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I had a bad session today. For the first time in a month I was anxious and nervous and filled with dread on my way to my appointment. I didn't want to talk about anything from last session or in my email. T of course had two different things he wanted to talk about. I told him I didn't want to but I didn't have anything I wanted to talk about. I'm away next week for a fun family vacation in Orlando Florida which doesn't seem the least bit fun right now.

So right at the start T told me he that he bought a house less than a 5 minute walk from mine. We live in a large city (over 3 million people) and we are unlikely to see each other outside of sessions but it still feels weird. Then I was silent. He talked about what he wanted to talk about and I was quiet, didn't look at him and started to cry. Every so often he would ask me what was going on or what I was feeling but I couldn't answer. There was nothing to put into words. That went on for the last 30 minutes with T saying there is nothing to say but you are feeling a lot. or asking does it feel like I am making you wrong for how you feel or what you are doing? does it feel like I don't understand you? I didn't answer because while those things are true I almost always feel those things and I don't always feel so disconnected. Then he told me he didn't hate the session which just bothered me because he was referring to my email last week where I told him I depend on talking to him and I am worried he hates that. I told him I hated it.

When I got up to leave I told T I wanted to cancel my wednesday night appointment. Then later I left him a message telling him I felt like he didn't notice how upset and disconnected I was and he just kept on talking and then when he did he asked me a few times and sat in silence. It feels like he doesn't care how miserable I was at all. I told him I hate feeling like I don't want to go there and have another miserable appointment before my trip. I hate trying to connect and failing. I thought I was past these kinds of sessions but I'm not. I am so ashamed of needing T so much I don't even want to take a vacation. I wish I could do something different.
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Hi incognito... I'm sorry to hear that you had another difficult and anxious session today and you felt you could not talk to your T. I am wondering if you were unconsciously pushing him away because you have to leave him for your trip to Orlando and you were hurting. I think you are fearful of leaving him and also of missing him and so you needed a reason to shut down and move away from him. If you are angry with him then you won't feel the pain of missing him?

I am taking a guess here and you can ignore this if I'm off base. I do know that a lot of sideways anger comes up for me when T is leaving me for vacation. It's not even easy when I am the one leaving him.

It sounds to me like he really tried to connect with you today and was trying to find some common ground to get you talking to him. He may just have been at a loss and didn't know how to best help you.

I hope you do not cancel your next session and if you go I hope you find someway to connect with him so you can keep him close and take him with you on your trip. I will be taking a trip in the near future and I have asked T to work with me over the next weeks so that it will be a smooth separation and we are working on ways to keep me connected and overcoming the fear and anxiety I am feeling about leaving him.

Maybe you can bring this up next visit?

I just wanted you to know I'm reading and thinking of you.

TN
Sorry for the OFF session COGS. I KNOW when a break is imminent, like vacations - no matter how big or small, or a big change is coming up - I unconsciously do all sorts of things like pushing T away. Might as well push her away, make her hate me, make her leave me - as she is leaving anyway - that is my rationale behind it. I too am wondering whether this was relevant for you.

Don't cancel your appt.
SD
Hey Cogs,

Sorry for the late reply. I think TN and Somedays are both onto something re: the up and coming vacation. Vacations are supposed to be fun but they can also bring a lot of anxiety.

But other people here have talked about how they go through a certain number of connected sessions with their T and then the intimacy gets too much and they revert back to old coping mechanisms and attachment patterns. Could something like that be going on?

I would kill for my T to buy a house within walking distance of my house. You lucky dog. So envious!!!




Liese
thanks for the response SD and Liese.

Today my T emailed me today saying he was leaving my session open if I changed my mind about cancelling it. It makes me feel like he hears my pain like it is a toddler`s tantrum, intense, overwhelming, loud, self-destructive, and completely unimportant. He can even ignore that I hurt so badly I don`t want to see him. His email didn`t address any of the things I said and when I called him after reading it a left a message while I was crying so hard I could barely talk he didn`t even respond.

I`m so angry I made an appointment to see my consult T tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile I`m trying to plan, organize, and pack for a trip I don`t even want to go on. Does this ever get easier
COGS. I still think this is your reaction to the separation. I really do. I remember doing exactly this. It didn't matter what my T said to me - and I remember writing an angry email back and then it all going crazy. When I read it back weeks later - my T was actually being quite supportive, but my head was in a bad place and couldnt see it. it was the separation anxiety.

I remember too havign to pack for aholiday i didnt want to go on. It was torture. I remember crying while packing and it was all about my T.

Hugs to you
SD

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