Remember, you can tell yourself that the terrible thing happened to you but right now you are safe

Signs of traumatic memories

1. They don’t soften over time (they stay intense and vivid)

2 They are often sensory (flashbacks)

it feels like the event in sights, sounds  and smells

3. The passage of time is distorted    It feels like you are living it over and over again in the present moment.

4. They are also fragmented   They don’t follow a realistic order and some information may be blocked

What can we do?

– Do small doses at a time   Stay in the window of tolerance    It is like learning to swim

– Work on identifying / labeling your feelings with words

-Draw or paint the trauma and it make it something you fully face verses avoid during the time when you feel confident and not triggered   Then, create a file in your mind of the trauma or traumas.   Lean into the pain and release the fear of feeling it

– Be gentle and compassionate with yourself    Don’t put yourself down     You can’t heal hating yourself.   You are not allowed to compare yourself to others! You are you and you are doing the best you can! We are all on our own journey!

-Create and practice coping skills.

-Turn your pain into something such as art, writing, etc.

Work towards being able to label your feelings and file them away in your mind!

Movement/ exercise  during times of feeling flashbacks can help with processing

When I feel triggered and anxious by past trauma, I start out feeling shaky and anxious   My breathing becomes either a panic attack or asthma attack

I am a work in progress and will always be the process of healing!

If only we could make the traumas never had of ever happened without giving up the wisdom and personal growth that we may of gained!

Life isn’t about “easy” and being perfect though!

if you take life one step in front of another, it gets better and the mountains that we climb can be more bearable   We are worth the the effort to keep moving on and to heal.