okay, so this is a bit heavy for a sunny sunday afternoon. i will start it out light then. once i had a car accident. nothing major, an old man ran a stop sign and hit my car. fortunately neither of us were going very fast. but, for a period of time after that, i was a super careful, super vigilant driver and passenger. tense. nerved up. expecting to be hit again. that's an example of a post trauma fear that is short lived.

cut to: 9/11. i was working as a crisis counselor then. my clients were domestic abuse victims and survivors. just the very fact one of the planes that crashed into the trade towers flew over this area freaked out one of those women very badly. the fact that it happened in the same state that we lived in felt like a personal affront. because she was already traumatized by being treated badly by her husband. he attacked her in random and surprising ways. that event ratcheted up her fears. it felt familiar to her.

when i saw the towers fall, i knew immediately that was what it felt like inside of me when i fall apart emotionally. i cant watch any of that footage even yet.

there are ways to address these fears so that they do not run our lives. but we need to be able to identify them first, and if necessary, to trace them back to their sources. people treated for PTSD are taught skills to do just this.

there are also ways to deal with invasive images and memories that trouble us months and years after an event has occurred. it is a matter of re-focusing your mind and coming fully into the present moment--to no longer be trapped in a mental memory, or an emotional memory, or a body memory originating in the past.

Eight years ago I sought the help of a therapist. Wish I had done it 30 years ago! I was fortunate in that she was excellent. (I saw her once a week for about a year.)

EMDR (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-emdr.htm ), though very strange and hokey-feeling at first, seemed to help a great deal. The therapist also worked with me on relaxation techniques. I learned to create and use a "safe place" in my mind. For example, when an event triggers panicky feelings, I learned to be more conscious of the signs. One of the ways I'd cope would be to touch my index finger with my thumb, which would trigger me to take a deep breath and relax my tongue (stop clenching my jaw), which would be followed by my mentally walking down a forest path in the afternoon...a walk complete with feeling the sun, smelling the pines, etc. I find I rarely need to use any of these techniques any longer, since the anxieties come much less often and the recognizing/relaxing seems to come almost unconsciously.

thanks for sharing that, AZ, both the technique you were taught and the testimony of how well it worked for you.

a quickie one i was taught, that can be done anywhere, is to simply look for red objects in the room, and name them to yourself. red door, red piece of paper, red hat on the table, switiching colors if necessary until you are fully grounded in the present.

the other one is to simply recite to yourself, the date (day of the week, number of the day, month, year), your location (my bedroom, 444 anywhere street, spring field, colombia, zip code, planet earth) etc as to being your mind back to precisely where you are.

these work when you are in a public space especially-- where you are unable to get into the relaxed state of the technique you describe.

all good!

Hi friends, I just got here, but I am too tired to reply just now. I have lots of info on this topic. Be back soon...peace.

deleted by member

thanks for joining us, dodger. if anyone is unkind, i will be there to moderate things. have no fear about that.

you are in good company here with people who have lots to share.

i want to say this to you: the fact that you are conscious of your issues, that you are working with a therapist, and that you are trying to heal are some of the best things you can do for yourself.

there are already some helpful techniques listed above.

i know what you mean about it taking days to get over a trigger. for myself, i try to take as best care of myself as i can when that is happening. i try to treat myself with the same kindness i would give to any other creature in need! i stay linked with my support network and in my daily routine. they give me good structure so that i dont float off into some crazy place inside my own mind.

to dodger and any here, I truly recommend a therapy called craniosacral therapy...with its connection to somato emotional release technique. This therapy has helped in a tremendous way for such issue as being mentioned here. I have worked with many who have gone through years of therapy only scratching the surface. CST and SER both are affective in a variety of ways. I have practiced for 20+ year, and now working with children so they do not have to live a lifetime of nightmares. Please google Upledger and check out the site, they can inform you of practitioners in the area where you are. Please try this, it is amazing and the results are life altering. Peace all with love and blessings.

P.s. You can ask me questions on my post Does anyone want to know what CranioSacral therapy is? I posted it a while ago when I first started here. Or if you wish we can share here or in pms.