Every time I get on the freeway my enhanced hyper-vigilance is rewarded. I am super aware of cars changing lanes, speed demons racing up from behind and near misses that keeps my hyper-vigilance on alert. It is exhausting being super aware all the time of every person around. I didn’t know it was unusual. I…
A minor annoying experience suddenly goes haywire with emotions that are over-the-top extreme flashback. I am no longer a confident adult but a cringing terrified/angry/helpless child. I know logically that the event did not warrant the level of emotion that washed over me like tsunami. Several of these stood out in my memory. When I…
Stopping or cutting off emotions. Dissociation/cutting off emotions is like freezing frogs….as soon as you thaw them they are hopping all over just the same. Why do I know this? I used dissociation to obliterate anger and other negative emotions. Sadly it did the same thing to love and happiness…only the emotions didn’t go away,…
Lonely in a crowd. Seeing everyone else chat and interact and feeling like I live in a glass bubble. The feeling of being different, out of step, longing to feel included…how can I see anything good in feeling so isolated and alone? I started my own group that included others. I did it, we had…
Shame came up fairly early in my counseling. I was given a book about shame and tried to explain that there was shame and toxic shame only there isn’t a different name for toxic shame so there is shame that is good for you and shame that is bad for you but no wait maybe…
Every once in a while I come across a statement that is so cloaked in psycho babble that it hardly makes sense. This is one of those time. Continuing with the best practices: https://www.blueknot.org.au/Workers-Practitioners/For-Health-Professionals/Resources-for-Health-Professionals/Best-Practice-Guidelines Understand and attune to the prevalence and varied forms of dissociative responses, the differences between hyper and hypoarousal, and the need to…
I noticed that any time I write about the big bad ugly symptoms of PTSD or CPTSD very few people like my post. I kind of agree that I don’t like it either but it is part of what I live with every day. I do not get days off for good behavior. I also…
