Good Morning everyone,
Since this is such a stressful time of year for many people, I wanted to post some ideas from my book "Unlocking the Puzzle of PTSD, A Holistic Guide to Restoring Inner Peace.
I hope that they help and blessings to everyone!
These are from Chapter 3: Taking Your Power Back.
The ability to take your power back is essential to healing from any past trauma, especially healing from PTSD or Complex PTSD.
The following are tools that can be used to assist in healing. If any tool triggers you, STOP using it. You can always try again at another time if you want to.
Don’t overdrive your headlights. When you are driving and it is dark outside you will only see a few feet ahead. Then as soon as you have gone as far at the lights shine, you will see farther ahead. So, take your time emotionally and only go as far as you can see at that time. Reminding yourself about this can help change your thinking and reactions.
Breathe Deeply in through your nose to the count of 3, hold to 3 and out through your mouth to the count of 6. If you are panicking and can’t breathe in, Breathe Out! This will force you to breathe in. Try to breathe from your diaphragm not your chest. If you are breathing correctly (think how a baby breathes) your stomach goes out as you breathe in and your stomach goes in as you breathe out. Practice before you need it so that it is easier to use when you do need to calm yourself. Detailed instructions on how to do deep breathing are in Chapter 6. Remind yourself these are just feelings and they will pass. Reassure yourself if you can that you are safe and it is just that PTSD again.
Grounding is the feeling that you are in your body and connected to reality.
This is a simple grounding exercise, which works very well with flashbacks and panic attacks. Sit down, breathe deeply in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Press your hands down on your knees and your feet down on the floor. Continue to breathe deeply and slowly. Focus on what you see and hear around you. Say aloud four things you see and four things you hear around you. If you are having a flashback, remind yourself “This is only PTSD, it is a flashback, it is Not happening now. I am safe here now. This is just a memory.” Say your name and the date.
Another grounding technique to use with deep breathing. Stand and imagine, with your eyes closed if it helps you concentrate, roots growing from your feet to the ground. The roots are gathering energy and strength from the earth. Then allow all anxiety and stress to go into the earth to be used as fertilizer.
Next, raise your arms overhead and imagine grounding into the heavens. Allow all anxiety and stress to be released upward into the heavens and the Light. This means you are grounding both ways up and down. You can also do this outside, with bare feet if possible, on the grass so that you can feel the earth.
As soon as you open your eyes each morning, breathe deeply and set intentions for how you want your day to go. See if you can either visualize or imagine yourself living your intentions for the day. Practicing this daily will help your brain become more used to thinking in a positive way.
Opposite nostril breathing sends more oxygen to the brain to help you think clearly. Use your right thumb to close your right nostril and breathe deeply and slowly in through your left nostril to the count of three or four. Hold to three. Now use your left thumb to hold your left nostril closed while breathing out slowly through the right nostril to the count of three or four. Keep repeating for a minute or more if you can. If you feel dizzy, stop and breathe normally.
Giving back the gift of unkind words or behaviors. Imagine you are in a tennis match. Someone serves to you and you hit the ball back. You serve and they hit the ball back. They serve and you hit the ball back. What if you did not hit the ball back? Game over. If someone says or does something hurtful to you, you can choose to thank them silently for their gift and refuse to accept it into your mind or body. You can send it back with love so that you are not putting more negative energy into the Universe. Do Not Bite The Bait! The way someone treats you is not about you, it is about the story that the person is telling themselves in their own head.
Make self-care your top priority. This is like Putting your oxygen mask on first as people are told on airplanes. This is not selfish. It is self-caring and there is a difference. You cannot possibly help anyone else if you do not take care of yourself. Make your physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health your priority. When you can give yourself permission to do this, everything else will start to fall into place. If you have been rescuing or taking care of everyone else, it is time to reach behind your back and take your cape off. Why not leave Superwoman and Superman for the movies?
Part of self-care is letting yourself FEEL your feelings as much as you can. This includes giving yourself permission to accept all of your feelings without judging yourself. Be gentle with yourself. No feeling is wrong or bad. The behaviors in response to a feeling can cause an issue.
Proper nutrition is essential for a healing body, mind and soul. Eating several small meals daily is usually healthier than eating three big meals. This will keep the blood sugar steadier and can prevent spikes of too high or too low blood sugar, which can cause mood issues.
Complex carbohydrates are very calming to the body. Oatmeal, whole grain breads, quinoa or brown rice are good choices. Drinking at least eight glasses of water daily will wash out toxins and assist with a better energy level.
Exercising at least three times a week, doing something you enjoy will help with healing and energy level. Walking is a very good exercise. It can be even more effective if you can walk in the woods or on a beach. Swimming is also a good exercise for most people. Always check with your medical provider before staring any exercise program.
Trying to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep is important. Many survivors find that sleep is a huge issue. Natural ideas and good sleep hygiene are much healthier than taking medications that have side effects and can cause dependency. Good sleep hygiene ideas include:
- Go to bed and get up at the same time every day even on weekends and holidays.
- Be sure to get some sunlight daily as early in the morning as possible to set the body clock.
- Avoid going to sleep with the TV or computer on because the light can interfere with the brain’s attempt to relax.
- Use the bedroom for sleep and sex only, not for working.
- Keep the bedroom cool enough so that your body can lower its temperature and fall asleep. Generally, 68 degrees is the recommended room temperature.
- Get up and read something boring or do something boring if you cannot fall asleep after about 20 minutes.
- Eat a small healthy snack before bed. This can keep your blood sugar level and prevent you from waking up at night hungry.
- Use a sound machine, fan, or air purifier for white noise to shut out annoying noises. Listening to ocean waves can be calming also. NOTE: See Chapter 5 under Sound Healing for reasons why hearing ocean waves are relaxing.
Lavender oil is calming to most people. You can use it in a diffuser. You can also mix it with coconut oil or Jojoba oil to dilute it. Then put a small amount on pulse points and on the feet. Smelling the oil will send the calming properties directly to the brain.
I hope you all have good holidays and I welcome feedback. Thank you. Susan
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