, his wife, Amy and you) to attend family counseling/ therapy together, that would be best. In the counseling session, hopefully everyone will get to express themselves without profanities, for the purpose of conflict resolution. You will express how you feel being falsely accused, being called names, and the others will get to express themselves.
Conflicts and misunderstandings resolved, closeness between you all can be restored, I hope!
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Kshitij:
I just came across an interesting way of presenting PTSD and Intrusive Thoughts/ OCD from self compassion. org:
Stress Response: Fight: Self-Criticism (Arousal)
Stress Response: Flight: self-isolation (Avoidance)
Stress Response: Freeze: Self Absorption (Intrusions)
The document indicates that Self Compassion is necessary so to calm down Stress Responses, and that self-compassion is not self-pity or self-centeredness.
It starts: “Most of us treat ourselves rather unkindly when bad things happen to us. Rather than offering ourselves the same sympathy and support we would give to a loved one, we tend to criticize ourselves (âWhatâs the matter with you!â), we hide from others or ourselves in shame (âIâm worthlessâ), and we get stuck in our heads trying to make sense of what happened to us… And no matter how much we wish to get out of our heads and get on with our lives, we find ourselves locked in a struggle with intrusive memories, nightmares, and flashbacks.
“Such reactions make our suffering persist and even amplify it, but theyâre not our fault. Theyâre how weâre wired… When we feel threatened by external danger, our survival often depends on our capacity to fight, flee, or freeze. But when weâre threatened internally by intense emotions such as dread or shame, the fightâflightâfreeze response turns into an unholy trinity of self-criticism, self-isolation, and self-absorption. Fortunately, we also have a hardwired capacity to respond to our own suffering in a soothing, healing wayâself-compassion”.
anita
May 22, 2024 at 10:19 am in reply to: growing up – becoming adul / procrastination – in connection to childhood trauma #433010anita
ParticipantDear Robi:
You are very welcome. Thank you for taking the time from the middle of your English class to send me this note. You’ve often expressed appreciation for my time and efforts, sending a positive sentiment my way: it shows me that you are an empathetic person.
anita
May 22, 2024 at 9:41 am in reply to: Past Hurts & Present Concerns: Advice Needed for a Stronger Bond #433009anita
ParticipantDear Henryanhng:
Welcome and thank you for your appreciation of the forums!
“Two broken engagements have left me with residual doubts about my ability to fully commit and trust in marriage… sometimes the emotions surrounding these past relationships can still be intense. These emotions can occasionally trigger false hope about reconnecting with an ex, which ultimately leads to feelings of guilt towards my current girlfriend… My personal preferences in this area (physical expression) donât seem to align with her, and this has unfortunately led to a decrease in my overall desire for intimacy, causing me worry and concern“-
– As I understand it, your bond with your current girlfriend is not strong enough (the title of your thread: “Concerns.. for a Stronger Bond“), partly because she does not adequately communicate openly with you (“I believe in open communication. Thatâs why Iâm reaching out for advice“, reaching out here, in the forums, not reaching out to her, not at this point, at least), and there is a certain sexual incompatibility between the two of you, resulting in your reduced physical- sexual attraction to her.
You are also dealing with lingering distrust following two broken engagements, as well as a lingering emotional attachment/ longing to one or both of your ex fiancées, which causes you to feel guilty in regard to your girlfriend.
“Iâm reaching out for advice. Has anyone else faced similar challenges? What strategies have you found helpful in building a stronger foundation for intimacy and connection?“-
– I have faced great challenges in trusting people, and still do (to a lesser, or lessening extent). Distrust and Intimacy and Connection are antithetical, they don’t go together.
Trust is necessary for a strong bond.
The question, as I see it, is: is your distrust in your girlfriend a function of who she really is, or is it a function of your past inaccurately projected into her?
In other words: did you do your best to openly communicate with her, over time, in an inviting way (a sensitive, gentle way), and she did not reciprocate, or became defensive or offensive as a result?
Or did she share with you that, let’s say, that she’s shy and it is very difficult for her to ask for what she wants, or maybe even to know what she wants?
“Helpful in building a stronger foundation for intimacy and connection” is the feeling of safety in each other’s company (no aggression, direct or indirect), really listening to each other (putting oneself in the other’s shoes, so to speak), being patient with each other, validating each other’s feelings, being accepting vs critical.
About your guilt regarding your feeling, at times, of hope about reconnecting with an ex: we don’t choose how we feel. No choice= No Personal Responsibility= No Valid Guilt. We are responsible for what we say (or type), and what we do.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Meatball:
On May 4 (Saturday), you wrote: “Thursday again while at work she texted saying that she ‘‘is all in and wants to do the work’… Sheâs been texting / calling the entire weekend and wants to make things work. I just donât know what to do.”-
– since then, you decided on what to do, and that was (1) to take her word, that she is all in, and wants to do the work, that she wants to make things work, which she texted you May 2, twenty days ago, and throughout the following weekend, less than 3 weeks ago, (2) to let her and her daughter stay in your house rent/ expense free and (3) to attend couple therapy with her, and have her attend individual therapy, all financed by you, if I understand correctly.
This is very generous of you and it is a very loving thing to do. She needs to appreciate your love and efforts at least as much as I do (a person who never met you in-person), and this means that she needs to keep her word to you, and keep doing the work required.
May 22: “(The therapist) basically told her that ‘IF’ sheâs willing to do the work it will take years of therapy to help her. Iâm cautiously optimistic!“- I support your optimism and caution, and I ask you to take good care of yourself first, on a regular basis, every day, because your mental health matters no less than hers, and if you don’t take care of your own mental health, you will not be able to help her on the long-term.
I am adding quotes from a few online sources that are very interesting to me, a complex trauma survivor myself. Reading, copying and pasting the following is helpful to me, and I figure it may help you as well. It may help you with a better understanding of what she needs in a relationship with a therapist, and what she needs in a relationship with you (“Safety first… Â a physically and emotionally secure environment… Trustworthiness and transparency… honesty, reliability, and clear communication… providing choices… to restore their sense of control… Â patience, understanding, practical support, and encouragement… listening, validating their feelings, and reassuring them“, see below):
Very well health/ what is trauma: “Trauma can either be physical or emotional. Physical trauma is a serious bodily injury. Emotional trauma is the emotional response to a disturbing event or situation. ..* Acute emotional trauma is the emotional response that happens during and shortly after a single distressing event. * Chronic emotional trauma is a long-term emotional response a person experiences from prolonged or repeated distressing events that span months or years. Additionally, complex emotional trauma is the emotional response associated with multiple different distressing events that may or may not be intertwined
Sandstone care/ types of trauma: “Type 1 trauma refers to an unexpected, single-incident trauma. Also referred to as ‘Big T’ or acute trauma, it is commonly related to Post-traumatic stress disorder. Examples of Type 1 traumatic events can include: * Violent or sexual assault * Life-threatening illness or serious injury * The traumatic loss of a loved one or someone close to you… Type 2 trauma, also known as complex trauma, refers to trauma that may involve childhood experiences or traumatic experiences during early development. Repetitive trauma is also a type 2 trauma where trauma is repeated. Complex trauma often becomes part of a relationship in which a person becomes stuck. This occurs in situations such as child abuse from caregivers. Common examples of type 2 traumatic events can include: * Childhood abuse * Domestic violence… * Bullying…
Psychology today/ trauma processing, when and when not: “Research has found that telling the trauma story is ineffective in bringing relief from symptom of trauma and sometimes can be harmful (retraumatizing)… A heavy focus on telling the traumatic story reflects outdated notions of what trauma does to people and how to treat it. Traumatic memories are not stored in a way that they can be deeply accessed by verbal interactions based on cognitive or logical processes. Trauma is stored somatically, that is, in the body…Â Traumatic memories reside as frozen experiences within…
“If we begin therapy by focusing on the trauma story itself, the risk is high that we will add to the injury and pain. Early work should focus instead on restoring a sense of safety, on helping the survivor to discover and draw on their resources, and on self-regulation. Only after a client has been able to achieve a reduction in the alertness that typically follows trauma and a strengthened awareness of resources for coping with stress should we consider strategies that directly deal with the trauma story. Such preparation reduces the odds that reviewing the trauma will cause emotional flooding and retraumatization”.
Positive psychology/ trauma informed therapy: “Trauma-informed care… is based on a number of crucial principles that are essential for successful therapy:… 1. Safety first The primary focus is creating a physically and emotionally secure environment, including maintaining confidentiality and establishing clear boundaries to help survivors regain control and trust. 2. Trustworthiness and transparency Essential in trauma therapy, trust is built through honesty, reliability, and clear communication, forming the bedrock of the therapeutic relationship. 3. Empowerment and choice Addressing the powerlessness often felt by trauma survivors, autonomy involves providing choices, involving them in treatment decisions, and recognizing their strengths to restore their sense of control”.
Hopeful heart counseling/ stages of trauma recovery explained by a therapist: Helping a loved one through trauma recovery involves patience, understanding, practical support, and encouragement to seek professional help when needed. Providing basic needs such as food, shelter, and transport, as well as assisting with finances and childcare, can offer invaluable support during this challenging time. Being emotionally there for your loved one is also crucial; listening, validating their feelings, and reassuring them can significantly impact their healing process. Encouraging them to seek professional help when necessary and offering your unwavering support can make a world of difference in their recovery journey… How can I support a loved one through trauma recovery? Provide practical and emotional support, and encourage professional help when necessary – these are the best ways to support a loved one through trauma recovery”.
anita
anita
ParticipantContinued:
She did something every day and she did it massively, so much that it often affects me negatively in real-life, presently. I am aware of it these days more than ever before, I notice when it happens, and I want to resolve this issue. I never adequately addressed it, and I never resolved it. It is unpleasant for me to bring it up and to elaborate on it. But here it is nonetheless:
As the Paranoid Personality Disordered person that she has been all my life, she kept spewing out massive amounts of negative talk about every person in real-life: neighbors, “friends”, family members, strangers, everyone. Every person got his or her turn to sink into her verbal sewage of condemnation and vilification. Her accusatory theme was that they.. EVERYONE was using her, taking advantage of her, and those everyone were fortunate people with fortunate easy lives taking advantage of an unfortunate woman with a very difficult life.
She used to invite those people to her home, feed them, treat them like royalty, or see them at events like weddings and holidays give them expensive gifts, and then complain to me, at great lengths, how they took advantage of her by eating the food she worked so hard to buy and prepare, how they accepted her expensive gifts and didn’t reciprocate, something like that. I used to FUME about it, to see my poor mother, my most unfortunate, hard working mother being taken advantage of by the fortunate people.
I tried my best to talk to her, to tell her to not feed those bad people, to not give them expensive gifts, but she refused to listen. And when I told her that I will tell them myself, so to stop this injustice, she forbade me from doing so, threatening to murder me if I do.
And so, I was forced to silently observe her feeding and gifting and being super, super nice to the fortunate, selfish people who ruthlessly took advantage of my poor mother; my heart was beating fast in anger, but I kept the anger in, unable, unallowed to say or do anything about it.
She viewed people negatively, suspiciously, with condemnation, presenting everyone as Selfish, Bad, Corrupt.
I didn’t have the opportunity to view any person as Good, or even Neutrally, they were all covered with Bad, and a lot of Bad, with details and stories, gossip that she told me directly, and gossip I heard her telling others. It included details of neighbors’ and cousins’ sexual practices, things I couldn’t unhear once I heard them.
So, I’d see a neighbor, a cousin.. and I’d know those sexual things they did, images in my mind.
I’d see a person smiling at me, and I’d think: I know how bad you are, how selfishly you are taking advantage of my poor mother!
Everyone I met, as a child, was covered with Bad, placed there by my mother.
Fast forward, in real-life, I see people covered with dirt every day (figuratively), people taking advantage, unfair advantage, bad people using the less fortunate (when it isn’t so, when people are imperfect, but not bad!), and I get very angry; and I remain quiet, just as I did back then.
Basically, what happens is I see a person having a selfish moment, a dishonest moment, and I emotionally over-react, as in: this person is the kind that destroyed my mother, took advantage of her, bad, bad person. I don’t view the person with moderation. After all, I am not perfect myself, I have my selfish moments.
I want to see people as they are, without the layer of dirt/ badness so easily attached to them.
To be continued.
anita
anita
ParticipantDear Arie1276:
I am very pleased to read from you again! We first communicated in your first thread on Feb 16, 2022. That was.. less than 2 months before you met your current husband for the first time (April 1, 2022). After not posting for about 2.5 months, you submitted a post for me on March 21, 2023 and on June 4, 2023, telling me that you are doing well, that you were married for 10 months at that point, and that you went on a nice vacation with your husband 2 weeks before, that it was like a 2nd honeymoon.
I wasn’t able to reply to your 3/21 and 6/4 posts because I deleted my account sometime in Feb 2023. Soon after I returned to the forums, under a different account, I submitted a post for you in your previous thread, on Sept 15, 2023 (“Dear Arie1276: I hope that you are still doing well, over three months since your last post above. I donât know if you are still following the activity on your thread, so if you are reading this and would like to talk further, please let me know”).
Again, good to read from you again!
And now to this thread and your original post:
“The following morning, I received a nasty text from her. She proceeded to tell me I was a slut and a boyfriend stealer…“- yes, I remember, you shared about this before, and I remember that it greatly distressed you.
“We did end up reconciling and started hanging out again.  Then I was gonna play match maker and set up a date with a male friend and Amy. Well my male friend confessed he liked me and wanted to date me. I said no. I told Amy this“- oh, oh. I wish you didn’t tell her that, it’d only cement her jealousy!
“and again she accused me and told me she didnât trust me and I steal everyone… She would also not speak to me or any of my family members during family gatherings. Instead she would cling to her bf like someone is going to steal him from her. Which is sad! Real friends donât act this way“- I would completely give up on the idea of being friends with her, and no longer hang out with her outside family gatherings to which you are both invited as family. And I would keep a polite, light and minimal exchange with her during the family gatherings; nothing more, nothing less.
anita
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