Anyone relate?: I started therapy a... - Mental Health Sup...

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Anyone relate?

13 Replies

I started therapy a couple of weeks ago and it's brought everything back up. I've gone straight back to feeling like life's not worth living and self harm. Has this happened to anyone else? Would you say therapy is worth it in the long run even though you initially go through traumatised hell?

13 Replies
Goldfish_ profile image
Goldfish_

Difficult to say. Sometimes it helps to understand why things are as they are, other times raking up old issues can make you worse. You are in the hands of your therapist to discuss this

in reply to Goldfish_

I'm seeing him again tomorrow so I'll ask him then. I'm guessing it must be something he has dealt with before. Hopefully he'll have some tips for me on how to cope better.

in reply to

I had a similar experience in therapy. I started feeling better then one day I went for a session feeling happy and came out in tears as she raked up all the past which I felt I had dealt with. She was a lovely person but her style of therapy didn't suit me so I changed to see a cognitive behavioural therapist and she was fantastic.

Mine is psychotherapy which I really thought would help and maybe it will in the longer term it just feels a bit rubbish a the moment as I've gone back into crisis. However the crisis team have been brilliant at supporting me this week so hopefully things will start to change soon. I'm glad you found a therapist that suited you and was able to help, it does make a difference which therapy they do and whether you like them doesn't it.

spykey profile image
spykeyAmbassador

Hi Sarah

Welcome to the site everyone is friendly, supportive & non- judgemental!

Does your therapist know how you feel? If the therapy is causing you to feel worse than you did before, you Really need to tell your therapist! If they don't know how low you are feeling, then they just assume what they are doing with their therapy is working! Whereas they may need to change their approach or therapy style towards you!

Yes therapy and therapists, often encourage you to talk about the past! As It can help you to look back in your life to find the reason, reasons or acts that happened, to enable you & them to find out what in your life brought you to where you are at the moment & what impact it is having in your life now!

What type of therapy are you having is Counselling, CBT, or any other particular type of therapy?

From what I know & have experienced relating to therapy, the therapist is there to be a listening ear, helping you work out how to deal with those past situations & to explore how they affect your current life! What you are holding on to & whether it is helpful or healthy for you to continue holding on to that part of your past!

The subjects can change each week depending on where you are at! But 5-10 minutes towards the end of the session they let you know that they are gonna bring the session to a close & check that you are feeling ok about that! The conversation then changes & ensures you are able & ready to finish & feeling in a safe place emotionally! Then they bring & draw the session to a close & make your next appointment!

You should not be left in a desperate state, especially not to the point of wanting to self harm!

Does your GP know how you are feeling? It may be worth making an appointment talking to your GP, or even a telephone consultation! It may be that if you are on medication it might need adjusting to help you through this difficult time! He may feel that this isn't the ideal therapy for you, it may be worth booking a double appointment, so that you have time to actually talk to your Dr. instead of feeling rushed in the regular 5-10 mins!

I'm not suggesting a therapy session with your GP! But to give you time to explain where you're at & what you need or what he can do for you to get you through this difficult time! If you feel really down & depressed, out of hours it may be worth ringing the Samaritans!

You are not alone in what your going through, we on the site are here for you! Keep posting!

Take Care of Yourself

Sending You Warm Wishes & thoughts!

spykey 🤗🤗

Hi spykey thanks for your reply. I think theoretically I do need to talk about stuff from the past and come to terms with it for me to move on from it but I just feel very vulnerable at the moment and really anxious about how I'm gig to get through. I think I will ssibly have to change my meds for a bit while I go through it?? It's so hard to admit to though. Everyone thinks teenagers get into self harm and I feel like they might look at me and think why on earth have you started now at your age, you should know better.

My therapist knows a bit but not how bad I feel as it has got worse this week. I will try to tell him.

Thank you for the encouragement 😄

spykey profile image
spykeyAmbassador

Hi Sarah

I'm glad you've got someone supporting you this week especially as things have been so hard & difficult for you! Have you managed to tell crisis about your self-harming? It doesn't matter what age you are, lots of people self harm despite their age, so please don't be judged or feel judged by that! But please do tell those who are currently supporting you such as crisis, So they will help you find a more suitable therapist that will be suitable & be more able to help you with your needs!

Feel free to post any time we are all here for you & will try to support you as we can!

Take Care of Yourself

Sending Warm Wishes 🤗🤗🤗 spykey

Thank you it means a lot to have people understand 😄

spykey profile image
spykeyAmbassador in reply to

You're Very Welcome Sarah! Try go stay safe, Keep in touch & let us know how you are doing or if there is anything we can do to help!

May you be blessed!

🤗🤗🤗🐱🐱🐱 spykey

Gail0801 profile image
Gail0801

Hi I've gone through this a couple of times now and all it did was make me worse and bought up the past. I was pushed from pillar to post and one of it done me any good. I was diagnosed with fybbromyalgia 6 months ago and no tablets worked. I now have been diagnosed with bipolar and are on medications that help immensely and I don't think about the past. Therapy was not for me but it is for some people but it's difficult to say it's different from person to person

in reply to Gail0801

I'm so pleased the meds are working for you, they are going to try adding olmazapine into the mix so we'll see if that helps. I might give therapy a couple more weeks and see how it goes but like you say maybe it's not for everyone.

Bert-75 profile image
Bert-75

it thought it worked a little a couple of years ago it probably did but I couldn't see it now I am as low as before but maybe if you keep at it it will work out and you will understand , please don't hurt yourself

Thank you I'll try not to. I'm getting support from the crisis team so I'm sure I'll stop. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with therapy. I've always believed it was the answer so it's really challenging me that it might not be!

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