Member-only story
Leaving Intensive Outpatient Therapy
When you’re scared to leave your safety net.
So, I didn’t necessarily blog about my whole experience in Intensive outpatient therapy because it was really hard to go through, as well as something personal to myself, and I was in it specifically for myself.
However, I’d like to talk about my discharge day of Intensive Outpatient therapy.
It started off amazing. I’d met new friends, inspired people along the way just as they had inspired me. I was positive and my outlook on life was strong.
The day went by and we joked about things happening in our lives that are hard to discuss. I was anxious, but just generally. Nothing specific yet.
Then a trigger came up. They were passing around so many handouts one after another and many of us in the group were getting overwhelmed and uncomfortable by the amount of information that was being thrown at us. SO much in fact that being overwhelmed suddenly triggered everything I was keeping inside about discharge day.
It triggered my fear most of all. The uncertainty. The loss of confidence in my ability to manage my emotions, it all came out. My thoughts spiraled like I had learned nothing and I felt hopeless and helpless, wondering if this was my relapse. I started crying and breathing…
