This week licensed therapist Kati Morton explains what body memories are, if pain can be related to trauma, and what the difference is between a flashback and an intrusive thought. She also explains why we may need to stay on medication for a long period of time, and why we may not notice when we are depressed. She also talks about what we can do if we are struggling to stay present in therapy and talk about the hard stuff, and what we can do to heal from codependency. This and so much more in this week’s episode.

Ask Kati Anything ep. 178 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT

Audience questions:

1. I've heard people say that someone can be unhappy or depressed without realizing it and I've seen it happen. I was wondering if that could happen in the reverse?

2. In one of your videos you mentioned that medication should not be needed forever. How do I know it’s time for me to get off my meds?

3. I’m currently in therapy to process trauma with my ex. My ex was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive, the latter of which has been even more difficult to grapple with due to my faith and perspective on sex...

4. I wondered what your thoughts were on gut feelings about people? I usually get a gut feeling about someone pretty much instantly on meeting them whether they are inherently “good or bad”

5. How do you heal from codependency?

6. I recently started seeing a therapist and I'm starting to develop a crush on him. Is this normal? Should I say something about it?

7. Hi kati, I was just wondering if it's possible to have ptsd from a home invasion/ break in? I talk with my therapist about this but she never says you can have ptsd from it, but when I told her that anytime I hear things that sound like they did that morning it freaks me out and makes me feel like it’s happening again she tells me I’m having a flashback.

My Books (in stores now)

⁠Traumatized⁠ https://geni.us/Bfak0j

Affiliates (consider shopping with our affiliates, commissions earned help us create new episodes)

Partnerships

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton discusses the many reasons we can feel like we are lying when disclosing past trauma in therapy. She explains why our trauma memories aren’t always there or easy to recall, and the reasons we invalidate, and minimize our experiences. She then digs into how to move past being abandoned by your therapist, as well as how to know when you should stop therapy. Kati then talks about what we should focus on first when starting therapy with a limited number of sessions. This and so much more in this week’s episode.

Ask Kati Anything ep. 177 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT

Audience questions:

1. Why do I feel like I’m lying when thinking about opening up about past trauma? I really want to open up to my therapist about a past memory of me being SA’d by my brother but the problem is I didn’t have that memory until I was SA’d again some years later by someone else...

2. I've been with my therapist for over 2 yrs and despite her being very consistent, reliable and reassuring, I can't move past the feeling that some day she's going to say she's not going to see me anymore. It's not so much a fear of her leaving me but...

3. If you have a limited number of sessions available to you, how can you decide what issues take priority? My university only offers 6 free sessions to students and I don't have the money to pay for therapy, but I have a lot to work on...

4. Can you talk about how to know when to stop therapy? It's been about a year and a half and each week it is always very helpful. I started during a very low, hard, isolated season but am now in a healthier environment now with more...

5. Is healing from SA the same process no matter when it happened (childhood vs adulthood) ? This happened to me as an adult from my partner and I have recurrent nightmares and flashbacks and a lot of shame. I see a lot of information about healing from childhood...

6. Is it possible that all of my struggles and diagnosed conditions, OCD, ADHD and Autism, are in fact just behaviors caused by childhood trauma?...

7. How do you deal with not being open up due to having trust issues? I have been seeing my therapist for a while now and still haven't woken up. She suggested seeing a new therapist, but I had a therapist before her and it was the same...

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week Kati dives deep into how to come to terms with not having any memory of a childhood trauma. She explains why this can happen, and what we can do to heal anyways. She also offers some ideas on how to deal with a parent who has a mental illness, what to do if we can’t actually talk in therapy, and how to stop thinking we are a burden to those around us. She then talks about the stigma associated with mental illness and sexual kinks as well as how to stop feeling like we are behind in life because of our illnesses. This and so much more in this week’s episode!

I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos!

Audience Questions:

1. How do I come to terms with never actually knowing if I was sexually abused? I seem to have all the signs (extremely scared of sex, body memories, don’t like being touched, hypervigilance, etc) but I have no solid memory of an actual incident.

2. How do you handle parents with mental illness? I struggle a lot with my mom being so emotional and irrational. Her mood swings like a rollercoaster and it is really uncomfortable being around her. She has so many bpd traits although being undiagnosed.

3. I am 16. Is it bad that in therapy, I can't talk about anything? I have to write it down and hand it to him? Also my mom wants to talk to me about things but I can't because she shares it with my dad...

4. I know suicide is never the answer, but what if I genuinely am a burden and would be doing everyone a favor?

5. How would someone best deal with mental health problems brought on from kink shaming / fetish stigma? Shaming or ridiculing someone for their kinks is unfortunately common and socially accepted, but there's no information on how it can negatively affect someone's mental health, and if so how someone would deal with this.

6. How do I cope with the feeling of falling behind others because of my illnesses? Trauma, Ptsd and physical pain illnesses have been taken so much from me, especially...

7. I was just curious about how your role as a therapist relates to your family. Does your husband or do other family members ever say or do things that are red flags to you as a therapist?

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton talks about the reasons we can be scared to get better, and why having our mental illness be part of our identity is detrimental to our recovery. She also addresses the reasons we should change therapists, how termination should be handled, and what to do if therapy is making us worse. Kati then digs into how to stop comparing ourselves to others, why it’s okay to be behind other people in life, and when she would suggest a higher level of care.

Q2 15:53 I recently terminated with my therapist after two years. I felt that I wasn't making any progress towards my goals and when I asked for feedback (which she has never offered), she responded, "I can't work harder than you are."

Q3 30:58 I feel incredibly lonely and behind in life. Every birthday and new year reminds me of that. I struggle so much with birthdays due to having struggled with my mental health for so long...

Q4 37:50 How do I get myself to actually try coping mechanisms? I have a list but because they don't always help or I have this magical idea that they will make everything better...

Q5 41:26 My question is about when you as a therapist would suggest a higher level of care for a patient with an eating disorder, specifically over exercise as a form of compensatory behavior.

Q6 57:55 I have a question about emdr. I'm finally starting in august (yay!) but I'm so scared of actually, really facing my trauma head on in therapy. I don't even know how I will tell/write my therapist...

Q7 1:11:03 What if I don’t see a reason to stop self harm this time? Context: I began SH when I was 8. It wasn’t my “go to” coping skill....Q8 1:15:49 Why in therapy do you not want a religious counselor? Have you been harmed by church people or is it a personal decision? I recently went through some personal church trauma...

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week Kati discusses attachment to our therapist. Why it can happen, what triggers the attachment and what we can do to better handle it. She also talks about suicidal ideation, and why it can sometimes be done to get more attention. Then Kati explains what the ethical implications are when we find out our therapist is seeing our significant other, and what visualizations can mean for our trauma response. This and so much more in this week’s episode! Xoxo Ask Kati Anything ep. 174 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT

Join Kati in her powerful new Online Workshop all about ATTACHMENT ⁠⁠⁠here

Audience questions:

1. I've been in therapy for the last 3 years and I've made some small improvements in myself but there's something I still struggle with and I'm a bit confused. I'm super attached to my therapist, with a big fear of abandonment...

2. I have a question about suicidal ideation. Recently I've been having thoughts that I want to attempt suicide, even though I don't want to actually succeed. I don't understand these thoughts because...

3. Hi Kati, my therapist is mint. I’ve been seeing her for two years but I’ve recently found out that the girl I’m dating also sees her for weekly sessions!

4. A few weeks ago in an AKA episode, you said “our brain doesn’t know the difference between us visualizing it and it really happening” when talking about ways to combat stage fright. I may be taking this out of context but I have a lot of repressed memories...

5. I struggle with dissociation (specifically chronic derealisation) and I’m not sure my therapist knows what this is. When I told her about it she just became obsessed with ‘parts work’ but I don’t have DID, I just feel really spacey.

6. In an old episode and there was a question which mentioned “acting out” a body memory or flashback. The actual question was about something else but I’ve had a similar experience...

7. I am currently in therapy and my therapist whenever I bring something difficult up asks me what it makes me feel and my emotions linked to it and I just don’t know, it’s like I go numb...

8. Can a person have a very low self-esteem and at the same time look down on other people and criticize them?

9. Why might I be having the urge to cut, even though I hate my scars and don't know that deep down I don't want to do it anymore?

Timestamps created by: @natalieedelstein

Q1 0:37 Q2 18:36 Q3 31:27 Q4 33:57 Q5 45:04 Q6 54:23 Q7 57:19 Q8 1:01:28 Q9 1:03:55

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

Join Kati in her powerful new Online Workshop all about ATTACHMENT ⁠⁠here⁠⁠

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton dives into the reasons it could be hard for us to do the things that are really important to us, and why starting new things can be so difficult. She also dives into why having so much insight into the “whys” behind our behavior can help therapy move along more quickly, but doesn’t mean that we are necessarily doing better. She then walks us through how we can choose what we should work on first in therapy, and how to overcome our emetophobia. She also explains what a disorganized attachment is and the various causes, why we can feel like there’s always a wall between us and those we love, and so much more!

Ask Kati Anything ep 173 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT

Audience questions:

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton talks about shame, and how to pull ourselves out of the spiral. She addressed how it can present itself in our anxious thoughts, PTSD symptoms, and also in our depression. She offers insights into ways we can receive therapy if we are battling financial insecurity, and how to do the basic things when we are deep in a depressive episode. She also talks about negative self-talk and why people think it can be motivating, as well as why we have to heal ourselves but also need other people to support us. This and so much more in this week’s episode!

Join Kati in her powerful new LIVE Online Workshop on ATTACHMENT - JULY 21st & 28th https://katimorton.com/the-shop

Can't make it to the LIVE event? Pre-order your recorded version here

Ask Kati Anything ep 172 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFTAudience questions:

1. Why do I constantly feel ashamed of myself or my actions?

2. How does one persist in therapy if they are battling financial insecurity and sometimes poverty?

3. It is often advised that we should fulfill our own needs, so our happiness doesn't depend on other people. But why do we live in a society, among 8 billion people, if we can do everything for ourselves?

4. I was wondering if you could talk about doing the basic stuff when you are in a depressed period… Honestly, it feels like I have been in a constant depressed state for the last 3 and a half years. It embarrasses me so much that I really struggle to shower, do my laundry, brush my teeth and wash my dishes. People don’t know that I...

5. I’ve watched for 9 years! but never asked a question before 😇😂 thank you for all that you do! Especially as a MH professional that is open and honest about her own struggles (gives us in the next gen hope that we too can work in the field irrespective of past problems)...

6. I know that I have negative self-talk but I feel like it motivates me so I am afraid to be nice to myself. I fear that if I stop then I will get nothing accomplished. I feel like my negative self-talk motivates me to be better and try harder. I am afraid if I try to stop or even use bridge statements...

7. How do you overcome a fear of physical intimacy? I spent all my life single as I was working hard to get out of challenges life was throwing at me. I finally finished graduate school and got a job, and then found someone. Every time he...

8. How can I get my husband to stop talking negatively about my family? It is hard because I get offended sometimes by the stuff he says, even though most of it is true. It just bothers me. He doesn't really like my parents or my siblings. I know they've all made some strange decisions and have personality quirks that are hard to deal with. I agree with him on a lot of his criticisms, but...

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton talks about the reasons we can pick at our skin, bite our nails, and pull on our hair. She also explains why this can all be driven by OCD or other anxiety disorders. Next, she explains why we push ourselves to remember all of the details surrounding a trauma, and also why some of us don’t want to remember any of it. She also dives into grief, how heavy it can be, and why it can sometimes be traumatizing. Kati also discusses the reasons we may struggle to say what we need to in therapy, and how to have boundaries between our work and home life. This and so much more in this week’s episode!

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton discusses the pluses and minuses of doing intense research about therapy and the process. She also talks about suicide risk and what is considered low, medium, and high risk. She digs into what constitutes eating disorder behavior and her thoughts on using cannabis before therapy. This and so much more in this week’s episode!

ATTACHMENT WORKSHOP - We will be exploring the way attachment to our primary caregivers affected us and how it may still be impacting us today.

Ask Kati Anything ep. 170 | Your mental health podcast, with Kati Morton, LMFT

Audience questions:

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]

This week licensed therapist Kati Morton talks about the freeze state when making decisions. She explains why this can happen and what we can do to move through it. She also discusses PTSD and why we have the urge to minimize it or even struggle to call what happened trauma. She then digs into when it’s time to end therapy and the red flags we should look out for. She also talks about our fear of doing something wrong and its link to trauma and hypervigilance. Kati explains why we can feel the pull towards relationships with people we know are unavailable or unable to give us what you know you deserve. This and so much more in this week’s episode!

KATI'S BOOKS (in stores now)

...MORE

Business Contact   Linnea Toney  [email protected]