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Top ten therapies or practices; or as many or few as you like

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mumstheword

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So I just thought it would be an interesting and possibly helpful thread to name our most effective and relieving activities, in our recovery, so far.

I've been battling this a very long time, my official diagnosis is now c-ptsd although it took a long time to get that, but I was battling symptoms and trying to survive it long before I got any professional help.

It doesn't have to be a hierarchy of recovery-oriented practices just a list of helpful activities If you have more or less than 10, that's ok, just as many as you feel like discussing and if it's more that 10 maybe post a following post covering more, down the track.

Ok, here goes ...

Reading; researching and learning about people, beliefs, trials and how people make sense of them, psychology and cultural exploration, you know just to satiate my burning desire for answers and distraction from my hellish symptomatic mind and circumstances. Lots and lots of reading, since I learnt to read.:giggle:

Drama ; learning I could act differently to how I felt was freeing and since delving into drama in school I used what I learnt, to fake as much normal and functional as I possibly could.

Music; Learning to actively participate in music was the next step along after immersing myself in the wonderful soothing and distracting qualities of music. It helps our brains/nervous system enormously.:headphone::whistling:

Yoga; I'm finding now, I need trauma sensitive yoga but since living in an ashram as a child for a short time, yoga has been a go-to recovery tool that brings me back into my body, time and time again, in a strengthening way. It also helps to develop relaxing and regenerating breathing practices, especially during stress and pain.

Writing; School was a safer place for me than home and I enjoyed escaping into fantasy via the written word since I was a little girl. As a troubled teen, I began to write poetry and then, when I had the opportunity to sing professionally, I began to write and perform my own songs. It's amazing how writing through an excruciating emotional experience can relieve the intensity. On top of that, I find the sense of accomplishment satisfying.:rolleyes:

Walking; At one stage, I was homeless, in exreme pain, sleep was very hard and scanty and I was really jumping out of my skin. I was kind of well enough to walk the streets a great deal though. Very soothing and helpful for my nervous system.

Comic relief; humour, silliness, playfulness and laughter.:roflmao:

TRE -Trauma Release Exercises. When talking wasn't really helping because the people I had to talk to, well, it wasn't helping much at the time, with the intensity in my body, ok, so releasing the contracted, held in stress and trauma via "tremouring" helped.

NIA; Non Impact Aerobics, an eclectic blend of dance, martial arts, yoga, aerobics and movements arts, check it out, its awesome. Great body/brain training :joyful:.

Group and individual talk therapy; I probably don't need to explain. Helpful communication.:):p:hug:

I'm happy to elaborate on anything. Hoping this thread catches on, so we can offer each other more options and hope.:playful:
 
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Great thread idea!
For me:
1. Therapy
2. Having something healthy to focus on (my studies)
3. Yoga and pilates as a means of exercise + endorphin release
4. Walking
5. Meditation and diaphragmatic breathing
6. EFT (though I really need to get back into it consistently)
7. Acupuncture. I haven't had this in a while because it's now too triggering due to things that have happened in the time since, but when I was feeling completely overwhelmed with anxiety and depression 2 years ago, acupuncture provided me with 30 min where my mind felt calm and it was critical in enabling myself to make the transition back into study.
8. Listening to music
9. Spending time/messaging with close friends who make me smile and laugh even on tough days
10. Finding this forum and becoming a member of this community. I'm truly grateful for you all :hug::hug:
 
In no particular order........

1) Exercise. Seriously helps me regulate my anxiety. I love walking/running outside, a solo activity. I think it’s about finding what speaks to you and sticking with it. There are some forms of exercise I truly abhor and I’m so not a gym rat as the environment spikes my anxiety.

2) Eating a healthy diet. I’m not perfect, but it’s all about progress and not perfection. Learning how to cook more recipes from scratch really helps with eating a healthy diet.

3) Medication. I have been taking psych meds for a few decades now and I’m finally taking meds which are really helping me. Taking the genetic test helped get me on the right track (but some insurance companies won’t cover it unless you have a few med fails under your belt already). I’m not a drug pusher, but to anyone who is med resistant, I want to tell you that it’s possible to take psych meds without feeling numbed out or unlike yourself. I will be on meds for life and I’m more than ok with that.

4) Goal setting/scheduling. Setting goals helps me move forward. No matter where you are in treatment, setting goals will help you feel like you are accomplishing things and moving forward. Right now I’m working on setting goals in the 3-9 month range. At one point I was only able to set goals for a day.

5) Taking supplements. This one is a crapshoot. Seriously. I believe that trauma/ptsd has depleted us of vitamins/minerals that keep us functioning optimally. The crapshoot part comes in with figuring out what supplements will help you most. It takes time and a little bit of $$$. Lol. My most current foray is in taking GABA and so far so good!

6) My phone alarms. I have alarms reminding me to pray, breathe, and be grateful. It’s like telling my brain to pause, throwing a wrench into my faulty thinking, which is a problem I’ve struggled to overcome since day one.

7) Therapy. Many, many different kinds of therapy, with numerous therapists. No one therapy does it all, no one therapist knows it all.

8) Relationships ie friends and family. Finally forming friendships and strengthening relationships with family members who are supportive.....while getting rid of toxic people.

9) ...

To be continued!
 
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Here's my next ten.

Peer support. I trained in it as a "peer support worker" and enjoy this site for same. I've never really had much paid peer support work, it's on my to do list though

Massage and Chinese bodywork i.e. Acupuncture.

Aromatherapy

Meditative practice; I prefer active meditation like ecstatic shamanic trancing-out freestyle dancing (sorry if that gets you judgey about what sort of person I am), but I also have enjoyed sitting meditation.

Study; formal uni study helped soooo much when I was in extended flight mode and needed to keep my mind from going down dark paths. It's fraught for me though, I ended up unwell from too much of that too.

Being a healthy-type foody, I love to cook. I used to be a vegetarian who has a massive bunch of children and was very poor. I learnt to be a very creative and proficient food preparer.

Herbal, adaptogenic and ethnobotanical medicines. Mulungu is a very balancing nerve tonic and sleep helping plant medicine, as one example.

Art; I zentangle and colour.

Time in nature; people = danger for me for a long time, being in nature was my safety and my peace and joy.

Caring for others; although a "rescuer" when unwell, I enjoy ministering to others and being a carer, nurturer and advocate for my disabled son and partner, I'm less of one for others than I used to be due to health limitations though.
 
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So I just thought it would be an interesting and possibly helpful thread to name our most effective...
1. Therapy with a trauma T.
2. Playing piano.
3. Getting out in nature and sunshine.
4. Journaling.
5. Coloring.
6. Sleeping with a stuffed animal.
7. Sleeping under a weighted blanket.
8. Returning to school, getting a degree, getting a job in that field.
9. Moving away from and limiting contact with family of origin.
10. Grounding--carrying palm stones in my pockets, breathing exercises, playing with thinking putty, power poses, etc.

I will say that I had a non-trauma T for years. While we were not able to address the trauma and never could have anyway since I lived with the abusers, the first T did help me develop the strength to return to school, get the degree, and take a job that allowed me to get away from my family of origin. So in looking back, I can see that with the non-trauma T the groundwork was laid for the work I am now doing with a trauma T.
 
In no particular order........

1) Exercise. Seriously helps me regulate my anxiety. I love wal...
I just read your post and saw that you take GABA. My therapist has encouraged me to take GABA but I am unsure if it will help and don’t really know if I can take with the meds I am currently taking. What has been your experience with GABA?
 
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@AngelHealing

I’d give GABA a try! You could always try one of those online drug interaction checkers to be sure.

You’ll hear a lot of people say that GABA can’t possibly work but these are from old studies that say GABA can’t be used by the body because it doesn’t pass through the brain blood barrier. Well, more recent findings point out that many of us have porous (non healthy) brain blood barriers that could possibly let GABA through. And there is also the possibility of GABA working through a gut mechanism, no crossing of the BBB necessary. Whew. What I’m trying to say is that it does indeed work for many of us even though the dominant thought is that it shouldn’t.

It doesn’t make things perfect, but I am able to have longer, more functional days. I can’t stress how great this is! My system isn’t nearly as reactive to my surroundings.
 
@AngelHealing

I’d give GABA a try! You could always try one of those online...
I also have read that GABA cannot pass through the brain blood barrier but my Therapist swears by it and says that it will help me. How does it work for you? Do you feel calmer? Does it work like Xanax? What milligram do you take? Sorry for all of the questions, just curious. Thanks for answering.
 
I also have read that GABA cannot pass through the brain blood barrier but my Therapist swears by...

No, it doesn’t work like a benzo for me. GABA is a calming neurotransmitter and it just keeps my whole system more stable and less reactive. I’m not so sensitive to noises or touch anymore. I take 1/2 of a 750mg pill, twice a day. I advise getting the pills and not the capsules so that you can break them in half if you need to.
 
Brilliant thread!

  1. EMDR
  2. Therapy
  3. Yoga
  4. Equine therapy
  5. CBD oil
  6. naturopathic treatments
  7. researching (most of the time - until I run into something I'm not ready for)
  8. Service dog (not sure if he count's as therapy but he is! LOL
  9. This site - first place I could freely talk about how I feel
 
I also have read that GABA cannot pass through the brain blood barrier but my Therapist swears by...
My functional medicine doctor also has me on GABA. I had tried a powdered form before, but I did not get any result I could feel. Now I am on a liposomal form, and it works fast! What I notice is that I just kind of chill out, but without all the side effects of a benzodiazepine. I regularly take it before bed, but I also take it during the day if I get too triggered by something.
 
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