5 Easy Ways Introverts Can Improve Communication During Therapy Sessions

5 Easy Ways Introverts Can Improve Communication During Therapy Sessions

Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment often utilizes individual and group therapy. Extroverts may have no difficulty speaking up and sharing their opinions or experiences. However, introverts can easily feel out of place, embarrassed, or judged by others. Communication is essential during recovery, and some introverts may struggle with that aspect of treatment. According to Patient Communication In Substance Abuse Disorders, “Proper communication allows patients to be more knowledgeable about their prognosis and to be more proactive in seeking assistance.” Newport Beach Recovery Center offers a range of treatments to ensure clients feel comfortable communicating openly with our care team.

Coping With Therapy as an Introvert

Not everyone feels comfortable discussing their experiences, thoughts, and beliefs with strangers. Many introverts shy away from sharing embarrassing or incriminating details about past events, and for them, therapy might feel threatening or intrusive.

Some introverts do the following to cope with anxiety or stress related to therapy:

  • Take regular breaks from talking to refocus
  • Utilize grounding techniques like deep breathing
  • Work through difficult discussions over the course of several sessions
  • Write down details instead of sharing them verbally

Co-occurring disorders often worsen symptoms, and introverts with mental health issues might feel misunderstood, alienated, or isolated from peers. The care team at Newport Beach Recovery Center uses a resiliency-focused approach to ensure clients feel safe and accepted during therapy sessions.

5 Ways Introverts Can Communicate Effectively During Therapy

Below are five ways introverts can effectively communicate with their therapist during sessions. We encourage people to use whatever methods help them get the most out of each session.

#1 Take Things One Step at a Time

You may feel easily overwhelmed by new settings, people, or situations. At first, you might want to avoid being vulnerable with a therapist. Take things one step at a time. Focus on getting to your appointment and then introducing yourself. Express your hesitation to the therapist. Your therapist will walk you through the healing process at a pace that keeps you moving forward slowly and comfortably. You shouldn’t feel pressured to open up about certain topics before you’re ready.

#2 Use Grounding Techniques to Avoid Triggers

Triggers can affect your ability to communicate effectively. Moments of extreme stress in public spaces often overwhelm introverts. You might get triggered during sessions and feel unable to continue. Grounding techniques will help you cope and manage side effects.

Many people use the following grounding techniques during treatment sessions:

  • Physical grounding using textures (e.g., touching your clothes or bringing a stim toy or other item with a unique texture)
  • Focusing briefly on the five senses and mentally or verbally listening to what you hear, see, taste, feel, and smell
  • Completing several deep breathing techniques
  • Focusing on specific items within the room and mentally or verbally describing their appearance and function

These activities can help you stay present in the moment. You might feel more capable of emotionally regulating by grounding yourself.

#3 Establish Clear Boundaries

Forcing yourself to keep talking when you feel emotionally or physically exhausted can lead to negative therapy experiences. Effective communication sometimes means knowing when to take a short break. Your therapist can help you establish communication boundaries to improve your mental health. You can also establish safe words to relay to your therapist when you’re getting close to your boundaries and when you’ve hit a hard stopping point.

#4 Practice Body Language and Nonverbal Communication

Therapists observe body language and take cues from the client. You can express your feelings about various topics during sessions by using body language and other forms of nonverbal communication.

Your therapist may look for the following when monitoring your body language:

  • Tensed muscles
  • Shorter or quicker breathing
  • Closed expression
  • Folded arms
  • Speech pattern changes

Closed body language is an excellent way to alert your therapist that you do not feel comfortable discussing specific topics. Additionally, you and your therapist can implement certain ASL signs. “Stop,” “no,” “yes,” and emotion words can help when you feel too overwhelmed to speak out loud.

#5 Engage in More Social Interactions

Engaging in positive social interactions frequently can increase your confidence, thereby improving your communication. According to a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, “[I]ntroverts with high social engagement have higher self-esteem than introverts with low social engagement.” Group therapy and peer interactions during community activities can improve your social skills and ability to communicate during therapy.

Overcoming Shyness and Uncertainty as an Introvert

You can overcome shyness, embarrassment, fear, and uncertainty by finding ways to improve your confidence. Once you find techniques that work for you, therapy sessions will feel less intimidating. Being shy does not have to stop you from taking full advantage of individual and group therapy sessions. You can collaborate with the therapist and your care team to find healthy solutions and resolve issues.

People can work through shyness or hesitancy during therapy sessions in the following ways:

  • Treat the therapist as a friend
  • Try to avoid stimulating activities, drinks, or foods directly before therapy
  • Be kind to yourself
  • Set realistic expectations for therapy sessions

Therapy is an essential tool, and being able to take advantage of it will help you achieve and sustain long-term sobriety. In many cases, individuals with SUD benefit from therapy during aftercare and ongoing recovery. Newport Beach Recovery Center uses evidence-based methods to develop essential life skills like effective communication.

Introverts often feel overwhelmed, shy, or uncertain about having deeply personal conversations in public. During rehabilitation, individual and group therapy sessions are essential to treatment. Some introverts might not feel comfortable talking to someone they do not know about highly personal things like substance abuse, family dynamics, and beliefs about recovery. However, there are things you can do as an introvert to decrease stress during therapy. You can find alternative ways to communicate your needs and get to know your therapist better. Having a more personal connection can reduce anxiety for introverts. Newport Beach Recovery Center makes it easy for clients to build rapport with our therapists. To learn more about our programs and services, call (888) 850-0363.

How to Accept Past Mistakes Without Holding Onto Them

How to Accept Past Mistakes Without Holding Onto Them

Treatment often involves identifying and processing underlying issues that contribute to the development of substance use disorder (SUD). Some people have difficulty living with the consequences of actions made during or after instances of substance misuse. You might struggle with mistakes you have made in the past.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), actions that cause yourself or others distress can have lasting consequences. “[M]oral injury can occur in response to acting or witnessing behaviors that go against an individual’s values and moral beliefs.” Often, they lead to regret, fear, anger, shame, or other negative emotions. You do not have to let things you have done in the past dictate your future choices or happiness. The experts at Newport Beach Recovery Center use evidence-based methods to help individuals accept past choices, overcome trauma, and move forward in their recovery.

Mistakes Can Motivate Your Recovery

Motivation is essential to establishing and maintaining healthy routines that support long-term sobriety. According to the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, “Behavior can be motivated by the desire to avoid future feelings of guilt.” You can avoid repeating maladaptive patterns by learning to identify unhealthy behaviors. You replace those unhealthy behavioral patterns with new routines. The emotional distress caused by past choices can give you the determination to become a better version of yourself.

Finding a reason to do better and building positive routines can enhance the effectiveness of treatment. Healthy motivations also do the following:

  • Help you get through difficult moments in recovery
  • Provide you with the determination to actively participate in treatment and therapy
  • Give you a reason to continue making progress in ongoing recovery

Mistakes you have made can also reveal underlying issues that contributed to the development of SUD. Self-reflection increases self-awareness and allows you to address problems that might impact your recovery. Recognizing their influence on your thoughts and behaviors will give you a starting point for lifelong changes.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

You are not alone in regretting past choices. Everyone lives with mistakes and must find a healthy way to accept them and move forward. In many cases, pain caused by mistakes can become a vital learning moment and a turning point. Moral injury does not have to keep you from growing and healing.

Every single person alive has done things they wish they could take back. Normalizing your experiences can help you move past them and avoid repeating them in the future. You can look to peers, mentors, sponsors, and members of your support system for insight into how they overcame their own regrets or shame. Use the lessons they have learned to protect yourself from experiencing the same negativity in the future.

How to Move Past Mistakes

Moving past mistakes does not mean ignoring that they happened or pretending you do not deserve the consequences. Everyone must live with the side effects of the actions they take. However, you can learn from the experience and find better ways to act moving forward. How you choose to respond to your mistakes will affect your mental health, recovery, and relationships.

You can remove the guilt of past mistakes by doing the following:

  • Processing your feelings about it in individual or group therapy
  • Meditating or using mindfulness techniques to ground yourself when you start to feel overwhelmed by past mistakes
  • Determining what actions lead to the mistake and developing strategies for avoiding those behaviors
  • Recognizing that you have grown as a person and choosing not to repeat the mistake

Speak with a loved one, therapist, or sponsor about your feelings. An outside perspective can often make recognizing unhealthy thought patterns easier. Talking to others can give you another view on the topic and encourage you to find healthier options for the future.

Letting Go of Guilt, Shame, and Regret

Negative emotions like guilt, shame, and regret do not have to linger and interfere with your recovery. You can accept them as a consequence of your actions and then choose to let them go. Sometimes it takes support from loved ones, peers, or a mental health professional to accomplish this goal. Forgiving yourself does not have to mean giving up responsibility for your actions. However, it does allow you to find a way to feel comfortable with your circumstances and choices.

Your past does not have to dictate your future choices or sense of self-worth. In fact, you can use them as motivation to guide your actions and improve your mental health. Use them as tools for healing. Newport Beach Recovery Center uses group and individual therapy to empower clients and give them the skills they need to grow. Your moral injury does not define you. Recovery is about finding new ways to think about yourself and interact with the world. Letting go of past mistakes is one step in that journey.

Negative emotions can interfere with your mental health during rehabilitation. However, you do not have to continue struggling if you find yourself obsessively feeling bad about past mistakes or actions. Shame, guilt, regret, and other painful and distressing emotions often indicate the need for positive changes. You can use them as motivation to continue making progress in your recovery. Let go of past mistakes by accepting them as learning experiences. Newport Beach Recovery Center offers evidence-based treatments to help clients heal. You can learn to move forward from the past and build a better future. We can help you find healthy ways to cope with the choices you have made. To learn more, call us today at (888) 850-0363.