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One of the symptoms I struggle most with is intrusive thoughts. They are usually future conversations I might have, very repetitive and detailed. Sometimes they are about the past and I repeat or dwell over events. I think the thoughts are irritating to have and when I notice them I try and distract myself with music or likewise.

Anyway, today I thought about it and came up with a theory on why I have intrusive thoughts. Maybe the thoughts are a way to distract myself from the feelings I'm having in that moment.

The question I have is if someone else in the forum struggle with intrusive thoughts and if my theory seems reasonable? Or if someone can share their knowledge on the subject. Ways to cope with the thoughts, what helps, worsens or causes them. 

And also, thank you everyone on the forum. It's amazing to have a place to share these thoughts.

Rainagain, I'm glad you gave that answer because it worked. I spoke to her about what broke my trust. She will try and transfer me to another therapist but it will take two weeks before she's able to discuss it with her collegues. I'm hoping for the best!

I decided I wanted to change therapist due to losing my trust for her during our last session (she handled me being dissociated badly).

Turns out I have two choices. Either I quit therapy, but then have to wait a year for new treatment. Or I finnish the therapy with a therapist I don't trust and whom have no idea when I'm dissociated, what to do or what dissociation is. I have the freeze respons almost every session.

I could also pay for private care or move. But I have to see if my economy can handle any of thouse.

I'm in a bad mood because of the whole thing. I blame myself a lot for not looking into my rights more, maybe the whole thing could have been avoided (I had 5 sessions to decide if I wanted to stay or not, apparently that was also a decision which would decide my future 1 year ahead. I waited too long before deciding).

I think I will stay in therapy. Maybe I can ask the therapist to leave and I can use the time for something else, like nap for 45 min two times a week.

I'm 22 and I'm experiencing difficulties with idenity and motivation right now. My hope is that it will be better with age. I think the down period might correlate with when we start working with our trauma. It drains energy to work with yourself on such a personal level, or atleast I feel like that. My down period started while looking for therapy and also when I began therapy.  You wrote you recently discovered CPTSD, maybe it can partly be a reason for you to feel lost because you are discovering new things about yourself?

Thank you Sceal. I think your advice about taking one step at a time and discover and answer the questions I might be capable of answering is very good. I have been doing some exploration around my responses and I did learn from it. I think your suggestions are very useful.

I'm also sorry you had to go through thouse school years. It's a time where we were supposed to develop and flourish as individuals, and instead, well...

I think you put words on it really well radical. The abuse didn't let us explore an identity.

There were many who could, and should, have stepped in, and no one did. It's a betrayal I find very hard to forgive and I mistrust authorities because of it. I do feel like I was a strong person back then, stronger than I am now. It makes me sad, because the person back then could have used that strengh for something better than just surviving.

The bullying was never about who you were.  The end of bullying wan't about becoming someone who was better, more about rejecting the identity of targetof-abuse, that had been put on you by the people who were hurting you.

I will write this down. I never thought of it that way and it really speaks to me. It makes me feel like I didn't loose any parts of myself, but instead I allowed myself to be myself. If that makes sense.

I was bullied in form of exclusion from the age of 6 to 15. I was in the same school with the same people during 9 years. Most of the time I was dissociated and I lack a lot of memories from thouse years. I was deeply depressed, I didn't talk, I was alone and boring. When that finally came to an end I started a new school and decided that I would be a different person. I became the complete opposite from who I was before. I wanted to be independent, a leader, outspoken, successful and outspoken. So the first day of school I acted as that person and became that person.

I got friends, a partner, I did well in school and started taking charge over my life at home as well. I completely erased the person I was before and the background I had. My previous experiences did still make themselves noticed through pannick and anxiety attacks or anxiety in social settings. I ignored it pretty well though and I never viewed thouse 9 years of my life as a trauma that mattered.

Since I started working with my background I'm realising how much I changed in just a day basically back then. I'm struggeling a lot with identity and many times I'm not sure who I am. I want to be the person I became after the age of 15 but it's also confusing to ignore the person I was for 9 years. I'm 22 today and I feel like I lost both parts and I'm just one big confusing mess of a person. I don't identify with anything.

Can I integrate  thouse two people or should I even do so? When I talk about my past it feels like I'm talking about someone else. I don't feel like I can be a person without a past. When I try and figure out who I am it feels like there's too many missing pieces to make a whole picture out of.

I'm also not sure if it did damage to just be someone else. Maybe it's normal to do so? I remember my current partner thinking it was strange that I chat very differently depending on who I talk to (on the internet). I adapt a lot while he's just the same with everyone. Which I find very strange instead. I have this very strong urge to be normal, even though I also realise that normal doesn't really excist.

Sorry for long and maybe confusing post.

Yes, that can help. At least I'm more focused in the moment and not on the IC. I also find it helpful to deal with thoughts that worries me. I write them down and read them a couple of times till they give less anxiety or feel less bothersome.

Sometimes when I'm feeling very bad I just give in to the IC or don't realise I'm being too hard on myself or having unrealistic/negative thoughts. I think it's quite important to be aware of your IC in order to make progress.

I have yet to figure out how to trust people though. Not trusting others makes it harder to break isolation I think.

Hi numann! I wanted to say that I relate to your background with bullying and "hiding" both at school and home.

I'm also struggeling with focusing on the positive. I get caught up in analysing what others might think of me that I forget to enjoy myself but also be myself. Usually I try to tell the IC to shut up until I'm able to deal with it later, for example when I'm alone and can write down the thoughts that bothers me.

ah, if only people could think twice before talking sometimes. DeepBlue, I got an impuls to upvote your post haha. It was pretty spot on and I recognize those responses.

"Maybe it's the warm weather?" My therapist said that after I talked about how I felt dissociated. No, I'm not feeling dizzy, tierd, unfocused and off because of good weather, that's not why I go to therapy.

She is a nice lady though.

I allowed myself to grieve today. I felt sorry for my young self, I cried for her, for her lonelyness and helplessness. I cried for how I was treated and how I've been ignored by family, friends and any authority or adult who could have reached out.

After that I comforted myself. I went back, as an adult, and were there for my younger self. I deserved a voice as a child and therefore I kept my younger self company, for all thouse times I were alone.

That's what I wished someone would have done back then. I would have done so, because I know now that the younger me didn't deserve to be so unhappy.

Being allowed to grieve but also being able to comfort, felt like a step forward. Afterwards I kinda felt like the feeling when your cold is starting to go away, and you can finally breathe through your nose again and feel the energy coming back in your body. That's how it felt. I will allow myself to feel more, even if it makes me cry.

Deep Blue, I understand where you are aiming at but I think your example sounds more like purpose and not reason. There is a reason for my motovation going away and there should be a reason for it to come back, that I can work for. Just waiting doesn't feel good.

I like the idea of making a list for relaxing! It doesn't sound silly at all, I think it sounds helpful, thank you.

Rainagain, sounds reasonable. Maybe happiness would make studying easier. My IC tells me I can't be happy unless I do what I'm supposed to do though.

Sceal, thank you for the tip. I'm not sure what thouse small goals would be when I have no bigger picture. I guess the goal should be to go back to school work. I think the side that wants me to go back to school do it for "should" reasons though. I don't think that I want to go back.

sanmagic7, you are very right about my motivation disappearing as my study collapsed. My T also said it's a temporary thing and that my motivation will come back and that she is sure of it. It makes no sense to me at all and it makes me kinda angry. It can't just mysteriously come back. Everything has a reason and explanation.

Deep Blue, I like making lists too. I feel overwhelmed but my main issue is fear of not achieving, which leads to me not being able to achieve anything.

Sorry for the negativity, I'm in dark place right now and been for a while. I do appriciate all your support and feedback.

Sceal, I wonder if we are from the same country. The whole culture is based on not being better than others but at the same time be successful with only yourself as support (individualism). I also related to what you wrote about thinking in english. A thought in english can mean less than the same thought in my own language. But it might also just be that I use english on a daily basis due to my partner being from another country.

I've been thinking a lot about motivation and why it disappeared. All through life I've been motivated to do something, long term.

After I got a bad panick attack I decided to "quit" my school assignment (and do it later. If later happens). I argued it was due to focusing on my health. I understand more now that it's due to lack of motivation. It's all dead. I don't mind going to the therapist or do house chores or other every day things, I don't feel depressed. But I don't have any motivation for the future or long term plans.

It's scary because I've never been completely out of long term goals. How do I get the motivation back? I think it could help knowing the cause behind it, but I'm not sure what that is.

I can relate to some of the things you have written. I can only give you my view in the matter and what has helped me. First, it is okay to be sexually active and fantasize. It is your mind and your fantasy only. What I think might help, which you might have tried already, is to quit porn entierly. It might help to not get exposed to things you feel uncomfortable with.

Many of my friends have had one night stands or have a FWB. However, I think it might not be for everyone. I have a friend who does it as a destructive behavior, which leaves here feeling worse than before. For others, it's a fun experience. I've never tried it myself and can't really say more than that.