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End off the Road!!

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Viewing 15 posts - 151 through 165 (of 233 total)
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  • #385272
    Javier
    Participant

    I’m back at my mother’s house. I’m emotionally drained, lonely and are crying all the time. I’m trying immensely to find a reason to live. At the psych ward, we worked intensely to figure out my anxiety and depression triggers. My therapists claim that my urge of getting kids, the desire, the deep longing stems from my vulnerable inner child. The main reason I long for having kids is to protect them, save them and give them the love and caring I never had. The feeling of not being able to fulfil this urge is the main trigger for my major depression. I’m grieving my childlessness, my inability to heal myself, to be “normal” and to be a loving and caring “family man”. I know this doesn’t make sense, and sounds empty-headed, but I’ve been grieving for my “loss” for decades and the wound will never heal. The older I get, the more painful are the longings. I’m scared of living, scared of the passage of time. I’m fading and my memories are fading. The distance between myself and my “good old days” and positive memories are increasing with every year that goes by. The more time passes, the more self-hate, regrets and anger I feel.  I’ve been “dead” for a really long time, and no medication, no treatment is working. I tried ACT, CBT and DBT, but none of them is working.

    #385273
    Sarah Jeanne Browne
    Participant

    Javier

    Welcome back.

    That book I had you buy addresses all this. Please read!

    Write to your inner child on one side of paper then write what your inner child would say on the other side.

    Try five min a day at least meditating and just letting your thoughts go mindfully.

    I don’t believe you’ve done my other assignments. Please scroll back and do!

    Write a list of positive qualities about yourself. Take note when your inner critic pushes back on these compliments and let me know what happens.

    Try self compassion. Forgive yourself for not being perfect. Practice it as much as you can. It’s a muscle that needs worked out.

    Everythings going to be okay. Your negative self talk is lying to you. Detach from it and observe with no judgment. When you become the observer and not the reactor you start to heal.

    Listen to Even If by Mercy Me the link I already sent you.

    I can’t help you if you don’t follow my advice so I’ll wait on you to follow through.

    Sarah

    #385275
    Javier
    Participant

    Thank You Sarah,

    You are right, I have been neglecting and procrastinating everything. It has been my DNA and M.O, a habit I’m trying to break.

    I will go back and start from scratch, I need to do it, I want to do it.

    Thank you for your patience and love.

    #385314
    Tee
    Participant

    Dear Javier,

    My therapists claim that my urge of getting kids, the desire, the deep longing stems from my vulnerable inner child. The main reason I long for having kids is to protect them, save them and give them the love and caring I never had.

    I believe this to be true. It appears you see your becoming a father as the only way to heal and sort of rewrite your painful childhood. I’ve been trying to tell you that the real way to heal is to heal your inner child – to give him that what you haven’t received in your childhood.

    I’m grieving my childlessness, my inability to heal myself, to be “normal” and to be a loving and caring “family man”. I know this doesn’t make sense, and sounds empty-headed, but I’ve been grieving for my “loss” for decades and the wound will never heal.

    You don’t need to have a child of your own to heal. In fact, if we depend on our children to heal, we won’t do them justice and won’t be good parents. We first need to heal and then we’ll be able to be good parents, who won’t transfer our wounds on to them.

    If you’d heal, you would even have a chance of becoming a parent,  since you’re not an old man. But do it in proper order –  first heal, then seek to have a child whom you can truly and properly love.

     

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Tee.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Tee.
    #385318
    Murtaza
    Participant

    Hello Javier, i read your most recent post, from what im seeing, from this post only, it seems that you have a desire for something > you don’t fulfill it> you get depressed and say whats the point?> you blame yourself,  adding fuel to the fire (im not blaming here, im just stating what i understood)

     

    “My therapists claim that my urge of getting kids, the desire, the deep longing stems from my vulnerable inner child”

     

    Maybe, but i say it doesn’t matter where it came from, the desire won’t change, unless you are curious about the reason, the thing is, all you can know is speculation, if it was from a therapist or yourself, the past, is merely a creation of your mind, you simply can’t capture the full truth, so why bother? I see the efficient way is to work with the current desires, only if you wanna change them, you should dig the reason (if its inside your control, by changing the reason you might be able to change the desire)

     

    “I know this doesn’t make sense”

     

    It make sense, i think i understand.

     

    but I’ve been grieving for my “loss” for decades and the wound will never heal

    So even if you fulfill the desire and do exactly what your “inner child” want?

     

    The older I get, the more painful are the longings. I’m scared of living, scared of the passage of time

    From my observation, it seems that the longer ones lives with unmet desire, the less care the person gets about such desire.

     

    They say that the most feared things is death and the unknown, funny they never mention how scary life can be.

     

    I’m fading and my memories are fading

    I understand, though don’t worry about memories, memories shouldn’t be the main motivation we do things, we should do things because we enjoy them, memories is the extra things, maybe you have them, maybe you don’t, why worry about something so outside of your control?

     

    The distance between myself and my “good old days” and positive memories are increasing with every year that goes by

    The good old days that you remember had bad days in between, one thing about remembering is we make it all sound good, when in reality it was mediocre, we can’t capture the true feeling of the past, thus we create a new version of it, a better one because the present is too painful, and then we get twice as sad, because we had “good days”.

     

    The more time passes, the more self-hate, regrets and anger I feel

    I wish i could help you Javier, words just isn’t enough, i feel even in reality there would be little to offer.

     

    Maybe the thing that causing anger/regret/self hatred, is a thought, a changable thought, something like “its my falut i don’t have what i need” im not saying to dismiss such thought, just think, “is this Objectively true?”, i will give you an example to help you with this thought.

     

    Person X, had childhood+teenage+adult life+genes, they shaped his life, the result of him, the result sadly was not as expected, the result were bad, now person X blames himself for the result, regret the result, make the result personal, as if the result is him, not something happen to him, one thing though, he blames himself also because of those factors, i believe if i change few things in X  life, and he had the same result, he would feel differently, think differently, and maybe not feeling guilt and shame so much.

     

    Its ok to not satisfy your need, its ok to not do anything, its ok to be “dead”, if you can’t fix a problem, maybe you should accept it…

     

     

     

     

    #385336
    Javier
    Participant

    TeaK,

    You are right, and you pointed out the issues with my inner child from the beginning. I’m working with myself daily, as I don’t have more than 20min computer-time a day. Sadly, and my own fault, I’m not functioning well. Due to my liver, I have jaundice and have lost a lot of weight. But, I’m still fighting daily with my brain. Some days, when medicated, I just go numb. When not medicated, my brain goes on overdrive.

    I have been introduced to sensorimotor psychotherapy and somatic therapy(as you suggested earlier). The psychiatrist has recommended a step-by-step approach, as I have a tendency to slip every other day and still have to learn how to get comfortable with negative feelings and emotions. I will be happy even if I can heal 5%, as this situation is unbearable.

    #385339
    Tee
    Participant

    Dear Javier,

    I will be happy even if I can heal 5%, as this situation is unbearable.

    This is a good attitude – aim at just a slight relief of your pain, just one tiny step in the right direction.

    What I notice is two voices inside of you: one would like to heal and give yourself a chance (I will go back and start from scratch, I need to do it, I want to do it. I am working with myself daily), and the other feels defeated and wants to give up (the wound will never heal… no medication, no treatment is working. I tried ACT, CBT and DBT, but none of them is working.)

    I have a tendency to slip every other day

    This is likely caused by this internal battle, where you’re swaying between the voice that wants to try, and the other one that wants to give up and believes that nothing can help you. You say you’ve been exposed to sensorimotor psychotherapy and somatic therapy – how did you like it? Do you feel it might be helpful, over time?

     

    #385341
    Javier
    Participant

    Dear Murtaza,

    I’m really grateful for your in-depth feedback. You are right, I have a tendency to be really hard on myself. I usually give up on challenges quickly, fearing I won’t be successful. My self-talk consists of harsh criticism and generalizations. When situations and things don’t go as planned, I blame myself. I am my own worst enemy.

    You have many valid points. I need to figure out what my subconscious mind is hiding or what it’s trying to tell me. I have many demons and devils in my mind that I have to tame.

    At the moment, everything seems grim and impossible, but I’m trying to keep a positive mindset.

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Javier.
    #385372
    Javier
    Participant

    How do I deal with all the nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety attacks in the mornings? And how do I stop being stuck in my past?

    #385373
    Tee
    Participant

    Dear Javier,

    How do I deal with all the nightmares, flashbacks, and anxiety attacks in the mornings?

    Nightmares and flashbacks are a sign of PTSD, more precisely complex PTSD, which you’ve been suffering from. There is an excellent book: “A Practical Guide to Complex PTSD”, written by Arielle Schwartz. In there you’ll find many self-soothing and self-regulating practices, such as breathing, visualizing, mindfulness, physical exercise, etc. I highly recommend it.

    Also, you said you’ve been introduced to sensorimotor psychotherapy and somatic therapy. How did you like it? Do you have an option to keep doing it?

    #385387
    Javier
    Participant

    Thank you TeaK,

    I will check out “A Practical Guide to Complex PTSD”.

    The sensorimotor psychotherapy was ok, there were too many “new” feelings and experiences I had to touch on, hence it was a bit overwhelming. As I’m still in the safety and stabilization phase, we are still trying to get to know the responses to the trauma and traumatic memories. The psychiatrists have urged me to be patient, as I need to get a deeper awareness of physical symptoms and sensations and how these relate to my traumas and emotional responses. I will carry on with the therapy, as it gives me a small hope and gives me some inner peace.

    I still need to work on getting stuck in my past. Are there any mind activities or books that address that?

    #385388
    Javier
    Participant

    During my last session, my psychiatrist said I was mourning not only the death of my unborn child but also my own. He was surprised that I could hold so much pain and sorrow for so long time. I’ve been mourning my “death” since my father left my mother and rejected me and my brothers. The loss of my unborn child triggered my downfall, and since I just have been “running” away from everything, I just broke down as everything eventually caught up to me.

    Acceptance is the first step, and forgiveness the next. There is no quick fix, so I would try everything to heal myself.

     

     

    #385394
    Tee
    Participant

    Dear Javier,

    I am glad that sensorimotor therapy gave you a small hope and a sense of inner peace, even though it was a little overwhelming at first. But your therapists seem to know what they are doing:

    The psychiatrists have urged me to be patient, as I need to get a deeper awareness of physical symptoms and sensations and how these relate to my traumas and emotional response.

    Acceptance is the first step, and forgiveness the next. There is no quick fix, so I would try everything to heal myself.

    This is also very true: self-acceptance is the first precondition for healing. It was Carl Rogers who said: “The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” So you’re completely right. And self-forgiveness is the next step. I am really glad you’re giving yourself a chance and doing all you can to heal.

    I still need to work on getting stuck in my past. Are there any mind activities or books that address that?

    One tool is to focus your awareness on the present moment: on your breath and your five senses (there is an exercise to name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste). The goal is to pay attention to the here and  now, while you are repeating to yourself that right now, you are safe. This helps you not to slip so easily into the old trauma. There are many such exercises in the book I mentioned (by Arielle Schwartz) and the accompanying workbook, by the same author.

    During my last session, my psychiatrist said I was mourning not only the death of my unborn child but also my own. He was surprised that I could hold so much pain and sorrow for so long time. I’ve been mourning my “death” since my father left my mother and rejected me and my brothers.

    That’s interesting. It could be that you were mourning your “death” because your mother was mourning her own “death” after your father abandoned her. Although he was a bully and abused you all, I got the impression that she, due to her own weaknesses, felt lost and devastated when he left. And I can only assume that she transferred this feeling to you. She collapsed and couldn’t properly take care of you, and you collapsed too. That’s why recently when she broke down and started crying, you too were crying uncontrollably with her. You were still that child who felt completely abandoned and helpless, because his mother felt abandoned and helpless too.

    He was surprised that I could hold so much pain and sorrow for so long time.

    Because it’s probably not just your own pain and sorrow, but your mother’s too. On top of that, you’re blaming yourself for your mother’s misery, when it wasn’t your fault at all.

     

    #385572
    Javier
    Participant

    I’m just wondering. Is having kids the ultimate goal of life? Will they fulfil my needs and emptiness?

     

    #385583
    Tee
    Participant

    Dear Javier,

    Is having kids the ultimate goal of life? Will they fulfil my needs and emptiness?

    No, I don’t think it’s the ultimate goal of life. I myself don’t have children, due to various circumstances, but mostly because for a long time I didn’t feel ready to be a mother (because my upbringing left me incapacitated and with very low self-esteem and no self-love). Due to all that, I didn’t have a desire to have a child, and I still don’t. But I don’t feel less worthy because of that, or that my life doesn’t have a meaning. In any case, I don’t believe having children is the ultimate goal of life, although for many people it’s incredibly rewarding and gives meaning and purpose to their lives. It’s very individual.

    What’s for sure is that children cannot fulfill our needs – it is the parents who need to fulfill the children’s needs, not vice versa. If you feel empty, you won’t have anything to give to your children either. If you feel depressed, your children will be depressed too. They may spend their whole lives trying to cheer you up and then feel bad about themselves for never succeeding. And so on.

    If you have children to feel better about yourself, it’s a lost case from the start and will also have a bad effect on your children. If we use children for our own unmet needs, we will see them as functions, instead of unique individuals that they really are.

     

Viewing 15 posts - 151 through 165 (of 233 total)

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