Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne2.0
It is possible to work to bring the traumatic material into a therapy session (for me it was helpful to learn to recognize the onset of dissociation and then use grounding techniques like pressing my feet into the floor and taking three deep breaths or other breathing patterns), to learn to contain it there, and to develop the ability to move forward from it. It is slow and painful, but I'm not an outlier. I think it may be important to start from a cognitive place that the traumatic reaction tripped from memory or symbolic events (by symbolic I mean things that happen that are not abusive, such as the OP's feeling her T is emotionally reacting like her abusers) is not set in stone, forever unchangeable. In my experience, cognitions and emotions are in dynamic flux, constantly informing and influencing the other. The ability to feel and the ability to think are not mutually exclusive.
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i agree...and this is exactly what i did in my own therapy, but i could not even get close to fully addressing the trauma, starting from the cognitive place, until i was able to calm the fear and anxiety that my truama memories triggered. what i experienced felt similar to remaining stuck in a continuous anxiety loop playing endlessly over and over that i could not escape from. plus, due to over-arousal, getting to a place to where i could trust my T enough to fully open up was also an arduous challenge. as i'm sure you are aware of, this is quite a common struggle for many of us with CPTSD and also DID. like you said, it definilty was a slow and painful process because of this.
i'm glad that you found mindfulness helpful for this, but i could not even get into a place to even do basic mindfulness breathing without becoming activated. so this is where i benefited from doing nuerofeedback in conjunction with my talk therapy...it was my version of 'mindfulness'. as the NFB calmed my over-aroused amygdala, i was able to manage addressing the trauama memories without becoming over activated or switching to other alters due to my dissociation. i could remain more grounded and present and that combination, similar to what you found by the grounding techniques you mastered, is what helped me move forward in my talk therapy.