[ SECRET POST #2742 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2742 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 04 pages, 094 secrets from Secret Submission Post #392.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

10. http://i.imgur.com/wbG7zXP.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

You aren't gonna like this response:

Tell your therapist.

Don't be embarrassed; what you did was normal, and I'm sure they've heard a lot crazier stories, anyway. Tell them, so they can work with you to find alternative ways of dealing. We can give you all of the suggestions in the world, but we don't know as much about the specifics of your situation as your therapist does. They're in a much better position to find something that works for you.

[dreemyweird]

I second all of this very hard.

[feathercircle]

I don't really know enough about you or your situation to make any suggestions about how to reduce anxiety, but is there any reason why you can't raise the subject with your therapist and/or family without mentioning your favorite character? Your therapist has probably heard weirder, but if the thought of talking about using fiction to soothe yourself is preventing you from looking for help, maybe you could use something along these lines:

"I've been using self-hypnosis to calm myself down but lately it doesn't seem to be working anymore. It's starting to affect my quality of life and I think I need a new coping strategy/treatment. What else can we be doing?"

[elaminator]

+1. If you really don't feel comfortable admitting you think about this character, you could leave that part out. (Though, like everyone has said, I can guarantee your therapist has heard weirder things. They aren't there to judge you, and if they can help...well, that's the important thing, right?)

I hope you bring it up and they can offer some helpful tips. Good luck!

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding this suggestion. OP could even say something along the lines of "I visualize an imaginary person comforting me" which is true without bringing up any specific fictional people.

[kallanda_lee]

I have no experience with self-hypnosis, and I'm not therapist, but imho you should probably try to find ways to deal with your issues that do not hinge on others (real or fictional).

What I ound helped for me with some issues was imagining myself as a heroine in "stories" and some of it I could transfer to real life. But that's a different coping mechanism than what you're using.

[(Anonymous)]

Seconding this and taking it a little further: I used to write 'for my eyes only' fanfiction where I would have a blatant self-insert mary sue character and I would put her through either whatever the exact same real life troubles I was going through or the universal equivalent when I could figure it out. Writing it out and watching how 'she' dealt with it in turn gave me confidence to try and work things out in real life too.

Heck, sometimes the sheer action of writing it all out helped me sort things out and deal with it that way, especially when I had to take something big and break it down into believable parts that would lead up to the big event.

It was you and your imagination that were doing the heavy lifting.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think that's anything to be embarrassed about - you found a coping strategy that worked for you at the time. Talk to your therapist - you don't have to be that specific about it (say you were imagining someone comforting you). Tell them it isn't working anymore and ask if they have any suggestions for other strategies, it might take a while to find one that works for you.

[arcadiaego]

I don't think your therapist will judge you. I use all sorts of silly fandom things to make me feel better and my therapist has never acted like it's strange. If you're struggling, that's what they're there for. :)

[(Anonymous)]

wow! so happy I'm not the only one doing this.
But yeah, like all these other people told you, it's best to tell her, she's heard weirder stuff.
Besides, most psychiatrists know idols are very important to people (there's even a mention about it on an episode of Bones)