(TW: Suicide mention, sexual assault details)
I've been extremely depressed this week, to the point of having suicidal thoughts again. Usually, the Sertraline helps calm these thoughts and urges (I'm on the highest dose, so it should be bloody doing something!), but recently, they have managed to break through. I know that there is about a 90% chance I won't actually attempt, but that's because my cat, Billie, is my safety net. He sees me as his mother, and he relies on me all of the time, so I need to be around to take care of him. In that sense, it doesn't matter how much I want to end my life, that option is not available to me.
As well as this, I told my counsellor about what happened at the pharmacy. (You can read about that here , if you want to.)
I told her how the feelings and thoughts, as well as the reactions I had were almost identical to the time I was sexually assaulted at the bus station. It was as if I was having a flashback. I knew that I was in the pharmacy, but I was taken right back to the bus station; having all the alarm-bells-ringing thoughts and feeling like everyone could see what was going on, but no one was doing anything. I felt like I was completely alone and cornered by this strange man. I felt like he could do whatever he wanted to me and I couldn't do anything about it, because I didn't feel strong enough to shout at him etc. All I could do was freeze, or flinch away, and hope the whole thing ended ASAP.
My counsellor wondered whether I could link my reactions etc to the abusive relationship I was in. After some thinking, I said I probably could. The sort of running theme was being connected with a man who felt he had some sort of ownership over my body. The abusive partner was a virgin before he met me, and he basically said that I was obligated to do things for him that he'd never experienced before. As if I was less of a person, and more of an object to fulfil his desires and need to learn about different sexual experiences. When a man treats me in this way, it makes me feel less like a person; as if my identity is either non-existent or doesn't matter to anyone (least of all, him).
I wonder whether my counsellor feels I have PTSD, as I have had traumatic things happen in my life, and the hypervigilance and flashbacks I have are very similar symptoms to what a person with PTSD would have. She asked me to talk more about the hypervigilance and flashbacks too. She seemed interested in learning more about my experiences. In our first session, she did say what I went through sounded like Post Traumatic Stress as well. Whether I pursue the diagnosis or not, I'm just not sure. Unless I can get NHS funded treatment, just having the label doesn't seem that helpful.
We then got onto the topic of identity, and how my mental health and disability blogging and advocacy, had become part of my identity. That isn't a problem in itself, it's just that my online identity, where most of my friends are, only tends to show part of me and my interests. I have occasionally let my friends and followers know about the other interests I have (gaming, cross stitch, singing, keyboard, guitar, flute, metal music, rare nights out, gigs etc) but I don't make them very apparent. I do find myself wondering how well my online friends know me as a whole person. I often see conversations between friends, about their favourite band, film, TV show, game etc and I wonder whether they know mine? I do mention things like Sims 3 (my favourite game), or share posts to do with cute animals or gothic clothing. I told my counsellor that I feel there's a lot to me, just like everyone else, but it's like I've not given myself the opportunity to express other parts of my personality, interests, and hobbies. I worry about losing part of my identity, and I am desperate to grab opportunities to express those parts. Blogging and advocacy are very important to me, but my other interests have their place too. If I spent all my time focusing on the lack of access for disabled people, in many areas of life, and the discrimination faced by people with disabilities, mental health problems etc, I don't think I would ever be happy. Regardless, I still think I don't advocate for my fellow disabled and mentally ill people enough. I want to be stronger, more assertive, more resilient against critical/abusive comments online.
I told my counsellor that I struggled to move forward in life, because of my mental and physical illnesses. I doubt myself, and I struggle to believe in my own abilities and talents. I never say "I play guitar", I say "I play guitar very badly". I still do need to improve my playing a hell of a lot, but I am still able to play, and I shouldn't put a negative spin on things.
I guess that's what Depression and Anxiety particularly do. They make you doubt yourself as a person, as well as the things you do. They enhance your perception of your faults, and minimise your perception of your abilities. It's very hard to fight against all the negative thoughts that tell you that you're failing, or not being good enough.
I'm so fed up of myself and my situation, and I want to do everything in my control to improve.
I asked my counsellor how I could move forward. I told her I was stuck, analysing my problems to a certain degree but not knowing what to do next. I told her what I tended to do in therapy, counselling etc is give the therapist as much information about me as possible, in the hopes they can take that, analyse it, and tell me what steps I need to take to feel better. My counsellor and I agreed that it's not as simple as that. She said that if she did that, and the steps I took didn't work, I'd never be able to trust her again, and the therapeutic relationship would break down.
She told me that therapy/counselling is a process. Throughout the sessions we do what we can to recognise my problems, link them to other things that've happened in my life, make connections, and then hopefully I will go away and think about these things, then come up with ideas for ways I feel ready to move forward. In a nutshell, the counsellor can't give me all the answers and steps to take, all she can do is help me to help myself.
I think these counselling sessions are making me think about the whole process in a different way. I know I'm still searching for answers, but I can't expect the counsellor/therapist/CPN/whoever to find them for me. I need to be patient with myself, and focus on my progress as well as my struggles. I can only be guided.
I'm still not entirely sure how to move forward (apart from joining a choir, or other class relevant to my interests) but I'm gathering information about myself, with the help of my counsellor. I did feel a little better when I came out of my counselling session though. I may not be able to completely control my health, but maybe I can shift my focus or include my interests a bit more, in order to improve my quality of life? I think my counsellor wants me to live in the moment, rather than worrying about the future (whether I'll get married, have children, work again etc) all the time.
My next session is in a couple of weeks, but I will try to write a different post in the meantime, so watch this space!
(I've also set up a Ko-fi page, as I'm needing money for disability based things. One big thing I need is private trauma therapy. If you like my writing and want to read more, please consider donating and I will try to write more often)
Resources
Counselling Session 6: https://www.amysmysteryillness.co.uk/2019/06/judgement-and-entitlement-counselling.html
Symptoms of PTSD: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/symptoms-of-ptsd/#.XQgaQLxKiM8
Amy's Ko-fi page ko-fi.com/amysmysill
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