Trauma Community forums Daily check-in Thread - Saturday 7th January 2017
It's been good to see these new check in threads are starting to be heard about by our members and to see them finally becoming more active which is great :) I hope they provide you a safe space just to share whats happening for you, how you feel, what you have managed to do to ensure you look after your self care needs, what you are striving to achieve, what your latest accomplishments are :) What was the last thing you can rememver that made you feel safe, or give you a feeling of comfort when you needed it? What are you having problems with lately and what tips for healing and recovery can you give to one another? Living with the effects of trauma is never easy, so let's lessen each others' burdens as best we can.
As we have been talking lately about pets and the comfort they can provide, the picture of the day is a ptsd service dog with his handler
@dancingRainbow45
Thanks for posting this. I'm not coping that we'll for the past few days, I've been drinking alot to try and get through it and to quiet things down a bit.
But the picture made me realise how much I miss my dogs and how much they really helped me.
They really are so beneficial and sometimes don't get enough credit for how much they can help people ♡
@fearlessShade1051 I am sorry to hear things have not been so good for you lately and that your feeling a need to drink to try and dampen things down for a while. I am pleased though that the post has enabled you to think about your dog and how much they can make a difference to us when things are not feeling so good. Whats been happening for you lately, would you like to share or talk to someone one to one? I know drink, food, self harm, drugs etc are all ways people try to regulate how they feel when things feel unbearable or overwhelming but are there other things that have helped you in the past to cope with how you have felt that are perhaps less harmful to you?
@dancingRainbow45
My mind is just very muddled right now. I know drinks not the answer and I've just had two drinks today to cut down and hopefully tomorrow I won't drink at all.
What annoys me the most is I often find it hardest when nothings happening. At the moment life is pretty good (if you look at things logically) but I guess I've done what I have always done....power through when things are bad,cope really well,then crash when things are good.
There is nothing really wrong with my life right now but I'm anxious, hypersensitive to touch,sound,light,tones of voices,etc. Not sleeping,not able to concentrate and paranoid.
I know this is going to pass,it always does eventually.....but then it always seems to come back again too. Sorry to be so negative. Words ate hard to string together at the moment and typing things out sometimes seems to help.
Thanks for creating this space.
@fearlessShade1051 hey its okay to share whatever is going on for you here, good or bad and theres no need for apologies when things are feeling tough for you, thats just how things are and thats okay. Its not okay that your struggling as you are and I wish this wasn't the case but its okay just to be real and you here :) whatever is happening for you :)
It sounds as if you know that long term drinking is not the solution and you are finding small steps to try and deal with the issues you have where you feel the need to drink, even if its trying to drink less, so well done.
Sometimes traumatic pasts can cause people to be on alert all the time, almost anticipating that something bad is going to happen, waiting for it, because thats what they have come to expect. and sometimes because they are so fearful, they believe something will happen. Often the world for those with traumatic pasts can often be chaotic, busy, fast paced, and when things slow down that in itself kind of opens up a void, a space, and very often people may find its during these times that unresolved issues start to come seeking through. Don't know if I have explained this well but wondering if this makes any kind of sense or rings any bell for you? It a bit like those who work all hours and fill all their time up doing something, this often prevents them from having to deal with trauma issues because there literally is no time for you, to deal with your own things due to all the external work demands. But take that away and suddenly there is space, there is time for things to start rearing up that has been kept stuffed down by overworking.
Sometimes things can come up for people even when they don't recognise any reason for things to be feeling as they are, if there has not been any problems or triggers and thats just how things are sometimes. Recovery and healing is very much a bumpy journey but one which over time has more smooth times than rough.
I am glad these daily check ins are something you are finding useful :) Please do use them whenever you need too
@dancingRainbow45
Yeah that makes a lot of sense to me
Words are few and right now but thank you.
@fearlessShade1051 You are most welcome :)
I'm not coping at all and I'm sick of people saying oh what you've dealt with is so much have you got therapy. Yes. Yes I have therapy but just now it's not enough as the thoughts in my head are 24/7 and therapy can't be. Please don't say have you tried inpatient as it's just not available as outside I look fine.
I can't take it. I need real friends that care.
@LittleTreasure Treasure, I would never suggest to try impatient care as any choices you make need to be your choices, inpatient yes is an option but for most people working through trauma issues, very often this is only something that could possibly work short term to help someone through a crisis if bad enough but certainly long term its not always the best solution. You are right therapy cant be a 24hr thing and ultimately in healing and recovery we also need to learn to comfort ourselves and use techniques we can learn to pull ourselves through difficult times. Thats not to say people dont need support because everyone does at some points in their life. You mentioned having a therapist, perhaps you could speak to your therapist about building a support system in place for the times that are tough or when in crisis? Is this a possibility to try. Real friends who care are great to have and can be a good resource for support when going through a difficult time. Do you have anyone presently in your life who you could talk with who may know a little about what your going through.? Online life is not the same as offline thats for sure but there are people here who genuinely care. I know it may not always feel that way but I hope that during your difficult times you may be able to hold onto this
