Posted by daisym on June 2, 2005, at 20:54:23
In reply to Re: Could this be sexual abuse/trauma??, posted by Torey on June 2, 2005, at 18:13:31
The whole idea of therapy is to tell your therapist the truth about what is bothering you. It may take awhile to develop enough trust in this person to let all your feelings out.
I think it is perfectly fine to ask the question, "could this have been traumatic enough to result in my current depression, etc." but I want to caution you (gently) that it may not be as easy as point-to-the-problem, understand it and have that be that. I think it is very normal to want to have a concrete reason to be depressed or to cut. We want to say "X" happened to me so my response is "Y". But there are many, many factors that influence our response to trauma. Most research tells us that how a child is comforted is the most solid indicator of whether a traumatic event turns into PTSD. If a caring adult listens to your fears, comforts you and helps you understand things, it is unlikely for long term effects to take hold. But we are all very different on the scale of sensitivity so what might have been traumatic for you, might not be for someone else.
I just want you to be prepared for the therapist to say, "yes, this could be viewed as traumatic in and of itself, but it is how you are feeling about it NOW that really counts."
Good luck, I hope the appointment goes well.
poster:daisym
thread:506982
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050528/msgs/507112.html