Cats,

I have PTSD also. My therapist just taught me about "Safe Place Imagery" it is basically where you close your eyes and go to a safe place that you have created in your mind. It is a way to escape and run away when we need to.

1.Get comfortable and focus on your breathing for a few minutes. Close your eyes and let tension in your body go with each breath.
2.Release any tension in your body.
3.Imagine a place where you feel calm, peaceful and safe. It may be a place you've been before, somewhere you dreamed of going, somewhere you've seen a picture of, or just a peaceful place that you can create.
4.Look around you in that place, notice colors, shapes, what else do you notice?
5.Notice sounds around you. Sounds far away and near
6.Think about the smells you notice there.
7.Focus on skin sensations...the earth beneath you..the temperature, air
8.Notice the pleasant physical sensations in your body
9.Name your safe place with a word or phrase that can bring back that image any time you need to.
10. You can chose to linger there for a while, just enjoying the peacefulness and serenity. You can leave whenever you want to, just by opening your eyes and being aware of where you are now.

My therapist used this on me today to get me to relax. It worked WONDERS ! I imagined the place I used to run away to and hide as a child. My very own real-life safe place. Oh have I missed that place. It was great to be back there today. My place was in the woods, down a path and ended with a river. I used to sit on a big rock and watch the water flow down the river and listen to the birds. It was my very own safe place.