It was nice to hear from you AG, although I am sorry to know that you are having a hard time too. I certainly get that hard to focus feeling. I wonder if there is something in the air. I don’t think you’re whiney, you’re just reaching out and that is ok. Keep us posted, especially on how your session goes tomorrow. JM (Holding safety net at bottom of cliff)Read More...

Sounds like fun Samy. It's been a while since I've really let go and enjoyed myself to that degree.Read More...

Hi Shrinklady, All of this makes so much sense. Sometimes just getting a sense through someone else makes me realize that I am ok. But I also tend to be an information junkie. I like to hear that I’m ok or that I will be ok, but I thrive on the information that proves that this is all normal, or explains why this is going on. This is so much of what I needed though I would not have been able to articulate that before. Everything that you stated sounds just like what I am going through.Read More...

Hi River, EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing which is stated to maximize treatment effects of other structured protocols of therapy. This technique was pioneered and developed by Dr. Francine Shapiro, possibly 12-14 years ago now. All though it is named Eye Movement Desensitization I do not use the eye movement method, I prefer the use of bilateral audio and/or hand tactile stimulation, which allow for the same processing to take place. This is done in sequences...Read More...

Samy, That is SO awesome, you should be really proud of yourself. And staying close to someone you're mad at sounds like REALLY hard work to me. And you're learning to express your emotions better without acting out by swearing or hitting. And please don't feel like crying is anything to be ashamed about, I actually think my T should charge me extra based on all the tissues I go through in his office! I love that your T sounds like she really understands what its like for you, keep up the...Read More...

Thank you so much for all your replies and welcome. I spoke last night to a friend of mine who has kids the same age and told her about the incident with my daughter not about how my therapist reacted. My daughter (she's 8)told me when she looks in the mirror everything about her is wrong then I tried to convince her 1st she was beautiful and then people don't like you based just on your looks. My friend said that's tough but I'm sure you know everyone feels that way sometimes and all you...Read More...

Hi AG! I hope that you hear from your T today. If not do you think you will call him? I hear your frustration on the whole email thing and 'just how hard can it be to go to your inbox, see an email from a client and respond to it?' And OH those feelings that they are conjouring up the amunition to strike us downn on our next session and tell us that the've had it and they are done with us. -Will those feeling ever go away? I've heard this saying somewhere, I can't remember where but it goes...Read More...

Everything will be ok in the end. If it's not ok, it's not the end. -Anonymous this is a super quote! Can i scrap it? (that's lingo for 'make a scrapbook page with it') RobinRead More...

Hi AG, You don’t have to accept those words at all. Please don’t feel that if I didn’t nail it that there is anything wrong with confronting that fact. That is yours to accept or not accept, and I realized I was taking a risk when I posted “my own” observations. But I trusted it was ok, and you would let me know if it wasn’t. At least I think I can state with confidence that I am spinning in the similar place with my own grief of never having my emotional needs met either. My safety and well...Read More...

"But in the beginning we had to talk about some of the painful stuff that had happened between us, especially our part of buying into the family myths about each other." Funny, but I did the exact opposite! I still have not talked to my sister about why I stopped talking to her for 2 1/2 years and that was 5 yrs ago! I am relieved that she never asked. I guess since she wasn't doing anything different to help herself understand and accept all the things that went wrong between us I figured...Read More...

JM - I took your comment about getting everything more as an emphasis on your feeling of being able to understand because you have had similar experiences. I never thought you had assumed that you completely understood my experience exactly. Without the benefit of voice intonation and body language I think we have to take a few liberties when writing back and forth to convey certain intensities of feeling. Well, at least I do since writing has never been my forte.Read More...

LOL! No surprise there! Glad to see you don't mind a little slapstick humor. I find humor helps me release like nothing else. (oh-oh, I can hear it now, "Did someone say SLAPstick?"- who's gonna go there?)Read More...

That is so awesome JM, and just what you needed to hear. That Ts a keeper! I'm so glad it worked out so well. AGRead More...

Hello Rae; My heart goes out to you at this time of grief and remembrance. I am glad you find some solace in remembering him for what he meant to you and not for his infliction alone. In your memory he will always be your rock. You can always hold on to the good times you had. They are yours to treasure forever! Hang in there! JMRead More...

Robin, I am so stealing that line "a hard nut to crack" I sometimes hesitate to mention how long I've been in therapy because I would hate to have people new to therapy think everyone takes that long! Of course, on the other hand, I probably make a lot of people feel better as in "Wow, at least I'm not as bad as her." Glad to have your company though! Couldn't ask for better! love ya too, AGRead More...

Thanks. Your support means a lot to me. ScottRead More...

It was good to hear from you River. I can empathize w/ the sadness surrounding our little girl-selves. That was a very sad time in my life as well. I was a very scared, lost and lonely little girl. Weeping for them is good, it leads to giving them a voice. I agree that nurturing your daughter can be self-nurturing, so long as that does not consume us to the degree that we fail to recognize our own needs as separate from their needs. It is easy to get sub-consciously wrapped up in trying to...Read More...

Hi Y'all, nope, no vacation, just burning out a bit...trying to learn how to work these autoresponders...man these things are finicky. If you're on my list you'll be getting an email in the next day or two...of course, if I figure it out by then. It's great to see new faces by the way. ShrinkladyRead More...

That sounds like a nice trip. I could certainly use some time away from the hubby and kid.Read More...

thanks for your feedback, AG. yes, the dreams can be disturbing because they're just so bizarre. or they can also just have a really awful feeling attached to them, and i'll wake up with that feeling. my therapist says that dreams are of our own making, but of course not the conscious "us." thanks again!Read More...

Scott, You have my sympathy, we took care of my mother-in-law the last five years of her life (a labor of joy, she was a really wonderful woman) and although we did so happily, having to juggle kids, a job and taking care of an adult can get pretty interesting sometimes. And I'm really impressed because you're going to school on top of it! Sorry to hear Samy is having such a rough time, she's such a great kid. AGRead More...

Antoni, Great question and probably one that would be best answered by someone who does touch therapy. But I would think its alot like therapy. There's a lot you can learn, but the people who are really gifted seem to have something integral to who they are, an extra gift of empathy, that I don't think you can learn. You just have it or you don't. I think someone without it can learn to be a "good" therapist, but for "great" you need to have something in you. Just like some people can rise...Read More...

Antoni, Yes, the US also has its Labor Day holiday today.Read More...

hello = well looks like the transference posts are real good right now!! And it is normal part of therapy when you trust your therapist too i think in one way or another..... good fortuneRead More...

thank you both for your comments. I find it internesting that i talked about feeling depressed but i know i didnt truly have the depression I have had over the past few years. Im glad it helps to understnad me better even thouigh I wonder what that means.. rofl.. it sounds funny to me. not sure why.. haha. anyways, thank you for the feedback!!Read More...