What helps

[hhaw]

Daily care, finding an amazing Trauma Informed T with an overtly full tool box of therapies and never ending patience without expectations for what I'll do or not do in sessions with her has been a game changer in my life.

T's Buddhist leanings and fact shes doing her own work with her own trauma informed T (specializing in AIT now, ADVANCED INTEGRATIVE THERAPY) has been a game changer for my T, according to her and her work to overcome her trauma and addiction.  My T has used ART and EMDR and Tapping, but the AIT has been the most effective for her and I was glad to find that was the case for me too.  T didn't bring it up until I brought it up, bc she didn't want to throw me off based on her experience in sessions with her T. 

The things I can do for msyelf daily, that really seem to matter, is using lighting sources that calm and cheer my Nervous System.  I notice if there's a bright cool lightbulb or if there's a warm lightbulb that can be dimmed when I enter a room. I really enjoy calm lighting and it's something I just don't tolerate,which some people don';t understand.  I don't think people notices things like that a lot of the time,but I do.

The food and information I put inside my brain and body matter. 

Living, healthy, productive things vs dead foods and negative information are night and day impacting how I see the world.  They impact my ability to respond and be responsive rather than react and be reactive without understanding why I'm in survival mode or noticing I need to find a way to calm down and get out of it. 

Remaining level is about catching my brain before I'm completely in fight or flight and resetting my Nervous System and brain.

Over and over. 

It's not bad or good,. it just is the way things are to be human and learning how to get back into my body...back into the present moment and out of worry sprials that resolve nothing, but weaken my mind,body and spirit. Doing what I can, then putting whatever situation I'm dealing with on the shelf...so I can turn to what's in front of me and find joy....is better than the worry worry worry sprial coping strategy I used to employ without awareness of what i was doing. 

[guitarman]

It's good to know that you've found something that has helped you.

I practice Mindfulness guided meditations most week days online with a teacher and have joined an online mental health support group for daily chats.

I'm going through a rough patch at the moment. I have a lot of worry and anxiety. Everything seems to be triggering me and bringing up traumatic events from witnessing many decades of abusive behaviour. It's constantly in my thoughts as though it is still going on or about to happen.

I am trying to be kinder and gentler with myself. I have found Loving Kindness Metta Mindfulness meditations helpful. There are many on YouTube to listen to.

I have extreme negative thinking at times which is difficult to shift and change around.

[NarcKiddo]

This is stupid simple, but I am finding that writing down my thoughts in a journal helps me tremendously.

Like if I have an angry, repeated thought about uPDw, or something that's really bothering me that I can't let go of, the simple act of writing it down clears it from my brain. It's like it closes an open loop so I can stop thinking about it.

I use both a physical journal, and a journal app on my phone called Day One. I just write wherever is most convenient for me at the moment.

Thank you!

My therapist has suggested journalling and I have read elsewhere that it is a good idea. For years I have tried, on and off, but I just CANNOT get on with a physical journal. So I checked out Day One and it looks awesome.