If you find yourself frozen in immobility, what should you say – and what should you not say – to yourself? What can you do to help yourself get out of it? Today I Felt Paralyzed This morning I felt like I didn’t want to get up. It wasn’t voluntary. I didn’t decide I wouldn’t …
Tag Archive: healing exercise
Aug 07 2015
Using Your Past Self as a Healing Resource for PTSD
PTSD and Driving Don’t Mix Well My Mom recently bought me a car (on June 16th to be exact). So I’ve had it now for a month and a half. I’ve been driving more frequently in the last week (since boyfriend aka chauffeur is away) and I noticed I was developing a fear of driving. …
Jul 27 2015
Free Coloring Pages for Relaxing & De-stressing
Calm down and color! I’ve been working on some coloring pages to include in my book of self-healing exercises for PTSD. I’ve finished this one design and added three different backgrounds. I have another design I’m working on of fish underwater which I will add to this post if I can finish it. 1. Coloring …
Jul 17 2015
Breathing Exercises for Stress, Anxiety & PTSD
I’ve been working on 3 articles about PTSD and the Healing Powers of the Breath. They are coming along, but I decided I first want to compile a bunch of actual exercises into a post and “Just Do It.” Do the exercises first and discuss the whole subject in depth later. Briefly, the basic principle …
Mar 20 2015
Exercise: Relax!
Synonyms: Self-relaxation through Visualization Healing Mechanisms: Visualization, Active Imagination Comments: This exercise is just one example of how to use visualization to relax the body. It is meant to open up your imagination to the many possibilities for using active imagination to change states in the body. This exercise is meant to encourage creativity and …
Jan 17 2015
Grounding for Trauma Healing – Two Ways to Ground Using Pressure
I love using pressure for grounding. In the above illustration, I show the way pressure can sometimes help to dissipate intense activation in the nervous system. The red lines in the picture represent “activation” – upset, distress, fear, panic, terror, or other kinds of chaos and overwhelm. The activation can be provoked by a memory, …
Jan 07 2015
Grounding Exercise – Feet, Seat and Back (Using Focused Attention on Sensations)
Synonyms (Alternate Titles): Into The Body Exercise, Physical Containment and Support Exercise, Connecting Body To Earth Exercise, Mind Body Ground Linking Exercise, Awakening Physical Presence Exercise, One Location One Time Exercise. Healing Mechanisms: Focused attention on bodily sensations. Focused attention is a skill of the mind. Sensation is an attribute of our biology, our nervous …
Oct 23 2014
What I See is New, What I See is Safe – A Look Inside A Somatic Experiencing Therapy Session for PTSD
After 3 years hiatus, I am finally continuing Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapy and the first session was amazing. Takeaways — In this article you will: Learn 2 ways to re-associate triggers – the first I call Brain Reprogramming Via 2 Lists and the second, the way used during the SE Session, I call Exploring The …
Oct 03 2014
Learn to Handle Anger Using NVC – Interactive Story
Miss Kitty has an anger problem. Can you help her? Can you show Miss Kitty how to decide to think before going into a rage? Can you show Miss Kitty how to take 3 deep breaths when she feels angry? Can you figure out what universal human needs are behind Miss Kitty’s angry, rageful thoughts …
Sep 23 2014
The Slowed Down Thinking Exercise
It’s time to slow down that fear-based thinking! When we are hyped up or keyed up, we tend to think at a fast pace with a high level of urgency. We may feel as if our thoughts are racing out of control or going round and round in circles. Of course, this is not a …