Psychologist visits always take a lot out of me. They bring up things that I didn’t even know were floating around in my mind, even though I went in with a super tabbed book, and pages of exercises that I had done to further my healing. It’s like you get a nice egg beater to the brain and then get to go home and try to sort it out!
Currently I happen to be in that struggling stage of taking 2 steps forward, only to take 1.5 steps back. It’s better than nothing, but certainly not the progress that I’d like to be making. Recovery is definitely something that is not to be taken lightly, and it is far more complicated and difficult than I EVER imagined. I mean soon this will be my third year with my psychologist (who is FANTASTIC!), and there are always new things to try to approach. On the plus side, my external stress is down, but on the negative side, all of the trauma is bubbling up from inside, which I could never deal with when my pain was way out of control. Hence, the constant nightmares!
She’s very against the idea of going for ketamine infusions at this point in time, as she’s positive that the hallucinations that come with it will be filled with all of the nightmare trauma that has been going occurring. Chances are it would end up being a negative physical/emotional trauma for me at this time. I don’t think I need any more of those before I can fix a few other things!
Yesterday she asked me to find a new obsession that I can use as a grounding experience. I’m not sure what I can use, but apparently when we go to open the inner trauma box, I can get worse for quite a time before I get better.
I woke up with a migraine creeping in my brain, which is great as I am to leave the house tonight to go on a Ghost Walk with people I haven’t met in person before (*NERVOUS*). I’ll be taking some painkillers and hoping that I stay cool, calm, and collected.
This is the best picture about recovery that I’ve ever seen!
Any advice for something to use as a grounding exercise, or even just for going through this process? I’d appreciate it!
xoxo,
Annie
Hi I think walking meditation might help or mindfulness of the breath meditation. Being ground in my mind means having a sense of security within. You feel that you know where you are and that your feet are on the ground. When you feel secure you are more relaxed and the flight or fight response switches off. I had a some very unsettling traumatic experiences in the past. It was hard to let og and move on. When I started meditating (25 years ago now) I felt as if I was waking up from the past and living in the present again. In the present there was no trauma, danger or threat. I could let go and I felt secure again, at last. It was like waking up from a bad dream. I am really passioante about meditation so I set up this my website to help others. The site tells you for FREE how you get started in the way that I did by just doing a simple mindfulness of the breath meditation. There is lots of scientific evidence to show it works. If you’re interested I am happy to tell you more. I hope you are soon taking 2 steps forward and non back. I get the impression you are a brave person. Never give up hope. You’ll get there. Wishing love and peace. Steve
Hi, I use knitting to ground myself. It has been the most wonderfully nurturing tool, relaxing, creative and meditative all in one. When things are buzzing aroung my brain, I stick a film on and knit. I only use pure wool as it is the most beautiful for my hands to interact with and creates the nicest garments (warm), and I use bamboo needles from China which feel lovely in my fingers. The whole experience is incredibly wholesome and very therapeutic. It warms my heart, and others love recieving knitted gifts so hopefully warms theirs too. I recommend it!! x
when I start having overwhelming emotions I start counting the objects in the room. an example would be how many windows are in the room. how many pictures are on the walls. how many chairs are there. I breath slowly in and out and take a few minutes to let this exercise settle me.
I also have an app on my phone to practice deep breathing. it’s called my calm beat.
I also use guided mediation tapes regularly to decrease my overall stress levels.
Thank you all for the wonderful ideas!
Steve, I do love meditation, and it does bring me into a realm of calm…I need to forever practice as it isn’t always easy, but I think it’s a great way to treat anxiety!
El, I think knitting would be perfect if only I a) knew how to do it (I’ve tried to learn on YouTube, but that didn’t work out so well!), and b) had the attention span! Maybe I’ll be lucky and someone can teach me sometime!
Pramoda, I also count when I get overwhelmed and I also have an app that has a bunch of ambient sounds that I can use to relax. I swear those apps are totally worth the 99 cents they cost!