Tuesday 5 January 2016

re. group therapy

Last night, i attended a group therapy session for the first time. I loved it just as much as i thought i would & i will definitely be going back!

I got there early, so had some time to talk to the psychologist & other people who were also attending the session. I felt like i was being awkward because i'm not good with small talk but the people were nice & either said a simple hello or had a bit of a chat with me.

The session started with our topic for the night. I was familiar with some things through having been in one on one therapy in the past but there is always something new to learn when it comes to mental health. I have a handout based on our topic & have remembered some things but i've decided that next time i'll bring a journal to jot things down in.

After topic time we had a break & had time to chat with one another again. This time i was a little more comfortable & even opened up a little bit to one girl about something i was planning to share with the group. This girl (i do recall her name but won't share here) was so lovely & understanding about what i did tell her & we ended up having a casual chat about many things.

After our break, we were up to ''sharing time.'' Some people talked, others didn't, so before i knew it, i was being asked whether i wanted to share or not. Well, before this my heart was already racing & i had become fidgety, so i said something about wanting to but i'm not good with speaking in front of people. I was given a little reassurance, so i started to speak.

Well, all too quickly, my voice started shaking & i suddenly started crying. I felt so silly but i shouldn't have. Everyone in the room treated this moment in a way that made it such an okay thing to be doing. I was allowed a little time to collect myself & i managed (i think) to say everything i wanted to.

As i'm a very empathetic person, i instantly came out of my state as soon as someone else started sharing. With every person that shared after me, i realized that a few others felt like me, which also made me feel more okay about the moment i had.

As so many of us could relate to one another, we all continued to sit together after ''sharing time'' & had a good discussion before ending the session. By this time & actually even before this, i had settled more into things & therefore felt a lot more comfortable.

A lot of us lingered after the session to chat even further but unfortunately i couldn't stay for too long but i'll arrange things a little differently to be able to next time.

So all up, i found this a really good experience. Every single person who was there was so lovely & compassionate & i am proud of myself too. From the small talk to sharing in the group, i achieved a lot of things, that i would never have done if i were still the same person i had been just a few years ago.

So my message to you all is to try something new because you never know where it'll lead until you do.

On that note..
Until next time,
Stay strong & be you.
~Karly xo

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for telling your stories! I just started a blog myself about my dysphagia, and I found yours on the Swallowing Disorders Foundation website. I haven't read many stories of younger people struggling with this problem. It's good to see I'm not the only one :)

    I'm 25 and I've been unable to swallow for the last 1,5 year. Doctors (GPs and an ENT specialist) haven't been very helpful and I'm starting to lose hope. I've been going to a speech therapist who has been a bit meh as well, but I'm exhausting every bit of help I can get.

    I'll be following you ;)

    www.swiffermuis.co.uk

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    1. You're welcome & good on you for starting up a blog about it. I'll have to check it out. Your situation sounds so much like my own. It's certainly a tough one. I find speaking with others who go through a similar thing to be the most helpful for me. Hopefully together we can all get somewhere.

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