They notice the absences, even the short ones, even if we don't think so. After 6 months, my H finally commented "don't you do something on Wednesday?" Well, he knows what I do, I go to church.
As much as we might like SOMETHING to act like a lightening strike to their brains, I don't think it works like that. Yes we talk about triggers setting this off, but I think it is more like event, slow processing (which we call denial), then slow through all of the other stages, then eventually a slow awakening. All the while, going back and forth with trying to avoid, run, etc...Until eventually each issue is dealt with and they are really able to function again. So I wonder if they are like the slowest turtles in the world, or hamsters running endlessly on the exercise wheel.
"Acceptance doesn't mean resignation. It means understanding that something is what it is and there's got to be a way through it."--Michael J. Fox
