BPDRecovery.com: Forums

Hello all. I'm Jade (yes, a pseudonym) I haven't been professionally diagnosed by any means, but certainty fit the criteria rather perfectly. To be honest, the idea of speaking to total strangers on a subject I can't speak to my closest friends and family members about is scaring the crap out of me, but I'm getting desperate, so here I am. I have an intense fear of ridicule about being scared to be honest with people, so I certainty hope this goes well. I just need to relax, but I'm beginning to shake. Why I'm telling you all this, I have no clue. Perhaps it's just simply the nerves bringing out my flaw of being far too honest. At any rate, I need to stop making a fool of myself and just end this rambling mess of an introduction. However, the question I am most burning to ask is how can I find a professional therapist to assist me in this process, when I have a minimum wage job and no insurance to speak of? Any ideas?

Oh, and hello all! I'm very excited to have discovered this site at the back of Get Me Out Of Here (Rachel Reiland.) I'm very hopeful now at the concept of living a life filled with contentment, if not happiness.

You could try a twelve step program. You can apply the twelve steps to anything in life that is causing you misery. They work and it's free.

Hi Jade, welcome-

I think sometimes it helps when you talk yourself through your feelings. I know when I am very nervous or in a place where I can be rejected, I'll often not just talk about my feelings but also mention the other things I'm experiencing(whether aloud or in my head, but mostly in my head, lol) - Note if my hands are cold, or I feel sweaty and such. It actually helps to defuse those really intense, scary feelings.

I'm not sure where you're located, but there are definitely sliding scale (and even free) therapists and clinics - For example, I used to pay my old therapist about 25 dollars per session - Totally affordable. I would suggest googling "sliding scale therapy" and your location, for starters. See what you come across. Make a few calls.

Thanks guys! I did recently find a sliding-scale therapist whom I went and saw the other day. He's a really nice guy and very caring, I think he may even help! Here's to hope.

Hi Jade, that's awesome. Is it affordable for you?

Some folks here do not have the means for therapy or certain treatment programs(like DBT), and there are ways you can still reap benefits. You're not screwed without therapy. Yes, it's a huge, massive help, but that doesn't mean you couldn't start on your own as well. Like working the tools here(on the left), a few workbooks I have and journaling, for example, are essentially all I do now these days, other than an appointment with my therapist every 3 months. Just remember that, you can always fall back on something if you're unable to afford treatment.

Yes I'm glad, sadly I can only afford once a month visits, so I will gladly check out the tools on here and take your advice! The Doc was talking about a CBT idea towards our therapy so what might I expect with this?

Hi Jade-

CBT is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It's based on the idea that our thoughts cause our feelings, behaviors and actions - Not people or other external circumstances. So essentially, the goal of CBT is to learn not how to change the situation, but to change our thoughts and actions towards the situation.

One of the first steps in CBT is faulty analysis - Which is identifying problematic thoughts. It's about learning how your thoughts contribute to behaviors that aren't working in your favor. You and your therapist typically discuss new skills and exercises that you can utilize. It usually starts out quite small. Say I had a fear of heights. Likely one of the first things my therapist may have me do is imagine myself in an anxiety-producing situation - Looking out the window of a 20 story building, and then progressing from there, taking gradual steps to adopting new thoughts to put into action in these fearful situations.

It is a pretty structured form of therapy(in my experience). DBT also incorporate CBT techniques.

Hope that helps.

Yes, yes it does thank you! I'm less nervous about the process, as I've done relatively the same thing to myself for some time now. With that in mind, I will be able to go into the idea more comfortably. I appreciate your time! Thanks again.