Trauma Support Community Check-in: Monday-Tuesday 29-30 March 2021
Hello community ❤️
How are you all? Today, we'll be talking about staying connected. As usual, the check-in is optional, so feel free to simply tell us about how you've been ❤️
Isolation is a common coping mechanism that people turn to after traumatic events. Long after the most obvious symptoms of PSTD have subsided, patients still admit to feeling lonely and cut off from the people in their lives.
It's easy to withdraw from the people who were once a big part of your life, and making new connections can feel all the more daunting. We might think that avoiding people will help, but it won't. That bit of extra safety you get simply doesn't compare to the emotional support and stability that staying connected to loved ones, friends, and trusted peers can provide.
Recovery isn't easy, but it's a lot less lonely to have people by your side, walking this journey with you. You don't need to talk about what happened either if you don't want to. It might be scary or uncomfortable at first. That's normal. But you are capable of doing the scary things. We are in this together ❤️
Here are a few tips to help you get started:
1. Start with some movement. If it's been a while since you've had some fresh air, open up a window and take a deep breath. Take a short walk outside if you can, or walk a few rounds in your room.
2. If you're feeling nervous about talking to people, try practicing reading aloud or singing. Write down a few words of affirmation to read out loud to yourself, or perhaps play a song that makes you smile or feel safe.
3. Talk to fellow survivors and thrivers. Today's check-in is an opportunity to connect with other people in this community. You can pop by and write down some thoughts, or maybe respond to something someone else has said. If something you read moves your heart, go ahead and say it ❤️
4. Participate in social activities. Now that a lot of things are online, it's much easier to join in from the comfort of your own home. You might not even need to show your face or talk ❤️ Just show up and give it a chance ❤️
5. Don't be afraid to make new friends ❤️ If you don't have a support system, then try talking to the people you know but haven't really gotten to talk to, neighbours who seem friendly, or strangers you meet along the way
Dear friends, this community is here for you. You are the ones that make this place special ❤️ You can do this!
Questions:
1. How are you? ❤️
2. Have you struggled with isolation? What were some things that helped?
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected?
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@hopebeyondpain
Hiya hope!
. How are you? ❤️
Ima doing good, ima attempting to turn some negative into a positive I made some decisions ima feeling good about.
2. Have you struggled with isolation? What were some things that helped?
Ima kinna isolated in general, I hardly go anywhere, I don't have alot of friends irl,. Ima rarely actually alone most of the time theres someone in the room with me and someone aways at home.
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected?
Idk its hard for me to get out much. I talk to my friend pretty much every day.
Great check in! Hope your doing pawsome today! Hang tough stay pawsome ur friend 🔥
@Fireskye13
Heya Skye ❤️
That's so pawsome to hear! It sounds like you did what you felt was best, and I'm proud of you for that ❤️
It sounds like you're used to staying at home a lot and connecting with the few special people in real life, plus all your friends here ❤️ To be fair, a person can have lots of friends and feel isolated, or have a few close friends and feel connected, it really depends on the relationships you've built. If you are content with what you have, then what you have is good ❤️
I'm doing great, thank you! Thank you for checking in with us today, Skye. Take care, and have a pawsome day ❤️
@Fireskye13 heyy fire how are you doing today :) sorry for abense bad vision
@CaringBrit
Hiya brit pawsome to see u! Ima doing good thanks! How gos with you? An no worries!
@hopebeyondpain, Hi there
1. How are you? ❤️
I feel excited.
2. Have you struggled with isolation? What were some things that helped?
Yeah. It was a bit lonely. Observing people and learning social manners online helps me a lot to fit in society.
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected?
Participating in check-ins helps me to stay connected. The replies from fellow members or those who make the check-in can make me feel good.
Have a nice day!
@SnippyHam
Hey there ❤️ Wow! It sounds like you've had a fun day ❤️
Observing other people and learning their manners really helped me understand how to interact with people too! I can tell that you put in a lot of effort to learn all of this, and I'm proud of your hard work ❤️ As far as I can tell from our interactions, you've been doing amazing ❤️
Aww, I'm really happy to hear that check ins help ❤️ I enjoy seeing your replies to our check ins too, and hearing from you about how you've been ❤️ It means a lot to us
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and have a good day!
@SnippyHam ooo what you excited about :)
aww glad to hear checkins help
@CaringBrit
I was excited about cooking a sunny-side up egg for the first time. x) My parents doesn't know anything about it. Their presence might overwhelm me.. Yeah. Check-ins are amazing!
@SnippyHam aww how did it go
@CaringBrit,
It went well!
@SnippyHam
Hiya ham its pawsome to hear ur doing well.
Learning new things is good, ima glad its going good
Ima glad u like the check ins, i agree the people that create them do an amazing job! .
Hang tough stay pawsome ur friend 🔥
@hopebeyondpain
1. How are you? ❤️
I feel like I'm going insane. The same things keep happening over and over again, I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. No matter how much I try to change myself, I feel like nothing has changed that much, sometimes it feels like it's getting worse. I'm so tired of trying anything at all. I can't feel anything.
2. Have you struggled with isolation? What were some things that helped?
I don't completely isolate myself but I do avoid interactions like plague sometimes because I feel like I don't deserve it and I could hurt them in any way. I usually remind myself that isolation would only make things worse and I'd talk or participate in stuff like this even though I don't want to.
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected?
I've been talking to some amazing listeners and friends and found a new friend that has the same interests and struggles as me. So those are nice. I also try to watch something with my family so we could spend some time together.
@Luchelle
Hey there ❤️
I'm really sorry to here about how you've really been struggling lately ❤️ I really relate to making the same mistakes over and over again, even after all the hard work I've put in to stop it. You clearly put your heart into this, and that still counts for something ❤️ It's okay to mess up, I can tell you have the heart to change, and you didn't mean for things to turn out the way they did. Some habits and patterns are just that difficult to break ❤️
Just because you haven't been able to get something right, doesn't mean you're hopeless ❤️ Now you have a list of things that you've tried. They've all worked to a limited degree, but that's alright; we're all works in progress. We do what we can with what we have, and the steps we take don't have to be big, as long as they take us in the right direction ❤️ Please don't give up on yourself just yet ❤️ You may find you are not going around in circles, but instead simply climbing up a spiral staircase ❤️
I understand ❤️ It can be really nervewracking to talk to people when you don't feel like you can trust yourself to handle it well ❤️ But hey, you're doing it! As far as I can tell from this reply, you're doing amazing ❤️ I'm really proud of you for doing this even though you didn't want to ❤️ Good job for choosing to be courageous!
Aww, I love that! Connecting with people who are kind and people who really get it feels amazing ❤️ Sounds like a plan!
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and have a good day ahead!
@hopebeyondpain
Thank you for replying and thank you for your kind words. It means a lot to me (can I write them in my journal? lol)
You've really taken into consideration each reply in the check-in threads and did your best. I really love seeing people like you and am glad to be able to meet one.
@Luchelle
Of course you can write them in your journal ❤️ Aww, thank you, that means a lot to me too ❤️ I'm always happy to offer what I can, and I'm just glad it helps ❤️ Take care, and I'll see you around
@Luchelle im sorry to hear your struggling right now hugs if you'd like one I'm here for yo if you need to vent
@CaringBrit
Thanks for the offer. I'll PM you when the time comes.
Luchelle
@hopebeyondpain
1. How are you? I had a rough day at work. I was looking forward to talking with a friend tonight but she can't. I'm not sure what is going on. I fell like she is blowing me off lately.
2. Have you struggled with isolation? What were some things that helped? I struggle a lot with isolation. If it wasn't for my daughter I'm not sure I would ever get out. I have no friends irl only online.
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected? I can try to check in more. I usually just read the post and feel like I have nothing useful to contribute.
@RedHawk6547
Hey there ❤️
I'm sorry to hear that you had a tough day and missed out on connecting with a friend you were really looking forward to talking to. It can be easy to conclude that something's up, but it's also possible she's been having a tough time too and needs a break ❤️ We aren't always able to see the hidden battles that people around us fight ❤️ You're always welcome to talk to us here if you want to ❤️
It sounds like this is one area of your life you'd really like to see change in ❤️ That alone is a great start ❤️ You never need a good reason to respond to a check in. These check ins are for you to just come in and tell us what's been on your mind. It might not seem as significant as the things other people are sharing, but it is to us ❤️ We still want to hear from you
You are a valued member of our community ❤️ You have nothing to prove to us. Feel free to come as you are and participate as often as you like ❤️ We're here for you
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and have a good day ahead
@hopebeyondpain
Thank you for your kind response. I've been talking with my therapist about ways to stop isolating. I'm looking at going to a support group irl. I'm not sure if they are doing in person yet or not because of covid. Hope you are doing well.
@RedHawk6547 oh no does she change her mind a lot ? I'm sorry to hear that's happening to you red
@CaringBrit
Thanks. She usually is dependable. I guess she has her own things going on. How are you doing?
@hopebeyondpain
I have - still do. Was getting alittle better about it - going to therapy and an art therapy class but covid stopped that. Now we maybe go out once a week for groceries. Alot of time is spent outside though - just never leave the property and we have no real close neighbors
Used to socialize here more but theres been some things that happened here and then some more things happened and it just is easier to stay alone. Alot of familiar faces have left here - its hard to reach out to people we dont know and trust is a bigger issue again
Thank you for the checkin - take care
@mytwistedsoul
Hey there ❤️
Yes, covid has made staying connected a whole lot harder ❤️ It sounds like you made a lot of progress before covid and I'm really proud of you for that ❤️ Having to stop because of covid doesn't reduce your efforts and progress in any way
It might not be easy, but there are still ways for you to form connections in this period. If art is something you're passionate about, you can use that as a starting point to connect with people and form connections. You can share your work here or on other platforms, and interact with others based off of your art. You don't need to be perfect or good either ❤️ You're free to come as you are. It's okay if trust is an issue ❤️ These things are meant to be taken slowly, one step at a time ❤️
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care too, and I hope you'll have a good day
@mytwistedsoul heyy soul its nice to hear from you and I hope you get to go back to art therapy again soon hugs
@CaringBrit Hey Brit :) It's nice to see you! Thank you - I hope things start to open up more here soon
I spend most of my time alone. In my own head. I dont socialize much. Too much pain and PTSD to work through. Nice to meet all of you.
@Mystique1992
Hey there ❤️ It's good to meet you too!
I have to admit: I spend a lot of time in my head too. It's cosy and safe and I can do what I like. It's a good hiding place for when things get tough ❤️ It's okay, recovery takes time, you'll work through this at your own pace ❤️ Don't worry about it
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and I hope you'll have a restful day ❤️
@Mystique1992 aww mystique cant be easy dealing with that alone we are here for you if you need
nice to meet you too
1. How are you? ❤️ It's very weird that I have found this post as I have been on edge and I really believe it's due to isolation. We have drunken neighbor causing drama and it really makes me nervous.
2. Have you struggled with isolation? yes, currently dealing with it
What were some things that helped? Going out with my mom, i got out and i wasn't alone. However we don't have the resources to get out.
3. What are some things you can try this week to help you stay connected? talking to friends and going for a walk, but with my depression, anxiety fighting my motivation, it's a bit difficult.
@Rebekahwriter13
Hey there ❤️
I see ❤️ I'm glad to hear that you've been able to pinpoint one of the things that were causing you to feel this way. It's a good step in the right direction ❤️
It's good to hear that you have some things on your list of things that can help. They might not be very convenient right now, but it's a good place to start. We can start simple and work our way up from there ❤️
I understand ❤️ It's okay to take these things at a pace you're more comfortable with. The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. We don't need to think about the miles right now, just the first step ❤️ I can tell that you've put thought into this, and I'm proud of you for that. Keep going, Rebekah, you got this ❤️
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and I hope you'll have a restful day
@Rebekahwriter13 stay safe rebekah im sorry to hear about a drama causing neighbour too frustrating I bet having to deal ith that
hugs if you'd like one
@CaringBrit Hugs. I actually miss hugs.
@Rebekahwriter13 well heres many huggies then
@CaringBrit
Hugs.
I am around people alot for work and in a fitness group I attend regularly. But I do enjoy time alone and wish I had more of it.
@ReallyRuth
Hey there ❤️
It's good to hear that isolation doesn't seem to be something you struggle with. I really value my time alone too, and I know it can be tiring if you don't have enough of it ❤️
You're the one who understands your situation best. If you're in a position to decide, go for what you feel would work best for you. If you're not happy with what you currently have, go ahead and work towards something healthier ❤️ Don't forget that we're in this together, so don't hesitate to talk about it here, or talk to someone you trust about it if you feel it would help
Thank you for checking in with us today ❤️ Take care, and I hope you'll haave a good day
@ReallyRuth time alone can be awesome when you have so much with others I hope you can find more time for yourself soon