Stay with new therapist?

@OlderSometimesWiser Anxiety itself. It gives me anxiety to speak up for myself. Or ask for something different from someone. Etc. 🙁

@Coralmist Then that pattern could easily repeat with therapist after therapist unless you happen to luck out and get a talkative one. You’re paying for a service and you deserve to get what you need. Do you even feel like you’re making any progress?

@OlderSometimesWiser Not much. I have been to 5 in the last decade and they rarely offer much that can really help someone heal. 😞Most simply nod and that is truly frustrating , when I am divulging how horrible life has been and how stuck I am. To get almost no true feedback. And many on SW have attested to they can't find someone who really interacts either. I think I will stay a bit longer but may need to try another fit at some point. Ty friend 🌺

@Coralmist Perhaps it's time to try a different idea, or two. Perhaps join some kind of club or association. Or if you are religious perhaps join some kind of congregation.

Or perhaps try to identify your least worst problem and confront it directly, if that works move on to the next one.

Don't take me too seriously, I'm lucky enough to not have many problems. But as @OlderSometimesWiser says you seem to be stuck in a rut, perhaps just getting out of the rut might help even if only a little.

What I can say is this: in my journey from an occasional very private cross dresser to someone who confidently goes out in public dressed just as I want, what worked for me was to repeatedly take tiny steps. In my case it was things like: add a bit more jewellery, wear brighter colours, wear shorter skirts, higher heels, lipstick, get my ears pierced. I could never have gone from dressing male to doing all that at once but doing one tiny thing and waiting until that felt ordinary, then another small thing and another wait for ordinaryness, and so on seems to work for me.

Perhaps something analogous could work for you.

@ninalanyon trauma work is different and many people say they treat it but really dont

@ninalanyon @ninalanyon That is a great Way to diminish a a fear...little by little making things ordinary. Ty for your ideas🦋