Posted by greyskyeyes on July 22, 2005, at 14:39:33
In reply to Re: But on the same topic » Dinah, posted by littleone on July 21, 2005, at 21:22:30
I agree with littleone, about learning coping mechanisms and then using them unconsciously. That's something I've been dealing with in my therapy lately. A lot of the coping mechanisms I use were learned very, very young and I was unaware that they even existed. And while they can't be "unlearned" overnight, just knowing they are there makes me more aware, even if *just sometimes*, of what I am doing when I automatically pull out those coping methods. And awareness is the first step towards change.
So I guess in that case both you and your therapist would be right. For him, in that will *initially* went into creating these coping mechanisms. For you, in that they are not *now* consciously controlled. Can you anticipate when you are going to have a "forgetting sleep" or get a headache? Knowing the pattern that brings them on might help you in eventually stopping them.
poster:greyskyeyes
thread:531109
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050716/msgs/531662.html