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NSHN Forum Support & On Topic Forums. Some additional boards are viewable to members only => Survivor Room => Topic started by: Turtle on May 12, 2022, 11:51:54 PM

Title: How do you start talking about 'trauma'...?
Post by: Turtle on May 12, 2022, 11:51:54 PM
Without going off the rails...

There's a new mh practitioner who I've been seeing for a couple of times, and it looks like it's going to become a regular thing. She's already wound me up completely - didn't seem to have any background info about me at all, not even diagnosis, recent treatment. But I'm trying to get past it, because I understand there's still some stuff to work on and I don't want to be living in constant fear of all the things that trigger me.

She's started to talk about 'trauma' (which is never something I'd thought about). Initially she said she'd refer me to trauma psychotherapy, without really explaining what that entailed, but she's now dropped that without explaining why. Instead today she spent the hour telling me that I had to just say xyz things that have happened, that I don't talk about, and that make me feel instant panic if I try to think about them. She seems to think just saying it to someone will magically fix everything - I explained that I can't see that making a difference AND that life gets very chaotic if I try thinking and talking about it. She just insisted that I should talk about it.

I honestly don't know if I'm meant to just say it to her? Or what the plan is? I really don't know how it's supposed to work and want some reassurance that there's a safety net of sorts.

I also never used the word 'trauma' to talk about things in my past, so that's all new and overwhelming (and I don't really trust that judgement)

Sorry if this isn't making sense. I just need to know what it looks like on the other side of this (and how you get there). I can't imagine living without this burden.
Title: Re: How do you start talking about 'trauma'...?
Post by: Vermilion on May 16, 2022, 01:00:30 PM
It might be a good idea to do some work around dealing with emotions safely before going on depth about any trauma. When I first talked to my old CC about it I explained that I was worried about the consequences of going in depth without knowing how to cope because my SH was already 'severe' and 'high risk' and I was really worried about that. We agreed that it was best to do DBT first before moving on to trauma work,  definitely ask about a referral for it.

How you express things that happened is really up to you, including the pace at which you say it. I started off simply saying that 'horrible things' had happened that I need to deal with but that I was concerned about escalating SH (as I explained above). I know what you mean about not using certain words, I also don't like the word 'trauma' and there are a few other words that I won't say and My CC and DBT therapist are fine with it.

Before your next appointment have a think about what you'd like to happen here. Do you want to manage your emotions better before delving too deep? Do you want to have a safety plan in place first? Do you want to do DBT first? Then discuss it with here, a good MH practitioner should listen and help you work through things safely.