Body Memories Driving Me Mad

[Tehu]

I'm posting because I am getting a lot of body memories at the moment that I can't deal with. I have had it before but not as much as this and I'm not sure what's triggered it to get worse.

I can't find a way to deal with them unless I end up hurting myself instead which I don't want to do and then it still comes back anyway.

I wonder if anyone has found any effective ways of dealing with this?

 

[Pobut]

I used to have really intense body memories most of the time. I went through periods where I really wasn't very conscious of what was happening around me because I was trapped in my private hell.

I dealt with it by writing. I wrote a book about my childhood (The Kindle store kicked it out for being too explicit--I will work on traditional publishing next year.) and things improved dramatically after that. Once I got the whole story out in front of me I could process it more. I could understand "Ah. This is something that happened to me a long time ago and it isn't happening now."

I've also been in therapy for almost three decades. I'm grateful I've made some progress. heh.

These days I only get wisps of body memories sometimes and I can touch real things in the room and talk about them and feel more ok. "This is a table. It's made of wood. It's sitting on the floor."

 

[Idoz]

Hi, Tehu, to me the usual way to get through these feelings was to lay down on the floor, cover my face and repearing: "it's ok, darling, you are safe now, nobody's gonna hurt you, don't be afraid..." Sometimes I call my friend and tell him how I was feeling. Or I try to write these things down, or draw my emotions...

 

[Odan]

I usually start with breathing. If I can concentrate on slowing my breathing down that helps. Then like others say find something solid in the room that will ground you, like the floor or a table and really focus on everything about it, the colour, texture, smell everything. You can also try strong smelling oils like eucalyptus or menthol, they can help a lot. It takes practice and I know how scary the body memories feel. I hope you find something that helps.

 

[Jolob]

Thanks for replying.

Writing down, grounding, reminding/reassuring myself it's not something that's happening now are all things that help me with flashbacks and other memories, but I don't seem to be able to find a way through with this. I don't know if it's because it physical rather than in my head, although I've tried convincing myself that it is just in my head.

Acknowledging it just seems to make it more intense.

It's really getting me down, but good to hear that other people have found a way through it.

 

[Atuju]

Well, it didn't help until after I had my full history down on paper. The little drips and drabs just made me more frantic. :-\

I'm really sorry.