Tags
Avoidance, Denial, Meh, Permaculture, Repressed memo, Say his name damnit, Service, Therapy, Trauma symptoms, Yoga teacher
So at the end of our last session, you weren’t doing very well, prompts H (my therapist) in our appointment last week.
That’s right. I wasn’t… in a very good place at all…
It begins, accidentally sort of… on purpose sub-consciously… tapitty strike tap tap tap tap… oh but surely you want to hear about the latest with my family, my stressful job, my niece, what else is going on, what I’ve been writing on my blog… tic tac tap tap step ball change…
So how long do you think you can avoid talking about it? H gently questions me as we reach the half-way mark for the session.
Ah, oh… (friggin’ tears, just fuck right off!) I… look I know I need to face up to that stuff but really… I don’t know what to say about it right now. I still can’t say his name out loud. And I know it’s stupid! But it hurts worse than anything else I can think of, for some reason…
[Just thinking about that topic makes me feel like I’m dying. Even when I know I’m not.]
H changes tack. Okay, perhaps it’s not that important to do that right now, or ever… I’m not sure…
Yeah, well me neither.
H tries to pull me in closer; I desperately back away at speed.
We start talking about other things… and in a further attempt to avoid – I mention my annoyance with the length of time all this is taking.
This is the first time H admits that perhaps what I’m going through is somewhat more elongated than normal trauma recovery. The longer the symptoms are around, the harder it can be to shift them. But you can, and you are making progress.
Ah. So if I’d dealt with things properly in the first place…
No, don’t go there. It’s not about fault. It’s where you’re at. That’s all… you did what you could.
[Side note to Self: if I ever come across anyone else who’s been through trauma – insist they go get some help straight up. No matter what. Coz this royally blows…]
Uh huh. Well, I’m so over it.
So instead I mention how the anxiety and panic attacks seem to have increased a lot since this whole repressed memory thing. The rollercoaster of my emotional highs and lows right now (I used to be so even-tempered) is particularly unstable. Now much more so than before.
I even spill a little bit… about my general thoughts on not particularly caring if I was annihilated any time soon. I mean, I’m not really a part of anyone’s life exactly… just kind of an add-on. Y’know. Its all one great big dirty pile of… meh.
And… how I watch and witness these insane feelings and thoughts of negativity, completely neutrally (in regards to myself), insecurities running wild and free. I witness, and I do everything in my power not to dive in, but they’re there, all the same. Non-stop.
It takes very little to kick it all off and then… it’s a hike back to base camp.
Tip tap kick spin tap tap tap…
H writes alot today.
I know its devious. I feel a quiet satisfaction that we’re not talking about the other thing. It’s the first time I’ve consciously avoided talking about anything with H. I’m just not ready. And I hate that.
But somehow, perhaps because I’m letting some of the other less worrying negativity out of the bag… we get around to talking about what I actually want to do with myself.
If I’m not, y’know, gonna end up under a truck any time soon.
The words flow out of my mouth faster than I can think.
I wanna become a yoga teacher and a permaculturist. And I wanna… help under-privileged kids somehow. I want to help them learn more of the world than they might do otherwise, open more possibilities… But, I feel like I’ve got a long way to go before I can get there.
So is H my therapist or my life coach? Suddenly she’s got me focusing on what I’d really like to do. Things that would really make life feel like it was worthwhile. In a word: service.
And I still got away with avoiding the friggin’ subject. For now. Phew!
But it was interesting turn of conversation, all the same…
Round of applause. Bow. Cue curtain.
~Svasti
Svasti,
I’m sorry that this is a difficult time for you. You will talk about it when you are ready…no matter how long it takes. You were not ready then, so you didn’t seek help. Take care of yourself and be kind and gentle.
CC
Things happen when they are meant to happen… even healing. Clinically Clueless is right, be gentle with yourself.
Now I am going to Google ‘permaculture’. 🙂
@CC – its sorta difficult but only really when H is prompting me. Otherwise, for now, I think its all buried very nicely. Although I’ve been wondering about this sore throat thing I’m dealing with. The throat is the point where it all gets stuck for me… and when I do start talking, I feel like I’m choking. I’m really hoping this ‘hump’ can be scaled sometime soon as I don’t like this feeling of sitting on stuff!
@flawedangel – thanks for your kind words. I’m being gentle with myself, but at the same time – what’s the difference between being gentle and being completely and utterly devious in dealing with the things that need to be dealt with?
Permaculture = sustainable gardening/farming practices. All very good for the environment and for the food grown that way 🙂
One thing that I try to remind myself of is that I am where I am cuz I’m supposed to be there, that everything in the universe is as it should be. Everyone’s process of recovery is different so try not to be too hard on yourself cuz it’s taking longer than you think it should. You’ll get there. And remember, just attempting the journey to wholeness is huge, and you should give yourself a big pat on the back for it. Some people never bother to even try.
I hope that you had a very Merry Christmas!
@Jane Doe – I do believe in fate, but I also in free will. The interplay of the two is a bit of a mystery. But essentially I think you can influence how things play out. So, whilst I’m not trying to race through this process, I also don’t want to cause it to drag.
Enough with the paradoxes, eh? 😉
Your point on just attempting this process is a good one. Another part of the dicussion with my therapist was – who’s crazier? Those who are dealing with their stuff and as a result, look like a mess… or those who suppress everything and look like they’ve got it all together?