Pathological ambivalence - so stuck

@sol_87 I have struggled with many forms of ambivalence throughout my life, from small to big issues. I hope you have some counsellor or therapist on your team to work through all the variety of issues. It could be a form of burn out or uncertainty about which direction you should take in life. I tend to go for psychotherapeutic approaches. I dont believe everything is solved by popping a pill, even though meds can help sometimes. Meds can also sap motivation or clarity, so, my best approach is take small steps. If you achieve, going for a walk, or making a meal, or feeding a pet, or getting dressed and moving, celebrate any healthy actions that are in accord with your values. Maybe over time you will become more clear abot daily stuff and gradually develop longer term plans, and be less ambivalent.

Take care

apple

Hey @sol_87 what you're describing sounds like it could be a form of 'functional freeze' - it's a nervous system response to trauma, and it looks a lot like appearing 'functional' on the outside, but on the inside feeling stuck or 'frozen'. Also, what you said about not feeling particularly dysregulated may be part of the 'numbness' - which is our nervous system's way of protecting us from overwhelming emotions.

I found an article about it here, if you'd like to have a read. I am no clinical psychologist, so I'd definitely recommend reaching out to get some professional support or seek a trauma specialist. I've also heard that somatic therapies can be really good for addressing functional freeze, but of course everyone is different so it might just be about finding what works for you 🙂

@sol_87 hello.

It's complicated.

Negative symptoms are a feature of psychotic disorders. They're unpleasant. Difficult for us and for those who care about us. Professionals don't seem to care about them and write them off as part of tge experience.

But many of us seem to have lived through early trauma before being diagnosed with the psychotic illness in adolescence or as a young adult. So maybe there's learnt functional freeze... I'm speculating.

For myself, yes I'm diagnosed with a disorder where I've had episodic psychosis but an event or family interaction can seem to trigger the shutdown of functional freeze.

I very much sympathise with what you've described.

Forgive me for sounding dimwitted but I'm at a low point at the moment, and struggling to express myself.

Take care.

@Jynx @Appleblossom howdy.

Sorry @sol_87 you asked if there was anything that could be done about it.

Well...

I try to practice behavioural activation as recommended for depression. I have variable results. I now walk regularly (a win) and have variable results with pushing myself to do housework and other stuff.

A psychologist wants me to do EMDR rmto fix the trauma.

Like @Appleblossom said, start small and celebrate the wins.