Query : The Inverse Of Exposure Therapy? Is That A Thing?

[Friday]

I've been actively avoiding PTSD treatment for over a decade, to the point of even missing the days and weeks we covered PTSD in school in various classes, and taking the hit on any exams that I couldn't common sense the answer. So I'd never heard, much less grokked Exposure Therapy for PTSD, until coming here.

Long story short, on accident several years ago I started writing. In the exact same way that the instructions in Trauma Diaries says to. With one key difference: I wrote about the good parts. That perfect beautiful moment that almost always happens right before, the day leading up to a bad blow or the bliss found in the ending of one, what was funny, what was hilarious, what was hard at the time but what I was grateful for later, what was interesting, touching, totally cool, even morbidly fascinating. What was beautiful. Every single last bit of good in every bad memory. What I could gain from it. As long as I didn't come near the actual trauma itself with a 10' pole.

It wasn't something I was doing to treat on purpose. It was just a thing. Me being perverse. Insomnia and flashbacks? Fine. I'll have some fun, then.

I'm not quite sure how to phrase my question. Is this a thing? Like a treatment or (worse, but more probable with my modus operandi of latching onto any bad idea and running with it) a hinderance with well known side effects/ consequences that I should be on the lookout for? I guess I just don't know if this is something I should stop doing yesterday, or keep doing if just for fun in conjunction TraumaDiaries?

 

[The Albatross]

I don't think it's really inverse to write about and reacquaint yourself with the good parts. In my view the way you describe it, it is a way to return to a more balanced view/perception. I have though benefited from exposures and have significantly reduced the symptomology to a good degree. Not with a therapist either, I constructed my own goal challenges and went after them until they normalized. I received benefit from both... being able to cultivate a mindset where I look for or retrieve good/pleasant/happier things to over-write and turn away from the habitual depressive thinking and also challenged myself to dial back the stress/anxiety/frustration and build some healthier tolerance. Avoiding the reality of what happened never did me any favors... but neither did I have to slog through every single detail or relive it.

If you're using avoidance, even in your class work, and it's affecting your daily life... I'd say it's maladaptive and could bite you on the butt eventually. I though was not compelled to write down every trauma... I hit the worst ones, the ones that made it difficult to live a calm and peaceful day to day life.

 

[scout86]

I have no idea whether or not it's a "thing". It's an interesting idea and I can't see what it could possibly hurt. I CAN see where it could help keep things in perspective. On the other hand, apparently "avoiding" things isn't the answer. Or, so I'm told.

 

[joeylittle]

In many Mindfulness-based therapies, there is this concept of "gratitudes", both in meditation and journal form. Essentially writing down things which you are grateful for. Writing down positive experiences, memories, etc. sounds like a kind of derivation of that. It's referred to as being very effective, and I know when I was doing it regularly it did tend to help my mood. This thread makes me remember I should get back to that.

The point of EP is to run over and over the story until it becomes just a set of facts, without emotional attachment. I don't think what you are doing is the inverse of that because you are actually trying to re-kindle your emotional attachment to these events and moments you are re-visiting. I'd call it a neat thing to do, though, and it sounds like it really helps you. So keep doing it.

As for the avoiding, well this:

've been actively avoiding PTSD treatment for over a decade, to the point of even missing the days and weeks we covered PTSD in school in various classes, and taking the hit on any exams that I couldn't common sense the answer. So I'd never heard, much less grokked Exposure Therapy for PTSD, until coming here.

Is something that you will need to deal with sooner or later, whether on your own terms or not. And you probably knew that to a certain degree when you came here. What is stopping you from taking that next step?

 

[Recovery4Me]

Mindfulness and Somatic Therapy allowed my positivity balance by accessing the body memories for directional placement to heal and restructuring the emotional onslaught. EMDR was for me, radical surgery to unharness a hypnotic block placed by my perpetrator to inhibit my recall for his protection.

Perhaps due to your intellect and maneuverability within access of neuropathways, this text may answer some questions for you: Healing Developmental Trauma by Laurence Heller PhD and Aline LaPierre, PsyD. There are many tables for resolutions styles involving Neuropsychology as well as research and practical considerations for transcending talk therapy.
Not everyone heals in a cookie cutter format.

:hug:'s if you accept them and because I am a sappy one.

 

[Friday]

As for the avoiding, well this:
Is something that you will need to deal with sooner or later, whether on your own terms or not. And you probably knew that to a certain degree when you came here. What is stopping you from taking that next step?

LOL... Oh no, no worries. I was avoiding even mention, much less treatment of PTSD for a decade (I'm fine. I'm perfectly normal. There's nothing to see here. Move along.) But we're dancing, now.

I gave my brain a solid year to back it's shit down 2 years ago when everything fell apart (again), but since it chose not to? I've been tangling with it ever since. I can't say no holds barred, because I'm trying not to go back to doing what I did before that "worked", but in every other way I can think of.

It was just a shock to read the directions, and realize that's been something I've been doing to the letter for 10 years. Backwards. Christ. Why do I always do everything backwards??? Forehead meet drywall. Why? Why must I always take the hard way around? And then realizing that I should check and make sure that (like seeking oblivion in sex, drugs, alcohol... Or masking with adrenaline junkie jobs, etc.) what I was doing was a null/neutral thing, and not something I should actively avoid.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Actually, it IS a thing. I went through Intensive Trauma Therapy in Morgantown, WV, USA and the happy "before" moment and the happy "after" moment were CRUCIAL to the processing of the trauma. The happy moments were discussed in detail (thoughts/feelings/sensations/etc) just as the trauma itself was discussed in detail. I haven't seen anyone else discuss trauma processing in this way as most just focus on processing the bad moments. The problem with processing only the bad moments is that negative neural pathways are emphasized and reinforced, thereby making it easier for the mind to go back to that terrifying moment. Tack on a happy "after" moment and process the entire sequence enough times, and you mind no longer will get stuck in your trauma, rather you will be lead to a happy moment. I've done it, and yes, I can say it works. My happy after moment will forever be stuck in my mind, and it always makes me smile. Dr Tinnin developed this modality of processing. He's written a book about it as well, although I'll warn you, its quite technical as its geared toward practitioners, not clients.

 

[anthony]

Is this a thing?

In simple, its called ignorance, distraction, avoidance and a whole bunch of other words that pretty much all say the same thing... but yes, it is perfectly normal. People hope the bad memories that keep trying to invade them can be pushed back down, will go away, disappear, and on that list goes... and here we are knowing that that just isn't factual. Trauma will always win and will always come out, and until dealt with, will get more aggressive each time.

 

[anthony]

Oh... I loved the ignorance stage. I thought it was bliss whilst drowning myself in alcohol to keep it all back. Good times were had in-between some of those days...

 

[Friday]

Self awareness really sucks all the joy out of a perfectly good tailspin.

Whaddayamean I shouldn't just have sex whenever I'm going off res? What could possibly be wrong with :banghead: Dammit. Fine. Self bleeding control. HTFU. dammit. Take responsibility for my own shit. Scheisse. :arghh; I don't wanna know what happens when I bury my head in the sand. I mean, clearly, this time it won't go badly. Right? It won't go exactly the same way it's gone badly every other time.

All the joy. Just sucked out.

Hence the Q. I'm really sick and tired of prolonging this nonsense. If it helps, awesome. If not, I'm done playing. Because avoiding works not at all.

 

[anthony]

Crack me up...