Difficulty communicating with therapist

[Zaiaku]

I've never been the sort to easily relax and talk about myself and no better a test to that is when I try talking with my mental health counselor. Most of our sessions revolve around me sitting and fidgeting in awkward silence as she tries to pry me open with sparse and often repetitive questions I can never quite come to fully answer. I just can't get comfortable enough to think of what I want to say or form the words with my mouth. I feel like even though I'm paying her to essentially listen to my troubles I'm still a bother for saying what I want and in the end it will all sound too stupid to have made such a big fuss about in the first place.

Is there any advice people might have to help me open up more and be more vocal?

[Otherside]

Yeah, I get that feeling to. You have a legitimate, real mental illness and that's whats making you believe you're a bother. The therapist has probably seen people who just go to whine about there lives, people who believe that visiting a therapist even though theres nothing up with them is somewhat healthy, kids who are dragged along by there parents and spend the whole hour sitting with folded arms in silent or that tell the therapist to F-Off...I worried about this with the doctors when I was first trying to get help, I was worried I was wasting her time, that I was there when she could be seeing a genuinly ill person. It's hard, but don't worry about wasting her time. Just blurt it all out if it comes to her.

Or you could try writing your therapist a note at home before and give that to her. A lot of people have felt that that helped get what was bugging them across to there therapist/pdoc if they couldn't tell them for whatever reason.

[L]

Maybe try writing.....for me it feels like i have gone mute - I can hear myself say it in my head but cannot say the words...it is very difficult

[Zaiaku]

I could try writing. Or maybe even writing thoughts I want to say out on paper first and bringing it in as an outline since by the time I get there my head's gone as mute as my mouth. Getting over that feeling of being a bother is going to be the tough part though.

[Ironman]

Start slow - just like a relationship, it has to build. Just give pieces of things at times.

[Zaiaku]

Start slow - just like a relationship, it has to build. Just give pieces of things at times.

That's how I've been going about for the past few months now. I guess I don't feel comfortable enough with her to really open up.

[Otherside]

I could try writing. Or maybe even writing thoughts I want to say out on paper first and bringing it in as an outline since by the time I get there my head's gone as mute as my mouth. Getting over that feeling of being a bother is going to be the tough part though.

Yeah, that helps too. It is tough getting over the feeling of being a bother and I've been there, so I feel for you. It took a while for me to communicate everything across to the various therapists and doctors.

And what Ironman said is right. You are both only human, of course.

[Misssy]

My advice is that you print out the post you made here explaining how uptight you feel in the therapists office and hand it to her. At least that way she will understand how uncomfortable it is for you to sit in the chair.

I too find that it takes a few sessions before I can really speak about the things that are deeply bothering me, it's difficult to just blurt it out to a stranger.

[Zaiaku]

My advice is that you print out the post you made here explaining how uptight you feel in the therapists office and hand it to her. At least that way she will understand how uncomfortable it is for you to sit in the chair.

I too find that it takes a few sessions before I can really speak about the things that are deeply bothering me, it's difficult to just blurt it out to a stranger.

That's a great suggestion, though I've already vocalized these concerns with her before. Thank you though. I think it's all a combination of irrational fear and just not being used to it in the first place.

[Misssy]

Good luck.