I have
been going to therapy once a week for approximately four months. I had an
emotionally neglectful and abusing mother and an almost absent father. Because
of this I don’t seem to be in touch with my emotions. I also suffer
from depression and anxiety. I have a fantastic therapist and am getting
into some deep and painful childhood memories. My therapist said recently
that I am starting to feel emotions.
Lately
I have been experiencing odd health issues, like dermatitis, twitching muscles
and opportunistic infections which, as my doctor advised, is most probably
due to stress.
Is it
common to experience physiological symptoms when starting to remember painful
memories from the past?
I wouldn’t say that it’s “common,”
but, yes, physiological symptoms can be activated by
unconscious reactions
to psychotherapy.
On the other
hand, physiological symptoms can just as well be resolved by reactions
to psychotherapy. I once had a client who could not drink cold water; the
mere thought of cold water provoked a terrible anxiety in her. During the
course of the treatment, she remembered a time when her abusive mother held
her head under the faucet in the kitchen sink, with the cold water
running—almost drowning her—as a “punishment” for something.
Once that memory was therapeutically examined, she spontaneously became free
of her aversion to drinking cold water.
This all goes
to show how subtly the mind and the body are interconnected. It also points
to the fact that competent psychotherapy can often be more effective than
psychiatric
medication.
Therefore, trust
that your unconscious is revealing itself in this way for a good reason; if
you persevere in the psychotherapeutic work of understanding the meaning of
those physiological symptoms, you can expect that the symptoms will
resolve.
Nevertheless,
stress
management techniques should always be explained as a part of competent
psychotherapy.
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
 |
|
|
If
this website has helped you, then