What to talk about in therapy when illness has stripped my functioning and life away?

I've been seeing a lovely relational psychodynamic therapist for 2.5 years. I have late diagnosed Autism and ADHD but (prior to this year) had reasonably low support needs. I started going after a traumatic divorce (coercive control dynamic) and a realisation that shame and social anxiety were huge issues for me. My therapist and I clicked straight away because we both see images in our heads, and we share them as we discuss topics, and I love the symbolic metaphor part of our therapy.

Unfortunately, in the last 8 months I have developed debilitating physical symptoms that have progressively gotten worse. I have had to quit work and can now barely leave the house. I am still seeing specialists and am awaiting more tests. I won't list my symptoms but an adrenal tumour or autoimmune condition are now being ruled in/out. My friends have dropped away because I am never well.enough. I live alone.

What this means is that week after week I now come to session saying "I spent 3 days in bed, managed a small grocery shop on Wednesday, washed my hair Thursday, I'm still in a lot of pain". My cognition is cloudy and I can no longer analyse or imagine or see images. I can't read, can't focus on TV, and am bedbound a lot. My therapist has defaulted to asking when my next doctors appointment is, can I get it moved forward, what happens when I try modified yoga (which I used to do a lot) etc. Our connection feels distant and the therapy feels hopeless and pointless. I often mention my despair to her and how lonely and isolated I feel, but she seems to not want to dwell there. I'm not sure what I'm getting out of it, I don't want to lose her because she is one of the few consistent supports I have

I want to broach this with my T but am not sure what to suggest. My therapist is in her 70s and doesn't do mindfulness or other more skills based stuff. I also had ADHD coaching a while ago that taught me about lowering my standards for functioning, setting small goals etc and I still use that.

Any suggestions for how to keep our therapy going?

Posted Dec 29, 2025, 6:37 PM UTC

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