I was taking benedryl for sleep and would forget when the last dose I too and how much and so on so now I keep a sort of medication log. I write down the medication time, date and how much I took. This way when I wake up at night All I have to do is look at the medication log to see if and how much I took before going to bed. I don't have to worry about taking it while in memory pieces because as a child I was never given any thing for allergies, in fact I wasn't allergy tested until I was 16 and the only alergy meds on the market without a prescription was calmine lotion which of course is not used for airborn allergies. Let alone I had never heard of medication logs until I was an adult and no longer being abused and DHS was doing it to keep all my sons medications straight so none of my memory pieces contained information about writing on a medication log while being abused. Since taking benedyl during an abuse situation and keeping medication logs during an abuse situation is not a part of my memory piece content I can't take it and keep the log while experiencing a memory piece so I know what is wrote on on my medication log is correct. By keeping a log I don't have to worry anymore about being confused when waking up or coming out of a memory. I just look at the log and a clock if at least 3-4 hours has gone by I know its ok to take some more.

As for what to do to make the memory pieces feel safe - From reading my blog you know what my experiences are - my memory pieces are situations of abuse that got separated and stored in my unconscious level. Memorys are stored forever and I can't change the memory content of something that is already done and past.

For example I can't load dishes into a dishwasher and then later remember that situation as my doing the dishes by hand.

Action - I just loaded the dishwasher, added the soap and a bit of bleach because yesterday I noticed that it was draining slowly. I shut the dish washer and turned it on. then came in to the office and logged on my computer.

Stored memory - the same as action. Nothing more nothing less. The situation of loading the dishwasher is done and over so its now considered the past and is stored as is. It is unchangeable because I can not go back to the original situation before it was done and stored as a memory and do it the first time again.

Since the memory is already stored I can't make that memory change into I put water in the sink and added dish soap and spent 15 minutes to half hour doing the dishes by hand.

The memory content is what it is and there is no changing that because the situaation is all done.

The same concept for memory pieces - the memory has been stored as is during that original situation and the situation is done and over with. It is what it is and will remain as it was stored as the situation happened. Its always going to be whatever that content is because you can not travel back in time to the point before the situation was done and do it again the first time. Unfortunately we do not have the "back to the future with Michael J Fox" technology.

So your memory piece is - the feeling of not being safe/self harm otherwise it would not be there.

it's always going to be that because the original situation was that - you at some point were feeling unsafe and either thought about or used self harm and there is no changing what has already happened and past.

Since there is no going back in time and doing that original situation for the first time, so that the memory can be stored without feeling unsafe and without self harm we have to go on what we know today.

Something in the present time is matching with the past situation so that you are experiencing the piece of memory of feeling unsafe/self harm and that memory piece keeps replaying - look around you in your life today and see what is possibly triggering (upsetting you) to the point where you are dissocaiting and that memory content is replaying.

Take care of the trigger and that memory content stops replaying and you will feel safer.

Taking care of the trigger means noticing what is making you feel uncomfortable now and change that. changing it could mean telling someone to back off, take a walk wrap up in a blanket for warmth, take a bath, read a different book, call your therapist, change your clothes.... any number of things depending on what is making you in the present feel uncomfortable and what you need to feel better.