I originally posted this under the Evie's Cancer thread, however I decided to make a new thread and hopefully receive some feedback on how to help Evie through another rough period. I realize there are threads in the PTSD section about the forum being triggering, however I believe in Evie's case, this goes way beyond "normal" triggering, though I could be wrong. She becomes very upset on the forum, often without warning, and it is detrimental to her physical health. It doesn't seem to make any difference how much of a break she takes. Days, weeks... it still happens.
Evie had a dreadful night. She came on the forum briefly, read something which triggered her badly and spent most of the night crying for Brian and having nightmares. Jim tried to keep her calm. It is heartbreaking to see her like this, when she had been doing so well. Not to mention she physically needs to be as strong as possible for the treatments and surgery! I spoke with Jim early this morning and he says she seems better, though exhausted.
Sad as it is, Evie does seem to improve greatly whilst off the forum, and inevitably becomes triggered and upset again once she's back on it, even for a short while. Jim and I rarely force her to do anything, as we want her to feel in control of her own life. However, as much as the forum has helped her in the past, lately it seems to be doing her more harm than good. I understand that triggering and feeling badly is part of therapy and healing, but as far as the forum goes, Evie seems a bit stuck. I honestly don't know what the answer is. She is working very hard upon herself, and upsets are part of the healing process, however if avoiding the forum helps to keep her more calm then perhaps she should truly avoid it, long term? :dont-know
In any event, I feel we must devise some action plan for this problem, however it must wait until after she has had the surgery and recovered. If anyone has any ideas in the meantime though, I would be most pleased to hear them.
Evie had a dreadful night. She came on the forum briefly, read something which triggered her badly and spent most of the night crying for Brian and having nightmares. Jim tried to keep her calm. It is heartbreaking to see her like this, when she had been doing so well. Not to mention she physically needs to be as strong as possible for the treatments and surgery! I spoke with Jim early this morning and he says she seems better, though exhausted.
Sad as it is, Evie does seem to improve greatly whilst off the forum, and inevitably becomes triggered and upset again once she's back on it, even for a short while. Jim and I rarely force her to do anything, as we want her to feel in control of her own life. However, as much as the forum has helped her in the past, lately it seems to be doing her more harm than good. I understand that triggering and feeling badly is part of therapy and healing, but as far as the forum goes, Evie seems a bit stuck. I honestly don't know what the answer is. She is working very hard upon herself, and upsets are part of the healing process, however if avoiding the forum helps to keep her more calm then perhaps she should truly avoid it, long term? :dont-know
In any event, I feel we must devise some action plan for this problem, however it must wait until after she has had the surgery and recovered. If anyone has any ideas in the meantime though, I would be most pleased to hear them.