What Has Helped The Most/been Most Healing

[NatBird]

awareness practices/meditation -- for the sense of connection to inner and universe

body based therapies/release work -- I get the deepest insight with these modalities

art therapy and creativity in general - the most easeful way of sense and meaning making and expression of things I can't het to the usual ways

healing baths

aromatherapy - helped me no end through a period of body memories

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Consistant, never giving up, fighting hard, having hope the though i didnt see it or feel it, something better was at the end of this fight. Patience but a 'never give up' attitude.

And along the way found a bit of self compassion and self patience.

** that was me, i checked anonoymous by accident, sorry **

 

[heyheyhey]

EFT has helped me alot as well...I don't really trust the lack of empirical based studies online...but it's really worked for me!!

 

[Abstract]

The most helpful for my recovery?
1. The first step wouldn't have happened without awareness. Starting to lift the dissociative cloud. Therapy made me realise my life and memories weren't connecting at all.
2. The second has literally been finding the ability to speak and let others in a bit. I had zero trust and ability to do that. Trapped inside myself.
3. Breaking down denial. Mine was horrendously strong.
4. Learning how to self sooth and care rather than the ingrained viscous attacks I would automatically go into. One can't heal if you are re-injuring yourself whenever you need nurturing. This is still a process. (love the stalker analogy @shimmerz !). That has only started shifting properly recently. It has made a huge difference.
5. Education about trauma and symptoms. Starting here mostly. I somehow managed to miss that part of psych before - to a large extent.
6. The realisation that processing requires emotional engagement and can't be logiced through. That a healthy life requires that too. My recovery sped up a lot after that.
7. Human connection when in need. Learning to accept I need it (argh I hate that). Learning to tolerate and trust it without harming myself.
8. Accepting internal conflict and fighting and lessening it. It kept me traumatised and trapped. The improvements have to be the most relieving thing of all.
9 Improving dissociation. First improvement resulted in me feeling like I was born then.
10. My stubbornness and tenacity.
11. Arranging my work so that I cut out 90% of the stress and triggers. When I was able to start working a bit again. The fact that I could accept I should do this rather than thinking I was as tough as nails.
12. Online support. Since I was unable to tolerate real life so often.

Other general fabulous helpful things: radical acceptance (what would I have done without that!), Mindfulness, DBT learning about emotions, identifying them and their uses; assertiveness; developing my identity, Pete Walkers the Four f's.

Exposure and processing are of course the crux but I couldn't have started on that without the rest.

Unhelpful?
Multiple bad, misguided and unqualified therapists. Inability to have therapy. Trust issues. CBT. Trapped silence and self internal fighting. Lack of support.

 

[shimmerz]

Unhelpful?
Multiple bad, misguided and unqualified therapists. Inability to have therapy. Trust issues. CBT. Trapped silence and self internal fighting. Lack of support.

Interesting. I agree that CBT was not helpful at all, although I keep hearing that it is a very effective treatment. Can you tell me @Abstract, why you feel that this was unhelpful to you? I would be interested in others takes on this.

 

[Abstract]

@shimmerz, There are a whole lot of old posts on here about me trying to work that through. I am not anti CBT but it was very damaging for me. Different things work for different people from what I can see.

I wasn't glued together well enough to be able to tell how I felt about things or how I was reacting. I had very little understanding or connection to my emotional states and a delay in feeling them. I was dissociative and would not remember what was happening and didn't have a narrative for my day to day life or longer term history. I hadn't been allowed a self and was disconnected from my internal self. I couldn't do anything without starting to engage with me. CBT distanced me from myself even more and increased the internal critic without me understanding that was happening. I didn't have the ability to realise when things were damaging me. I'm probably not describing this very well. I find it hard to put into words. I have never lacked understanding of most cognitive distortions anyway. I lived in an automatic logic mode. Therapists would often comment on my "serene face" and logic. I''m not saying I don't do them as I do of course. I just have a whole lot of other stuff that is way more dysfunctional and needing of treatment.

The other thing I have thought is that when invalidation injuries reach a certain level for someone then CBT can backfire. Especially with the wrong therapist. It might have helped if the multiple therapists I had early on knew there was trauma and flashbacks etc but I wasn't glued together enough to tell them and they it seems couldn't tell. (how?!!) I would literally not be in my body and be next to it in therapy but never once even thought of it let alone thought of telling them. When I did eventually start realising a few things and tentatively tried to describe them I was told emphatically in a very CBT way that that was impossible.

 

[City Slicker]

I was picturing a horror movie trench coat and mask wearing creep lurking in my head!
That means he's been in there the whole time though :wideeyed:

lol, Does anyone remember the old movie where this guy is making increasingly disturbing phone calls to a babysitter. Finally after a huge build up of tension where the caller threatens horrible things to the babysitter, the baby sitter finally calls the police. And after more build up of tension the police tell her 'get out of the house, he's upstairs on the extension'.

That reminds me of that 'abusive voice' that make those obscene calls to me when I least expect it - yet when I am fatigued or tired, stressed, I will look to outside things when really, the whole time she was 'upstairs on the extension'.

Ok Helpful for recovery: Outlook, perception, Hank, a job I enjoy, purpose, structure, friends, myptsd.com, exercise, exercise, working out and exercise.

Not helpful: Therapy, self medication, isolation, bad diet.

 

[shimmerz]

There are a whole lot of old posts on here about me trying to work that through. I am not anti CBT but it was very damaging for me.

Thank you @Abstract, this was very helpful for me. Very validating. I was literally attacked by my psychiatrist and CBT person for stating CBT was harming me. It was awful.

I will look up your old posts. @Hope69, I am sorry if this question was disruptive to your thread. Thank you for your patience.

 

[expectingbetter]

Very honestly, until I haven't found this site nothing was helpful enough for me.
But since I have found this place and people here I can say they have made an incredible support for me and I can say for the first time in a very long period I feel a bit better.
So my answer is only that - this site is the most helpful for me on my healing path.
Although I am also on therapy for 2 years. But even the therapy itself is more helpful when I know I am not alone anymore.
Thank you everyone here.

 

[heyheyhey]

Interesting. I agree that CBT was not helpful at all, although I keep hearing that it is a very effec...

Hey shimmerz :)! Actually, the research shows that it's not actually that effective; it helps in around 50% of cases; have you read the book The Body Keeps The Score? The researcher/author explains why he thinks it isn't helpful in great detail and argues that we take a physical approach instead. He said it can actually be retraumatizing, especially if the person dissociates a lot.

 

[Tinyflame]

So my answer is only that - this site is the most helpful for me on my healing path.

Yes. ^^

 

[ceejaye]

somatic experiencing,
yoga for body awareness, any "smart" sports (fitness is dumb sport, your body does not learn anything; dancing, gymnastics, martial arts = smart sports)
expressive dance to get in contact with emotions (modern/contemporary)
dance improvisation/authentic dance to be in the now and express in movement what is going on in you.
vipassana meditation, (is like the most effective thing i have come across but be carefull not to go behond what your body and mind can handle. it is like opening a door to your subconsciousness. best withguidence of teacher that gets interaction between vipassana and ptsd.
non-violent communication to connect with feelings and needs, empathize with myself and reframe traumatic experiences and stand for my needs without guild
tantra course (spiritual tantra) to embrace every emotion, become aware of what i am feeling, being fully honest, be authentic and stop apologizing.
hypnotherapy; (not hypnoses) helps to get in contact with subconsiousness, good for insights

CBT did not work for me at all. cognitive talking therapies were absolutely useless, waste of time