Dave’s Precision Reengagement: When the False Self Shatters

It hit me like a G-force in Top Gun.

Dave was spiraling. You could feel the dissociation in the room—a kind of psychic nausea thick enough to taste. He wanted to end the session. I don’t blame him. He was unraveling, and unraveling hurts. Part of me thought, “Yeah, I could use a nap too.”

But then I did what Maverick did. I reengaged.

This week, Dave hit a threshold. The mask started to slip—and then it fell off completely. He was exhausted from playing his false self. You know the one: competent, composed, tactical. The executive mask. The good son. The lovable guy. All the masks men wear just to survive.

He didn’t want me to see how scared he was.

But I did.

And I told him—flat out—you don’t have to perform here. This space doesn’t require a mask. And that’s when it happened.

Word vomit.

The whole backlog of unspoken terror, ungrieved pain, and unmet childhood need came pouring out. It wasn’t polished. It wasn’t intellectual. It was real.

And it was a masterclass in countertransference.

Because I felt it too. The urge to dissociate. The nausea. The resistance. The grief. But I stayed with it. Contained it. Framed it. That’s the art. That’s PrecisionCycle.

Key Moments:

• Dave nearly ended the session—a clear indicator of threshold resistance.

• I noticed the nausea in both of us. Somatic attunement matters.

• I named the false self and gave permission to let it go.

• He reentered his own emotional field with tears, shame, and honesty.

• We tracked the exact defense he uses to protect his wound—and then broke it down together.

Why This Matters:

A man’s healing doesn’t always come through catharsis. Sometimes it comes when he’s about to check out—and chooses to stay in. This wasn’t therapy. This was an exorcism of everything performative. The protective layers were peeled away, and for the first time, Dave saw himself without the armor.

He survived it.

And that means he’s ready to start living for real.

Takeaway:

PrecisionCycle isn’t about fixing you. It’s about breaking the loop. And this week, Dave broke the loop that told him being vulnerable equals being weak.

It doesn't.

It equals being human.

🎧 Download the latest podcast: Walter and the Beep: A Story of Healing, Humor, and Human Connection in Treatment

Enrique Arteaga - Chief Countertransference Officer - elevate.epo © 2025 APG, All Rights Reserved