Welcome to Joanna Poppink’s Healing Library for Midlife Women

Psychotherapy insights, tools, and support for your journey 

 

Poppink psychotherapy transforms self-doubt and limited beliefs into strength, growth and change.
Move from compliance to authentic living.
 
Joanna Poppink, MFT
Depth Psychotherapist
serving Arizona, California, Florida and Oregon.
All appointments are virtual.
 
Please email Joanna for a free telephone consultation.
 [email protected]

 

About a year ago I started having body memories related to the sexual abuse from my grandfather.  I can be doing nothing and suddenly received very strong body sensations where I re-experience the actual abuse. I've had sex as an adult, but the pain I feel is at an excruciating level one would feel as a small child being taken over by a much larger and powerful man. I also get jaw pain and nausea from body memories experienced in other parts of my body from this abuse. 

These body memories came after my realization that I had endured many years of abuse at the hands of my grandfather. They are very hard to deal with, but my therapist and I are working hard to get them to dissipate. We imagine shooting him or yelling "no!". Running from the memories is not helpful.

I have been terrified and turning to self harm methods to ease the terror of the body sensations. We are working through this too. I have been more present and less dissociative in my sessions as I keep talking and go weakly.  

I also keep an email journal which I enter notes whenever I need to talk something out, share a dream, or vent. In between sessions she will sometimes give me input or help me with a different way to handle a bad moment.  I'm lucky to have her. 
So yes, I'm very, very familiar with this!

Add comment

Submit

Who's Online

We have 516 guests and no members online