I don't normally share the content of my therapy sessions with anyone, but this is too valuable to keep to myself...
Dreams play a huge role in my therapy. They give me backdoor access to my unconscious mind in ways I could never reach consciously.
The problem (as I saw it) is that I keep returning to my childhood home in dreams. One night I'm in the kitchen, another night I'm in the basement, then I'm in my parents' bedroom.
It was getting frustrating. It felt like we were covering the same ground over and over again. This wasn’t actually the case—we’ve made wild progress—but I let my frustration get to me.
I got exceptionally angry in my last session as we were talking about my dream from the night before.
"It's been two years of therapy and I'm still going back to the same place and talking about the same shit."
My therapist said, "Every time you return, you add nuance to our understanding of these events and where you are now."
"But I'm sick of talking about this stuff. I'm sick of having it pop up in my dreams. I’m 31 years old—how many times do I need to return to my childhood?"
She said, "Until you don't need to go back anymore."
Those words have been ringing in my mind ever since.
[Photo courtesy of: https://www.behance.net/porodina]