I am not an auditory learner. At all. I’m definitely a visual learner — in college I took copious notes, but didn’t really grasp the class material until later going over and reading those notes. There’s just something about reading/writing that I need to get it.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t serve me too well in therapy. I can have a great session and later that night not even remember half of what we talked about. And on the same level, when I’m in session I don’t remember half of what I planned to say.
In an effort to make my time in therapy more useful, I’ve started to write things down. Not quite journal, but write when I’m upset or just a couple of points I want to make sure that I let my therapist know. If I’m afraid that I won’t bring up the issue in therapy, sometimes I’ll email them to her before my appointment.
That’s just one way that writing things down helps me in treatment. Another is with my meal plan. I know my meal plan backwards and forwards at this point, but one day I decided to pin it to pin it to my bulletin board above my desk. This probably sounds silly, but it has made such a difference. I am reminded all day that my meal plan and recovery are important. When I’m in the middle of work I think “oh, I’ll eat that later” or “I am too busy right now,” but just having it written out and sitting in front of me helps me remember that treatment is important even when I’m not in my therapist’s office.
A third way is with affirmations. Well, affirmations may not be the word that I’m looking for… but clips of little things that mean something to me. For instance, also on my bulletin board is a fortune from a fortune cookie that says “Remember there are people who care deeply about you.” I also have this paper on which my therapist wrote, “You can let go of your ED and still be validated” and “Never forget, but forgive and make yourself a better person.” And then, sometimes I’ll print out pieces of funny or significant emails (from anyone in my life) and pin those up. Yes, I have a very large bulletin board!
I need a written reminder for several reasons:
- I’m a visual person
- I twist things and second-guess myself and think “she didn’t mean it that way” or “I am reading into that too much.”
- Being continually reminded helps me convince myself that it is true
Different types of therapy are helpful for different people, and I think that there is some trial-and-error involved in figuring out what works for you. Personally, I highly recommend investing in a bulletin board.
Tags: affirmation, Anorexia, anorexic, anxiety, auditory learner, bulimia, bulimic, bulletin board, depression, disordered eating, eating disorder, eating disorder recovery, eating disorder treatment, mental illness, psychology, recovery, trauma, treatment, types of learning, visual learner, writing
Grey Thinking 
May 24, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I also write things down to bring to bring into my sesh with me because I won’t remember them or won’t want to bring them up. Sometimes, like you do, I will send an email to my T because I am much better at writing than I am at speaking. She would rather I talk but is at least happy I express myself somehow.
I actually just wrote her a huge email last week and sent it 90 min. before our sesh. I figured she would probably read it on the subway on her way to work. Well, she didnt’ and she started reading it outloud in our sesh. I almost died!! She read the first paragraph and then said “now you can tell me the rest.” I convinced her to finish reading (silently) and then I would talk about it. So, that’s what happend. Ugh, I suck at talking.
As far as forgetting things that happen in your sesh, maybe you can get a recorder and record your appointments. That’s what i do and then I go back and listen to them and jot things down for next time.
May 25, 2009 at 8:02 am
this sounds just like me! I definitely need to invest in a bulletin board.
(and I LOVE “you can let go of your ED and still be validated” I need to remember that one)
May 25, 2009 at 9:27 am
Palmtreechick – Just curious, what is it about having your therapist read your email during your session that bothers you? I know that when I am writing the email I’m usually in the midst of struggling, whereas in her office I’m usually A-OK. The whole time she read the email I’d be thinking “oh PLEASE tell me I did not actually say that!” Just wondering if it were the same for you or if you have another reason (I could probably come up with several reasons, actually).
700stories – I think I got my bulletin board at Office Max… it was the largest one that I could find!
Thanks for your thoughts!
May 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I kept thinking, “I can’t believe she is really reading my true thoughts and feelings and that I have to hear that as she reads them. It’s bad enough I had them, but to hear them outloud, this is horrible. Please stop or I’m going to throw up.” That is what was going on in my head. It was horrible.