Group Therapy

During my last hospital admission throughout the workweek group therapy was offered twice a day to help people gain the proper emotional tools to help them cope with the adventures of day to day living. What would happen is the "leader" of the group would introduce a topic and slowly they would go around the circle where each person would say how this particular area was affecting their life and as a whole they would brainstorm on possible solutions. At least this is what I think happens for I tend to avoid groups like the plague.

There are a number of reasons why I avoid groups so I might as well break them down into a list:

1. Anxiety level - I tend to spend the entire time staring at the door and coming up with a hundred and one escape routes in case the occasion presents itself.

2. Attention span - Blame Sesame Street for this one. I am capable of focusing on one topic for a pretty good length of time but when it comes to multiple stories even when on the same topic my brain is heading out to left field.

3. Detailed orientated - This is just me and I need to know the entire story or at the very least all of the details surrounding a particular situation. When I was a counselor this worked out rather well but as a patient especially one in a group setting it just does not work.

4. Trust issues - Big surprise here. It took me over two years to talk about some areas of my life with the mental doctor so the thought of opening up to a complete group of strangers makes my stomach churn.

5. Black and white thinking - People with Borderline Personality tend not to do well in a group setting for to do well a person needs to be able to see all sides of the situation and basically be able to think outside of the box. A person with BPD may be more concerned with how others are viewing him/her and not the actual material being covered.

So I avoid groups and my doctor pretty much goes along with my reasoning. The first time I was asked to join a group in the hospital setting I asked what topic they were going to discuss. The lady told me the subject matter and I replied "I use to teach that when I was working" to which she gave me a rather odd look and never asked me to join a group again.

Groups are a main reason for a lot of people who have reached recovery especially in terms of addiction. It must be a good feeling to know that there is a group of people who really understand what you are going through and will support you through difficult times. (something in my brain just clicked that this blog is a lot like group therapy in a way and I participate on a number of forums which essentially does the same thing a group does ........... maybe if there was a group that met online in a chat room on X date at Y time then ........... hmmm) Take care.