Therapy advice please
#343581 - 03/23/09 11:06 PM
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butterbean
Reged: 01/25/09
Posts: 237
Loc: California
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I need to start therapy sessions again. I tried before but when I left the session talking about all of my issues left me stressed out, depressed, sick to my stomach, ibs was full force, severe pain in my tummy, and loss of appetite for 2 days. Anyone have any experience and/or advice of how I can get through the therapy sessions without having my body flip out on me? I have things that go way back to when I was 10 yrs old and I am now 43 :-(
TIA
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IBS-D, GAD (general anxiety disorder), Major Recurrent Depression, GERD (gastric reflux disease), Hiatal Hernia, PTSD
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If I didn't have these boards, I don't know if I could handle therapy one on one! It helps here that everybody's going through the same thing.
Have you tried another group online? You might find some comfort there. {{{HUGS}}}
~nelly~
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only groups i can find for issues like anxiety, depression, along with ibs are email groups and you get like hundreds of emails a day and I can't handle that. I would get way to overwhelmed with it.
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IBS-D, GAD (general anxiety disorder), Major Recurrent Depression, GERD (gastric reflux disease), Hiatal Hernia, PTSD
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Hey butterbean,are the issues you need to deal with in the past?or are your issues things you are dealing with now?
Are you on any meds for anxiety?If not asking your doc for a low dose might help you make it through without feeling too anxious about it.
We all have things in the past we would rather not talk about ,some worse than others, just remember that is the past and it can't hurt you anymore.Today is a new day and you do not need to let the actions of other people determine how you will live you life.
You may also need to go through a few counselors before you find one you feel comfortable talking to.Maybe even a really good friend could help ease some of the fear and anxiety.
Good luck to you I hope you get the help you are searching for.
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IBS-D since 1999...mostly stable..i do cheat too.Bad me.
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Hey, Sweetie -
Dragonfly is absolutely right, but, if you feel you need therapy or it has been recommended then:
I've been where you are - I hope that's comforting, it always is for me to know I'm not alone! Just call me "Chicken Litle" 
As I've said on other posts, I worked in mental health for many years and now work in the guidance department of an alternative school, so you would think I would have no issues>>>>>NOT!
At age 50, after many trumatic events in a short period of time on top of many childhood issues and some abuse, I ended up in therapy. Some issues I dealt with, some I still cannot and some I do not remember. I had a wonderful Christian Clinical Psychologist and the best thing he did was reaffirm me or validate me - that I wasn't "crazy" and everything I was going through mentally and physically was real - not psychosomatic or "in my head". He said he felt there was more I had hidden deep inside, but, there's much from my childhood I do not remember. Anyway - sorry so long-winded, he helped a lot and tried EFT therapy too inasmuch as I was diagnosed with both GAD and PTSD. It helped, but I think I just got tired of going and unfortunately, I am always looking for a "quick fix".
So, be careful in choosing who you see.
But, I did find a message board, similar to this on line and found it helpful at first, but then it got to where the more I read, the worse I felt and actually made me feel like I was going to have a panic attack. I know there is one called "Women to Women" and there is one on "I-Village". But, you can also just google "anxiety - or whatever" and scroll until you find one you like....
Blessings! Dorothy
P.S. I take, and have taken, meds for anxiety/PTSD for years and don't think I could function without them right now - with the IBS and other medical issues added. When I "get down on myself" about taking meds - my dr. reminds me it's a band-aid, and there will be a day I won't need it.
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"I Will Survive! :-)... I shall live and not die and declare the works of The Lord..."
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I am on meds right now for my GAD and Depression so maybe I need to address this to the doctor to see if my dose is not where it needs to be. It is nice to know I am not alone with the way I feel. I appreciate you all so much. It helps me to talk on here and just vent sometimes but I don't want to drag others down that are having problems too if that makes any sense. I have past and present things that I am dealing with.
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IBS-D, GAD (general anxiety disorder), Major Recurrent Depression, GERD (gastric reflux disease), Hiatal Hernia, PTSD
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Some reactions from my own experience: While it could be that the therapist you went to wasn't right for you, didn't help you see that you have the strength in you to get through this. OR It may be that as you faced the different issues that you don't focus on in everyday life, you had a stress based ibs reaction. Its very possible that you have to go through that in order to come out the other side.
You say "the session" did you go to just one? If your issues are going back to childhood (like me too), then I think one session is not going to cut it! If you aren't sure about that therapist try another - maybe go slower, don't get into as much in the first session. There's something to be said for baby-steps.
There's no denying that there is a psychological component to IBS, and delving into difficult issues may at times bring on some of those symptoms. After the first time that you feel better psychologically and physically after a break-through in a session, you'll probably, as I have, come to see those IBS setbacks as worth it AND they will get less and less, as your "issues" become less emotionally charged for you. Good luck and be strong, its not easy I know!!!
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Ladies & gentlemen take my advice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice.
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I'm a big fan of therapy. It saved my life, certainly figuratively and probably literally. If the issues you're dealing with are compromising your quality of life then I believe you will be better off *in the long run* if you sort them out.
Unfortunately the short run can be a bear and "the only way out is through." Don't be afraid to use meds to help out and, yes, you may need to increase or adjust your current meds as you plunge into your past. Think of it like using crutches when you have a broken leg: eventually your leg will heal and you won't need the crutches anymore but for right now you need them to cope.
It is important to have a therapist you feel comfortable with so you may have to shop around. And I think a session every two weeks is plenty. It sounds funny but if you're working and/or have a reasonably busy life you'll probably need at least two weeks to process what happens in each session.
If it's any consolation, I did ages of heavy duty therapy long before I had IBS. After a tough session I would be stressed out, depressed, sick to my stomach, either have trouble sleeping or sleep way too much, and eat everything that didn't eat me first for a couple of days. So it's not just IBSers who suffer after a tough session. Try to be extra kind to your body for the day or two after a session and hang in there. For me the struggle and misery have been worth it a thousand times over.
Take care.
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[Research tells us fourteen out of any ten individuals likes chocolate. - Sandra Boynton]
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