Posted by finelinebob on September 1, 2006, at 20:11:06
In reply to Therapy Hurts, posted by daisym on September 1, 2006, at 19:44:23
> Why can't therapy just feel good?
Because you're peeling your "onion" of defense mechanisms and maladaptive behaviors that got you to where you are today. Stripping them away hurts because they've been a part of you for so long. Stripping them away hurts because you may have nothing "healthy" ready to replace them. It hurts because building healthy behaviors are going to go against the grain of everything you have learned to this point in your life. Some would even say it hurts because you have to relive those bad experiences to realize that you made it through them and you're still alive.
It all hurts. But like setting a compound fracture or a dislocated shoulder, it has to hurt before it can get better ... unless you (self-)medicate until you're numb. I'd rather take the pain -- relying on that machotruism that as long as you're feeling pain, you know you're still alive. Plus, acknowledging pain is one thing, rooting out its source is quite another.
poster:finelinebob
thread:682133
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20060826/msgs/682140.html