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Our stories

Re: Self blame

The rape memory was making me feel sad and angry 

Re: Self blame

I have days like that and it's difficult to think of anything else when those thoughts take over. Having your body, mind and soul violated in such violent ways will leave scars that are invisible to all but ourselves. 

 

Do you have any techniques to help you when these emotions take hold??

There are so many different ways and not all will work for everyone so it may take time to find what works for you.

Re: Self blame

I got none 

Re: Self blame

One of the biggest helps I have found is guided meditation. There are so many apps out there you can download to your phone. I use 2. One is headspace that I pay for and the other is called smiling mind which is free. I find if I try to meditate on my own when really struggling with my anxiety and depression my mind will wander to what I'm trying to avoid. However, the guided meditation provides enough distraction to hold my attention. 

 

Simply focusing on your breathing may sound silly but it can be extremely effective. Try counting 1 when you inhale, 2 when you exhale, 3 inhale, etc up to 10 then start the count again. Focus on how the breath feels, where in your body do you notice it the most? For me it's the rise and fall of my chest and the tingling in my nose when I exhale slowly.

 

Another issue I have is my whole body feeling tight and tense when my anxiety flares up. For this I focus on tensing parts of my body as tight as I can and then slowly relaxing and constantly concentrating on the difference between the two feelings. I like to start from head to toe so start by bringing my shoulders up to my ears, then tensing arms and balling hands into fists, then stomach muscles, glutes, thighs, calves then curling my toes. For me this is a way I show myself that I have control over my body. Regaining that sense of control is very important for recovery. 

Re: Self blame

This type of grounding doesn’t work for me I’d rather talk it out everybody and I mean everybody wants to help me the girl who can’t get over her trauma 

Re: Self blame

Talking it out is definitely a great way to unpack all the thoughts and emotions causing the flare up as well as the underlying causes of our illnesses. I have also found writing down these thoughts and feelings helpful. I find it quite liberating to then destroy what I've written as a way to move towards letting go of them. Obviously it's not that simple in terms of recovery from the trauma but it may help in the moment.

 

Of course people want to help especially here on the forums. I don't believe you can ever really "get over" trauma. Learning to live with it is much more achievable. I personally would never wish what I've been through on my worst enemy and instead feel good when I'm able to use my experiences to help others

Re: Self blame

I can’t let go only someone today I wanted to let go but I couldn’t and I felt worse and worse finally when I arrived I was so exhausted I tried taking a warm shower I then lay down and took a 3 hour nap and I let go of that balloon and I’m popping it tomorrow I just have to learn how to relax my psychologist was on the phone with me and telling me to try relax and chill out and I did my best to cool my jets after my appointments I felt better I was relived the episode i was over I thought it’s over now time to

relax 

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