Today’s prompt comes from 100 Inspirational Journal Prompts by Melissa Bolton @ The Mogul Mom
Someone who has profoundly affected you.
There have been a lot of people who’ve affected my life – some negatively and some positively, but there is one person who came along in a desperate time of my life and actually listened to me and encouraged me to make changes in my life. Her name is Kathryn and she was my therapist from early 2012 through late 2013.
Prior to Kathryn, I had been trying to get therapists and my p-docs to believe me when I talked about how my then-husband treated me. They would call him into sessions with me and he would be oh-so charming and innocent-acting. He would say all the right things and show only love and devotion toward me. My claims weren’t believed and it was all in my head.
When Kathryn became my therapist, I was apprehensive. I didn’t want to go through the long process of explaining how I’d been treated only to have another therapist not believe me. After weeks of sessions, I finally opened up to her. She said she believed me and said let’s bring him in on the next session. I was mortified. He would completely snow-ball her and my hopes of having anyone believe me would be dashed again. During that session, she asked him questions about our relationship, listening closely to his answers and taking notes. At the end, she asked us to do an exercise. We were to list five things that we loved about one another and bring it to our next joint session. I said I would do it, but when she asked my then-husband, he hemmed and hawed about it and wouldn’t commit. In fact, he never did the exercise and we never had anymore joint sessions. He claimed therapy was hogwash and a waste of time. Kathryn said he had many traits of Narcissism and she would help me to counter him, which she did over the course of six months. She also taught me Mindfulness as a means to alleviate my anxiety.
I learned so much from Kathryn. She encouraged me to begin writing again after a long three-year drought. I’d bring in my poems and she would read them. We would analyze my feelings over them and she praised my work and success. I honestly believe if she hadn’t come into my life, I would be dead by now.
As the Fates Would Have It 