Brent started to work with me after his wife, Carla, suddenly decided to leave the marriage. They had been married five years and Brent thought everything was fine. Then Brent became ill and Carla withdrew. And then she was gone.
Brent was devastated. He loved Carla and wanted her back. However, he soon learned that she had not been honest with him, even from the beginning of their relationship. He learned that she had been more interested in his money than in him. She was ruthlessly going after his money.
After a couple of months, Brent was doing better. He had let go of Carla and had started to date. Then Carla sent him an email where her tone was softer then it had been, and this sent Brent back into anxiety.
“I have been waking up anxious every morning,” Brent told me in one of our phone sessions. “And feeling anxiety a lot during the day.”
“Brent, what are you telling yourself about Carla?”
“I keep wishing that things were back the way they were. I love her and I want her back. Her email made me think that things could be back the way they were.”
“Brent, Carla left you when you...