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Anniversary Date Of Trauma Tomorrow

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canucklady

Confident
Can feel the memories trying to come back to haunt me....and trying really hard to stay grounded and do something different this year. In past I would isolate and hide from the world...this time will go see psychiatrist and then be with friends and maybe post here in the meantime.
 
Hi! Canucklady,

For many years I also dreaded the time of year (Cape winter with steady rain) and days of my trauma. When I gave myself permission to feel, I could let more of the pain out. Eventually, it doesn't have the hold over me that it once did.

Reading a thread Anthony wrote about Anniversaries also helped. Sorry that I don't know how to attach it. I went to "Search" and typed in Anniversary and found it. Hope it helps.

Thinking of you! Beth
 
Something someone once told me is that one of the most important things you can do is remember that even though it may be that same time of the year that it happened, its a completely different year, you're a different person now, etc.
If you start to feel like you're back to when it happened or like it will happen again since its the same time of the year, look around you and look at yourself. Write down what has changed, how you have grown. Is your hair different? Did you have the clothes you are wearing now back then? Are your surroundings different? This may help ground you.
I don't know how recent your trauma was so if these things don't help, go out and buy yourself a piece of jewelry such as a ring or a bracelet and let that be your "grounding object".
Whenever I get freaked out and start to flashback or dissociate and I feel as if I'm back where and when my trauma happened, I look and play with my grounding ring. It helps remind me that "Hey, I didn't have this ring when it happened. That means this is different. I am not in that unsafe situation anymore". Then I start to ask myself "What does the ring feel like? What does it look like? How big is it? What can I compare it to in size? How was it made? How does it make my hand look?" Questions like this may help ground you.

Hope this helps. You're in my thoughts.
Manic
 
Anniversaries can be difficult, but it sounds like you have a plan and are ready to start taking that date back.
 
I think the post that Beth refers to is this one

[DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/showthread.php?t=6556[/DLMURL]

Anniversaries can be really hard, and something that I've struggled with and posted about. Someone else directed me to the post I've provided a link for and it really helped. I hope you may find it useful. Don't let all your hard work 'healing' be undone because of a specific date on a calendar.

wishing you well, CB
 
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