Going back to past or not?

[forgetmenot]

just want to know if going back to the past is a good thing or not all it seems to do to me is cause confusion and alot of pain don't even remember half the stuff and now i have flashbacks i didn't have these before i told them all i should just leave past buried

 

[Cat Dancer]

Re: going back to past or not

Welcome, Mary.

I think going back to the past can be a good and helpful thing if you have a good therapist to help you work through it. I don't think it's good to dwell on it a lot though. What I'm working on is balancing living in the now and working on past issues and trying not to let the past dictate how I live my life in this moment if that makes any sense.

If it bothers you a lot then I think it needs to be dealt with in therapy. My therapist is helping me learn that I can stop myself from having flashbacks and I can teach myself to live in the present and not let my past rule me. It's hard work, but it's worth it.

I'm also not sure if leaving the past buried really works. It seems like it might just keep coming up to bother you.

 

[Daniel E.]

Re: going back to past or not

Welcome to the forum, Mary.

I don't have personal experience with PTSD or flashbacks, but, to add to what Cat Dancer said, people with flashbacks and other PTSD-like symptoms do benefit from therapies that bring up the past, e.g. exposure therapy.

 

[Halo]

Welcome to Psychlinks Mary :welcome2:

I really think that Cat Dancer has hit upon a lot of points regarding therapy. There are also alot of resources and articles on this forum that are great to read.

Take care

 

[ladylore]

Welcome

 

[forgetmenot]

Thanks for all your responses it will take me awhile to figure out computer i am just so depressed finding so much i forgot about god it hurts too much but now i think i have made my therapist angry at me because i became upset thinking he was talking to someone else abt me he has not returned my calls i just am too new to all this i have looked after myself so long now it is hard to have someone else know things abt me i want to forget paranoid a bit is this normal i will try to stay with therapy a little longer thanks

 

[NicNak]

:welcome: to Psychlinks Mary.

 

[forgetmenot]

thanks for responses i just feel so dam depressed so many people need my help and if i come undone who will be there for them my mother blind and lives with my 2 brther who are psychotic my identical twin has it too and now my daughter has it she tried to kill herself 4 times this year too much stress in my life has triggered alot of memories but this dr has been triggiering more now i am so confused and i have attacked his creditabiily and now he too is fed up with me just wish i could undue the harm that has been done because i think i need some help now just don't know who to trust.

 

[texasgirl]

Mary, first, welcome to the forum. I am sorry you have had such pain. With so many things to deal with, maybe your therapist can help you to sort through them so that it's not so overwhelming.

Take care and I send you my support - :support:

TG

 

[forgetmenot]

thanks i hope he can keep me stable as i need to be there for evry one it seems god made me a nurse for a reason and that is to help others in pain i never thought i would one day need someone to help me but im trying to stay away from the pain and keep focus on what matters that is my family

 

[amastie]

Hi Mary, and welcome to PsychLinks,
I had to go back to the past, but only as it came up during ongoing therapy. I never, at any stage, chased it. I think that if you make a choice simply to go back to the past, it has less meaning than to work on things that are happeing *now* and don't resist it if that naturally takes you back to the past. The past is only important insofar as it surfaces as a source of pain being felt and being worked on in this moment - in therapy.
At least, that's how I've found it to be

 

[forgetmenot]

thanks for your feedback ill try not to fight the emotions soo much ill try to keep busy so my mind doesn't go there until i am at therapy i just keep saying there just memories and that person is not me anymore i never realized how real the pain can be even if they are just stupid memories

 

[amastie]

Yes, the pain is very real :hug: :support: :flowers: