Samy, I'm glad that you feel like you can be yourself here. And, like JM, I appreciate how open you've all been, I'm learning alot from you. I like you too. AGRead More...

I agree Wynne, all that wishy-washy-feely-fuzzy stuff that we are always trying to just get rid of fascinates the T's to no end. They are like archeologists sometimes and love finding an emotion that has been buried for decades and brushing off the dirt one minute particle at a time. Unfortunately we are the "dig site" so we don't find it quite so interesting or exciting since we've been living with this sh1t for years. Katskill, every time I go to therapy I almost have to convince myself it...Read More...

Glad you liked Robin, its definitely a classic!Read More...

Heh. Many thanks for your welcomes; I look forward to talking to you all.Read More...

AJB, I'm sorry to hear about your loss during the holidays. We lost my very beloved mother-in-law who lived with us last January and are about to have our first holidays without her. Its going to be tough so I can understand why you feel like you really need your T right now. AGRead More...

I really couldn't have done it without you guys. Being able to come here and talk about my feelings is big part of not needing to eat to stuff them down. So thank you so much for being there.Read More...

I loved the graphics! Everything I said just looked smarter next to a pretty picture of shells. And I agree with Just Me, there were a lot of good ideas in there.Read More...

i can't remember where i got it! but i'm a wealth of informatun! haha! samyRead More...

irl 'we' are all mostly called 'mary' ... it always rather surprises me when people don't know that! maryRead More...

River, That is wonderful to hear! JM is right, your T sounds really wonderful. I especially like that she made it clear to you that it was ok to call. (and I do understand how hard it is, I think my T needed to tell me it was ok to call or email about 25 times before I actually did and he still tells me at almost every appt. And I still have a hard time. I'm a slow learner. ) The first crack in the wall is the hardest. You should be proud of yourself for staying in that place of frustration...Read More...

True North- Welcome to the group I'm around and not around... it's great you were able to help your T with the transference issue... i think it's amazing he hasn't really dealt with it before unless he didn't realize it... lol.... or maybe it's something that he blocks out! Who knows! LOL... Anyways welcomeRead More...

Hi Butterfly Warrior, good to see you back. Sorry to hear how it's going for you. Typing restriction? Man, I'd really hate that one. Let us know how the Acceptance and Commitment therapy goes. I've heard about it. I think they use some form of mindfulness. I'm curious to know if you have a nice connection with your therapist...but I will wait until you're feeling better. Take care, ShrinkladyRead 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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

I really wasn't watching the Olympics but my company retreat was this past weekend and there was a REALLY LARGE screen TV in the main lodge and a lot of people were watching the Olympics so I ended up seeing Mark Phelps win his 8th metal. Really awesome especially because I remember Mark Spitz winning his seven medals (yes, I am THAT old! ) Really awesome to see! Its incredible what people can discipline themselves to do. AGRead More...

Yes, I too think it'll be 'mixed' in the future... did y'all know we're going to school to get a diploma in Art Therapy in september?? wooah... RobinRead More...

River, I think that's one of the toughest situations to handle. People who geniuinely love you and care but just don't have the ability to comprehend what's it like for you or understand your struggles. There are some people I can go to with this stuff and some I can't. I am blessed in that I am close with one sister who has also done a lot of work in therapy, so she really gets it. Life is difficult enough to cope with without haveing to deal with such emotionally wrenching issues as we do.Read More...