Can't access support?! | Switching ED for SH urges! | Emailing my therapist | Coping with Abortion
Added 2017-11-10 23:29:06 +0000 UTC
Hi Kati, my question for this month is what do you do when you can’t access the support that you need? I recently had somewhat of a horror week (a relative died, I was made redundant at work, found I was unable to move out of an unhealthy household and received some bad health diagnosis) and then had my therapist cancel last minute. She explained that she had a sick child at home and it’s the first time she’s ever cancelled. I understand that these things happen but it still left me really struggling to cope with all that life was pilling on me and started spiraling. My therapist also only works one day a week so it was another two weeks before I was able to see her. If this were to happen again what can I do to take care of myself and cope for another week or two until I can get that support? Thanks!!
Hi. I was wondering if it is common to feel the urge to use other methods of self harm after you finally get to a point where you are no longer using ed behaviors like bingeing and purging to cope. I finally get to a point where I have taken my ed behaviors off the table because something finally clicked and I realized they only make things worse. Since then I find myself having dreams and thoughts about things like cutting and scratching. I have never done these things before and don't think I would but the thoughts freak me out.
I have found that it is helpful for me to write down my thoughts after a therapy session and email them to my therapist before our next session. For me it is just easier to write something than to say it. So usually I write down stuff that I would never say otherwise. At some point will I just have to be able to say some of this stuff, or is it just as beneficial to write it? I’ve just been wondering. I feel like it is helping, but I always wonder if I some point I will need to bring these things up in person, rather than having my therapist read my email and bring it up? A little note on the agreement with my therapist. She knows I will email before our next session, and she will just respond with she got it, but nothing else. We only talk about it in session. At first, she was a little leery about the idea, but it is something I had done with a previous therapist, and it seemed to help me from getting stuck. I felt like we could just go a little deeper in session. In an email I feel like I don’t filter like I do when I am talking with another person.
The past year and a half, I've been through two abortions. The first one was with a guy I'd known for a while, and we sort of decided together. The second one was with someone I'd only met once, and when I told him I considered keeping it, he threatened with committing suicide if I didn't have an abortion. I've struggled a lot after, mostly with the last one, but with the first one as well, and I find it very hard to be around pregnant people or little children. All I can think about is getting pregnant again, even though I know it's not an ideal time or situation for it, considering I've been depressed for many years, I don't have any job or education, and I've just started treatment for BPD. My closest friends know about both of the abortions, my mom knows about one of them, but most of my family don't know about it at all. I don't live with my family, but I will probably be spending Christmas with them, including my step brother and his very pregnant girlfriend. I have several other friends and family members who are pregnant right now, and I just don't know how to be happy for them, or how I'm gonna deal with that this Christmas. I'm considering going away for the holidays, even though I know that would make my family really sad. Don't really know what my question here is to be honest, I was just wondering if you have any tips on how to deal with it all. I have a therapist, and I've been talking to a foundation who give advice before and after abortions, but I just don't feel like anyone gets it at all. I wish I could talk to someone who's been in the same situation, but it's a topic no one really talks about. And even if I did talk to someone else who's been through one or multiple abortions, their experiences could be completely different from mine. I'm from Norway, so you probably wouldn't know any resources here either.