regarding telling your therapist about selfshipping—I actually thought it was really interesting because when I started EMDR therapy for my PTSD with my last therapist, one of the first things she had me do was think of certain characters to cast in certain roles to help deal with processing trauma and the intense emotions it can bring up. She specifically suggested picking fictional characters, but it could also just be anything you came up with yourself.
She didn't suggest romantic or friendship-type bonds with these characters, but they were generally cast into sort of a parental or guardian role. Protective characters, and nurturing ones, etc. I forget exactly what all the roles were since this was a couple years ago and I didn't have to spend basically any time thinking about it as I already had most of my current f/os at the time, I just didn't know there was a term for that or a community around it, but when I discovered the community I was very interested to see that apparently some therapists basically recommend self-shipping (at least platonicly) as a treatment!
i love this SO MUCH, @dark-magical-ships!!!!! 💗
it is interesting!!! it's amazing!!! i didn't really think much into it when i started self shipping, i thought i was just doing it for fun! and i was! sort of! but opening up to my therapist about it and really talking about it and unpacking it has shown me how much more than just fun it really is, and it's beautiful! it's really beautiful!
there are so many layers to it! so many different ways to use it, so many different things to get out of it, and it's so amazing to me how many therapists not only support it but recommend and encourage it! i love that your therapist brought this up to you! i love that this isn't just a fun little escape from daily life, it's actually a resource! that's just incredible!
when i was talking to my therapist about it, she was excited! there's always the fear that people won't understand or they'll judge, but she was excited! i told her how i found strength in confidence in these characters, how i imagined them seeing such beauty in me and all that i am, and finally she smiled at me and she said, "liv, that's you. that's you doing these things. you're putting a name and face to them with these characters, but it's you finding that strength and confidence in you, it's you telling yourself that you're beautiful and charming and smart and funny. it's all you."
and she was excited because! so often, we look outside ourselves, in work and relationships, for that validation. we try to get exactly what we need from outside sources but it always ends up falling short and we never end up full. but by using these fictional characters, by almost tricking myself into getting it from me, it's put me in a better place mentally and emotionally than i even realized!!!
i love it. i love it all. i love that we all looked at ourselves and said that we deserve to get what we need. and we gave it to ourselves. even if we weren't doing it consciously, even if we fell into this by accident. i can't think of anything more beautiful !!!!! 💗
