Physical & Emotional Abuse Support Group
Abuse is a general term for the treatment of someone that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) that is unlawful or wrongful. No one deserves abuse, period. Abuse can be emotional, physical, or sexual.
Hi everyone,
I haven't been around since March-I hope everyone is doing well.
I just wanted to give a little update and I think I'm going to be needing some support from all the wonderful people here, and the feeling of being able to lend support to others so I thought I'd check in.
A lot has happened-I married my long time bf (still forget to use my married name sometimes) and we moved to another state on the other side of the country. Moving was a PITA, but my DH has family here so we have a support system. Once we got here my DH's PTSD got worse and he developed psychotic symptoms and was hospitalized, and my daughter had another psychotic episode and is currently in the hospital. Although I cope fairly well with mental illness in my household (been doing it for years now) when my daughter is acutely psychotic and hostile and aggressive-even though I know that is the illness and not her-its very triggering for me.
Having insurance again I started the arduous journey of finding a therapist who is trained in trauma and abuse who understands my goals and who I connect with and I found someone, so I am very excited. However-I know this is going to be hard digging deep into this stuff again. I know I still have things to deal with-I had acquired a lot of skills in previous therapy but never really got around to healing the trauma. So basically I decided I am pretty sick of just coping and want to work on more healing, and on top of that I can't just go around layering trauma on top of trauma and think I won't reach a critical point in the future-I can't have that-I'm a caregiver for two people I love who need a lot of assistance from time to time.
So, she's talking narrative therapy-I like the idea of it, the constructivist/humanistic approach but I don't know how efficacious it is-but it sounds like a good fit for me anyway. Anyone have any experience with it?
I haven't been around since March-I hope everyone is doing well.
I just wanted to give a little update and I think I'm going to be needing some support from all the wonderful people here, and the feeling of being able to lend support to others so I thought I'd check in.
A lot has happened-I married my long time bf (still forget to use my married name sometimes) and we moved to another state on the other side of the country. Moving was a PITA, but my DH has family here so we have a support system. Once we got here my DH's PTSD got worse and he developed psychotic symptoms and was hospitalized, and my daughter had another psychotic episode and is currently in the hospital. Although I cope fairly well with mental illness in my household (been doing it for years now) when my daughter is acutely psychotic and hostile and aggressive-even though I know that is the illness and not her-its very triggering for me.
Having insurance again I started the arduous journey of finding a therapist who is trained in trauma and abuse who understands my goals and who I connect with and I found someone, so I am very excited. However-I know this is going to be hard digging deep into this stuff again. I know I still have things to deal with-I had acquired a lot of skills in previous therapy but never really got around to healing the trauma. So basically I decided I am pretty sick of just coping and want to work on more healing, and on top of that I can't just go around layering trauma on top of trauma and think I won't reach a critical point in the future-I can't have that-I'm a caregiver for two people I love who need a lot of assistance from time to time.
So, she's talking narrative therapy-I like the idea of it, the constructivist/humanistic approach but I don't know how efficacious it is-but it sounds like a good fit for me anyway. Anyone have any experience with it?
I don't know very much about narrative therapy, and I haven't experienced it to my knowledge. So, I really can't render an opinion about it.
What I will say is that its important to find the therapy modality(s) that helps you.
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "I can't just go around layering trauma on top of trauma..."
If you don't heal the traumas you already have suffered and stored, each subsequent trauma or stress, big or little, will just pile on top of the existing trauma. This often results in PTSD.
No matter what modality you choose, please give it time. You have been through a lot and it takes a lot longer to heal that we realize.
Please keep us posted.
~healing hugs~
PS, yes, it is validating to find out we are not 'crazy' and that there is a name a reason for what we are experiencing.
Sounds like something I'm up for trying! But I have to have a really good baseline for being in control of my body and my stress reactions. I am so glad the therapist doesn't want to re-traumatize me by going too fast in dealing with things I don't have tools to deal with. I re-traumatize myself just fine already every time I'm triggered.
Buradi-it;'s nice to meet you. My DH is home, he wasn't in-patient very long. My daughter is going to be longer. She stopped taking her meds which she does great on. But I saw her tonight and she'd turned a corner. No longer hostile or aggressive, was engaged in the conversation, even if still a little confused. PITA is pain in the "arse" (don't know if you are offended by language).
My daughter is a different story, and with a different diagnosis. Her hallucinations are tied into a delusional system. She has cognitive defects and negative systems which are symptoms my DH doesn't have. He has an easier time reality-checking his hallucinations.
You probably know a lot about it if you had a BF with psychosis. My daughter is schizoaffective. This will make her 7th hospitalization since 16 years old. She does great on her meds, but this is not unusual for someone to feel better and stop taking them. Even with me managing them she was taking the pills and the glass of water down to her room and putting the pills in the water glass. I never knew until she started showing symptoms because she had been med complaint for years.