The doctor I am currently seeing for the PTSD is only my temporary doctor. (I was in a med. trial that didn't go too well for me, so the doc. is seeing me until he finds someone else for me to see.) Right now I'm not doing too much to deal with the PTSD (aside from medications and monthly check-ins) because my health insurance isn't so good, and my current doctor can't find anyone who deals with PTSD who will take it. I plan to switch health insurance, and (if all goes well), I will be able to start both a new insurance and a new doctor/therapist come June.

The doctor I'm working with wants me to do CBT/exposure therapy once he finds me someone and I have better insurance. I'm a bit hesitant because the treatment that I was going through a few of months ago included exposure-like stuff, and let's just say that didn't go too well and I ended up with really bad symptoms for a while. This made my daily life very difficult, as you all can imagine.

Anyway, I did say that I am willing to give the CPT/exposure therapy a shot. I figured that since I don't work during the summer--(I'm a teacher)--it would be a good time to do this since I wouldn't have to worry about trying to stay stable for work.

That being said, I wonder if this will give me enough time to work on some of the tough stuff and get to a "better place" with the PTSD before I have to go back to work in the fall. Now I don't expect to be 100% better or anything; I am just hoping that I can get some of the hardest parts over with within a few months.

Am I being realistic? If not, is there a better option? (Taking time off from work is not currently an option for me.)

Nic:

This is tough to answer. I have been in therapy for years. I'm not sure what your goals are regarding your trauma's. I'm not sure how much you can take in a short period of time. With me, personally, it took a long time to process some parts of the therapy outcomes and assimilate them. I still flip back and forth with a few of the outcomes of thought that I have a hard time either accepting or understanding clearly because of the emotions attached to them.

To say that you could fly through and accept everything on blind faith and then assimilate it into your beliefs and consequently behaviors would be flawed. Because in that process, emotions run rampant and hinder progress by slowing it down to manageable bites for your own stability and survival.

Another piece of the puzzle, is finding the right person that will be a good match for you to do the work with. Someone who will have the time in their schedule to see you several times a week for the 8 weeks you are off.

I don't want to sound - NO WAY ... It can't work. I think you definitely can make a lot of head way in the process given the right opportunities for you. All I'm saying is, I don't think you can get to the end of the road in that amount of time.

Stick with your focus, it is going to happen on way or another. Take the time this summer to attack the program What you do today makes room for tomorrow. (Hey, I like that sentance).

Cindy

PS: save time for the beach!

Honestly here:

I think trying to base your healing time line on your work schedule is ridiculous. Would you expect a cancer patient to heal within so many months because they have to go back to work? What about bipolar, a chronic depressive, someone with back injuries?

Really your not giving yourself a fair chance here. I think rethinking how your looking at healing might be a good idea. Frankly what your proposing is not realistic and your just setting yourself up.

bec

Nic,

the question you have asked is so key!

How long is a piece of string?..

I don't think one persons' treatment and outcome can be compared to another, really? I guess I have said before that PTSD is all about individual differences; where the trauma stems from, how long the trauma caused PTSD symptoms, the person themself -their strength of mind, charactersitics and personality traits that would correlate with healing, family, and friends, and support systems, etc etc. You get me right? I read somewhere that healing can be dependent on so many other factors. If someone trying to heal has not managed to make many emotional attachments and does not have external support this could hinder their progress. However, as we are all individuals there are no absolutes. Generalisations are given as guidance.

So can you heal in 2-3 months? From the percpetion of a realist I would say that that is a rather tall order. Why?..

CBT as far as I am concerened is one dimension of treatment - I do not beleive that CBT in itself can treat all the symptioms of PTSD. Therefore, to beleive that one method of therapy will alleviate all of your symptoms is rather naieve IMHO.

I can see where you are going with this question, and I know all to well how difficult it is to be on the healing journey, and still manage to function in the world - we all wear many hats and sometimes it gets confusing as to which one you are wearing or whether you can fulfil the role it correlates with.

First off; therapy should start with grounding techniques, these enable you to work through aspects of your trauma bit by bit, and ensure that you can sustain your other life duties. This is fundamental to your success! Applying yourself and actually working through the core issues of your trauma has to be in conjunction with being able to manage the emotions that will arise - I guess you could compare the grounding techniques to a car with wheels that are loose. As soon as you go around to many difficult bends you know exaclty what is going to happen. The wheels will come off and you will end up in a ditch alonside the raod. So my advise is to ask about this before any therapy begins. Remember you are in control of your therapy. You should not feel like a helpless by-stander. Your therapist is a facilitator in your healing journey, they navigate, and you control how fast or slow or when to stop!

Once you have established your grounding work I would suggest that you write any questions you have and take that peice of paper with you, and unitl you are satisfied you understand the answers.

And if you want the honest answer that I have concerning how 2-3 months may affect you? They will be some of the toughset, you know it will be harder before it gets easier. You will no doubt have moments of serenity and have many epiphay's concerning your issues and thses are successes. However, the real marker of success is that you will be coming away from therapy feeling like you have unearthed so muh sh*t that you cannot see straight. You have to dig deep, go right down and pull out all of the stuff that has been corroding your very soul. You have to put a stop to it!

CBT in itself is less invasive IMHO. It really only treats the here and now (some of the symptoms of PTSD. Depends on the model the therapist uses. But generally this is how it is used). So you may be able to use CBT rather like a magnifying lense. It will highlight your reasoning and enable you and your therapist to determine how to start to re-programme yourself (Have a look at cognitive schemas, you may understand this angle better?).

So lovely nic - congratulations on being in therapy. Congratulations on accepting you have things to work on. Congratulations on asking your question - I reckon you knew the real answer? Sometimes we put it out there hoping that people will identify with our question and tell us that 2-3 moths is of course enough ..Your question could be - Is 2-3 months enough for you?

One of my lovely friends on here likes to use dieting as an anlorgy for PTSD. My use of it; there is no miracle diet that will allow you to shed all of the dead weight you have been carrying around. There is only determination, retraining yourself, forming new behaviours and good old fashioned hard work! You can do it! Dig deep and begin!

Sent with love
Spirit x

BTW I am usually an idealist so thank you for giving me the opportunity to step outside my box. ;-)

Spirit x

Nic,

We are all different and have different circumstances to work around. I know, because I've read in other posts, that you do not have the luxury of not working. Personally, beginning therapy has always been the hardest part for me. I think, once you are able to get over that hump in those 2-3 months that you have off will be great. Once school resumes, your therapist will most likely be able to cater to your schedule in that you could probably schedule sessions on Friday afternoons which will give you the weekend to recover. Also, tell your therapist about this specific concern, so that you two can also work on coping skills for when you do go back to work after summer break.

I honestly don't think that 2-3 months will be enough (however, we are all different.) But please don't let that discourage you. I think you will be able to find a solution to this. Tell your therapist up front your concerns.

Good luck and I'm glad to hear that you will be starting therapy!

Best,
Rachel

I think it impossible to give a definate answer here, because, as others have said, everyone is different. Also finding a therpist that you 'click' with is also tricky, and that alone could take a lot of trial and error.

The concern that i would like to raise, is that if you try to 'heal' within a 2-3 month period, you will be putting a hell of a lot of pressure on yourself. This in itself could lead to set-backs. Having said that, this few months away from work could be a great time to make some real progress. Without the pressures of work, you have some real time to focus solely on your healing. But equally the time will fly by.

I wish you all the luck in the world, just try not to put too much presure on yourself, or this may have a negative effect.

nic:

I think if you plan to attack the worst parts during the summer when you have the down time it would be beneficial to you and holding your job. If you hit the worst parts when you are not responsible for grading papers and teaching I think it would give you the time to focus on your personal needs after each therapy session. Save up the minor adjustments for the fall.

A really good point was made about developing the grounding techniques up front. The grounding techniques help you to stay a little more in the here and now when the past is consuming you. It is important to recognize the past is the past and you survived and are safe now.

I'm glad to hear you are ready for your therapy and willing to engage with the process of healing, unloading the garbage, and moving out of the swamp.

Thank you all for the responses. I know I'm not going to be "better" by the end of the summer, but I do want to be able to function.

Sorry, I hit the post reply button too soon. Anyway, I do appreciate what you all have had to say. I guess, since I don't have many alternatives, I'll give it a shot and see how things go. I do like the idea of (during the school year) possibly seeing the therapist of Friday so that I can recover during the weekend. I have already learned "grounding" techniques, and while they don't work when I have a major panic attack, they are useful for more genaral anxiety. Well, I report back on this in a few months, I guess.

Nic :-)