November 30, 2023

"Can I minimize my symptoms so much I think I'm fine?" ep.192

46 minutes

Today I will talk about our urge to minimize our trauma symptoms and whether or not we can do that so much that we think we are fine. I will explain what causes us to be traumatized and why some people aren’t affected like we are. I will dive into the reasons we can feel like we are making up our mental illnesses, how to talk about sex with a therapist of the opposite sex, and ways we can cope with extreme anxiety and trauma. Finally, I will dive into ways to support our children with their anxiety without making our own worse.

Ask Kati Anything- your mental health podcast, episode 192

1. Is it possible to minimize trauma symptoms (without realizing) so much that you actually believe you're fine until your therapist says that this looks like something that is still bothering you? I always assumed I'm fine...

2. I was wondering if you could talk a bit about what can tip the scales from a person experiencing trauma to being "traumatized". Can we ever cause ourselves to be traumatized by our reaction to the trauma? When I was 8...

3. I was wondering why I always feel like I'm making up my mental disorder? No matter how hard I try to convince myself, I always go back into the same thought. I constantly spend hours searching up why I would feel this way, and no matter how much reassurance I get, it never helps this thought go away. I always end up thinking, "what if I'm just lying to myself" or "what if I've just convinced myself to believe my own lie" ...

4. I am a female with a male therapist. We are starting to talk about sex. I've had a few issues come up as an adult when I have been with men and I sometimes question if he has done similar things to women or to what extent he has been disrespectful...

5. I was wondering how you can cope with extreme anxiety and trauma in a healthy way. I am still at school and at this point I physically can't go into lessons. I don't know why, it's just like my brain won't let me, even if I want to. I try my best to, but there's just this really daunting, exhausting, anxiety provoking feeling whenever I think about it...

6. Can you talk about ways I could help myself when I am trying to stay calm and present when dealing with my child's anxiety but her anxiety is only deeply triggering my anxiety? How do I work through this? I need to help her in the moment but I struggle to not get triggered myself. Thanks for all your wonderful advice!

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