White0nWhite
Learning
I remember when I was in therapy, my therapist told me that whenever I felt scared or was experiencing the nasty effects of PTSD. To go to my safe place in my mind. She sat there explaining to me what one would be like. And I thought back to my childhood..
I used to do that every night. I'd pretend I was a dog in the world of whatever cartoon I was into at the time (Darkwing Duck was one I clearly remember). I'd hide in this make believe world as a dog inside my head. Trying to (as I later found out, what it was called) lucid dream about it. Feeling protected and safe.
I still do it to this day, sometimes before I sleep. I imagine myself as that white wolf (I posted in my art post) and go to wherever I feel safe, by an ocean or where ever I want. Exploring and hiding. Sometimes the lucid dreaming takes a turn of it's own. And I'm visited by fictional characters I like today; characters from books I read, from movies I like, and even my own characters. Or what I think are helpful spirits/guardians/angels. Even if the dream starts to turn into a nightmare, I some how am able to run away as long as I manage to keep some control of the dream. Like; I'll look at my hands, I'll see that they are paws, and I'm on all fours. I feel that I can run on all fours and am quickly able to run away from the danger. Although this all goes back to when I was a kid, years and years of practice. It just was amusing to me, in a small way, when my therapist brought it up. It was something I had done all along, even as a small child. I never knew it was something that was used as a form of treatment.
So in my dreams? My safe place is being that wolf, knowing as long as I can retain that form in my dreams, look at my hands and see that they are paws, seeing and feeling myself run on all four limbs. Then I know it's a dream, I'm able to take control and turn the dream around to where I'm in a safe place, or I'm far away from dangers; being my mother, school, or what have you.
Although, yes, there are times I can't control it. And I lose my grasp on it, and the nightmares and flashbacks come. But I hope over time; I can gain full control.
In real life, it's by the water, even the location of my job (my dad used to take me there with him all the time), on the water in a boat, and deep in the woods.
I used to do that every night. I'd pretend I was a dog in the world of whatever cartoon I was into at the time (Darkwing Duck was one I clearly remember). I'd hide in this make believe world as a dog inside my head. Trying to (as I later found out, what it was called) lucid dream about it. Feeling protected and safe.
I still do it to this day, sometimes before I sleep. I imagine myself as that white wolf (I posted in my art post) and go to wherever I feel safe, by an ocean or where ever I want. Exploring and hiding. Sometimes the lucid dreaming takes a turn of it's own. And I'm visited by fictional characters I like today; characters from books I read, from movies I like, and even my own characters. Or what I think are helpful spirits/guardians/angels. Even if the dream starts to turn into a nightmare, I some how am able to run away as long as I manage to keep some control of the dream. Like; I'll look at my hands, I'll see that they are paws, and I'm on all fours. I feel that I can run on all fours and am quickly able to run away from the danger. Although this all goes back to when I was a kid, years and years of practice. It just was amusing to me, in a small way, when my therapist brought it up. It was something I had done all along, even as a small child. I never knew it was something that was used as a form of treatment.
So in my dreams? My safe place is being that wolf, knowing as long as I can retain that form in my dreams, look at my hands and see that they are paws, seeing and feeling myself run on all four limbs. Then I know it's a dream, I'm able to take control and turn the dream around to where I'm in a safe place, or I'm far away from dangers; being my mother, school, or what have you.
Although, yes, there are times I can't control it. And I lose my grasp on it, and the nightmares and flashbacks come. But I hope over time; I can gain full control.
In real life, it's by the water, even the location of my job (my dad used to take me there with him all the time), on the water in a boat, and deep in the woods.