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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 15:01:09
i've been reading here for a year or more. i stumbled on the site looking for info (trying to understand the process?)after starting therapy two years ago. i would have posted sooner but i always had trouble trying to register. therapy has really changed my life for the better. i barely recognize myself anymore, and am so excited about the rest of my life (in the most terrified way possible, of course). i've made so many changes that i get nervous when i think about it. there have been so many times i've wanted to jump into the conversations and couldn't because of the problems i had gaining access. i haven't looked at any of the other boards much and don't know if people tend to stick to just one, or do you post on all? i'm dying to tell you everything about my therapist that i love so much. it's so strange to feel like such a kid when i'm with her and talk about her but to be an adult in life. anyway, all good learning. thanks in advance for letting me in, finally!
--life
Posted by Dinah on April 25, 2004, at 17:37:14
In reply to new poster, posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 15:01:09
What a fabulous positive attitude! I'm glad you were finally able to cross the registration hurdle and look forward to your input wherever you feel like jumping in. I think different people have their favorite boards, but you can post on however many you are interested in posting on. Now, tell us all about your fabulous therapist. :)
Welcome to Babble.
Posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 19:25:45
In reply to Re: new poster » lifeworthliving, posted by Dinah on April 25, 2004, at 17:37:14
>>>>>What a fabulous positive attitude! I'm glad you were finally able to cross the registration hurdle and look forward to your input wherever you feel like jumping in. I think different people have their favorite boards, but you can post on however many you are interested in posting on. Now, tell us all about your fabulous therapist. :)>>>>>
i'm so excited... i got a response! i never thought my attitude particularly positive... that surprised me but i'm glad you said something. it feels so good to feel good!
about my therapist: i see her twice a week. i've been pretty consistant to write after every session, and think i've got quite the log documenting where it is i've come from, etc. my therapist keeps everything i write; i flipped through it once about a year ago. if i didn't have the edvidence in my own writing, i wouldn't believe all that has happened. therapy has been wonderfully miserable, kwim? i continue to be surprised by my behavior in her office... anyone that knows me probably wouldn't recognize me. i lay down on the couch after i wrap myself up in a quilt. i'm not sure where i got the guts to lay down... it isn't like me to submit to that kind of urge. i just knew that i HAD to lay down so bad... my head was too heavy or something. even with her encouragement it took a awhile for me to make it a habit. now i hate it when i have to sit up. about six months ago she asked about holding my hand (wondered if it would help access something?) so she will hold my hand now if i ask. it was hard for a long time to think therapy was "real" because who i was in her office was so contrary to who i thought i was on the outside. does that make sense? hmmmm, what else? i email what i write to her but she doesn't respond unless i have to change an appt or something. she did email me when she went out of town for three weeks last year. her absence was extremely difficult for me and i was very embarrassed to need/want this from her. i'm still trying to fully understand transference. if what we have is transference, it's very positive and what enabled me for more than a year to make good decisions regarding self care. i did buyread the book by d. lott (when dinah recommended it?) and found it helpful. i live in a small town so it isn't unusual for me to see my therapist when i'm out and about. i used to find it very unsettling, like finding out your third grade teacher doesn't live at the school. when i would happen upon her i wouldn't know what to do... turn and run the other way? or run up to her and drool all over her? i'm not so freaked out anymore and am able to stand in line with her at the grocery and mostly act normal (although i don't always feel it). and will even go out of my way to avoid her if i see her ahead and don't feel as capable, or i want to give her some space. (how thoughtful am i?) mostly i wished her sole purpose for living was to support me and that she would move into my basement where she would be safe from harm and accessible to me always. she knows how much i love her and thinks it's ok since it isn't causing me any problems. in fact, i think i started sharing my writing with her because i often thought the writing was more honest/real than i was able to be in her office, and i wanted to be sure that what i thought and felt wasn't crazy. so far, so good! i really can't imagine my life without her in it. i dread termination... i'd be a good forever therapy candidate.
--life
Posted by Aphrodite on April 25, 2004, at 19:33:49
In reply to Re: new poster, posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 19:25:45
Wow! How inspiring. And to wrap yourself in a quilt while baring your soul! That sounds just heavenly and so comforting.
Nice to meet another new poster!
Posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 21:26:40
In reply to Re: new poster » lifeworthliving, posted by Aphrodite on April 25, 2004, at 19:33:49
> Wow! How inspiring. And to wrap yourself in a quilt while baring your soul! That sounds just heavenly and so comforting.
>
> Nice to meet another new poster!
>yes, i love the weight of the quilt and the fact that it hides everything. i've been known to cover my face at times. i thought it hid the wiggling better than it does but she still seems to know when i'm rubbing my feet together (sometimes hard enough to throw sparks!) or wringing my hands. she is the least offensive person i've ever met. i don't get to tell anyone irl about her. this is soooo fun. i really love her, can you tell?
--life
Posted by Kind Girl on April 27, 2004, at 9:40:56
In reply to Re: new poster, posted by lifeworthliving on April 25, 2004, at 21:26:40
Hi and welcome!
Thanks for sharing and I am sorry registering was hard. You asked about posting here or posting there...I tend to just post and read here. When I first discovered forums I was at them all the time...all over the place, and I found myself writing more on the forums and less and less in my journal so I stopped.I do come here and read a lot but don't write as much as I would like. I have acrylic nails and typing is hard (what a lame excuse!!) but it is true!!! But I loved reading about you and your t.
You said that your t gets to see you the way nobody does (something like that) and I agree in my situation too. I told me t. that she doesn't see me in the store (lucky you!!!)...she doesn't see how I chew my food and if that bugs her...she just tells me how great I am when she doesn't really "know" me. She said it is true she doesn't see me in social circles, but that she feels what she sees in session is the "real" me that nobody really else sees. Interesting.
What she sees in session is this helpless, sad, crying, hysterical baby....and I hate that she sees that. She tells me all the time how precious my tears are and how precious I am...your T. sounds wonderful.
Oh yeah, be careful in what you read. I gave a copy of that book (sorry Dr Bob if I am not posting this right!!) to my T. and we both read it. I told her the part about "the approximate relationship" really stuck with me. She didn't like that section and said our relationship was NOT approximate, but "different." She said transference is good...but not to confuse transference with what is really going on and that is our relationship IS real, she IS real, she really DOES care...our love and care for one another is REAL and that is what matters. She told me to be careful in what I read into that and to make sure to check it out with her because all therapists are different. Just a thought.
Welcome again and I am looking forward to reading more from you!
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