Traumatic Experiences Community Check-In Wednesday-Thursday 19-20 August 2020

Good morning everyone!!! The check-in topic for today are coping strategies. As with all things there is a positive and a negative so while there are many coping strategies, not all of them are beneficial to us with some even proving to be quite harmful. One of the most common coping strategies utilized by survivors of trauma is avoidance. It is quite alright to desire to avoid the memories, people, places and situations that are associated with traumatic events. By using avoidance as a strategy one puts themselves at risk of being stuck in the trauma.

The most effective way to cope with trauma is to first understand and process the trauma. While one can try a self-guided approach to this, It can often be more beneficial to work with a professional who is experienced in treating trauma. It can often be overwhelming when making the decision to pursue therapy.

Then there are triggering events. These are moments which in some way shape or form cause us to relive a traumatic experience. There are positive practices one can adopt to efficiently cope when experiencing these or other symptoms of PTSD. One method for coping would be to find ones happy place. This can be either a real place or simply a space in ones mind where they can feel safe. If its a real space it can be filled with items which provide a sense of comfort like scented candles, sketchbook, blanket, etc.

Establishing good secure relationships is very vital in overcoming trauma. Whether this relationship be with a parent, partner, friend or a licensed therapist or mental health professional, it is very important to make and maintain secure relationships. Sometimes simply learning more about responses to trauma and why they occur can help an individual obtain a greater understanding of why they may react in certain ways, or why they may have a particular response under certain circumstances in their life. With greater understanding of why a person reacts or acts under certain circumstances, one can develop more compassion for themselves and their experiences.

My go to in the coping strategies tool box is always grounding techniques. These can be anything we find that happens to work for us. This covers a wide variety of various coping strategies such as breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, practicing mindfulness, using visual imagery, aromatherapy. It can basically be any sensorial activity which helps to keep us in the present moment. This does not have to focus entirely upon one of the five senses. There are some grounding techniques that require the use of all senses such as the 54321 grounding method.

With this technique the individual would start with the number five and work their way down to the number one. They would acknowledge five things they see around them. It could be a pencil, a laptop, a picture on the wall. Then they would acknowledge four things you can touch around you. It could be a chair, a pillow, or the ground under your feet. The individual would then acknowledge three things that they hear. This could be any external noise. If one can hear their stomach grumbling that counts. The individual will then acknowledge two things you can smell. Maybe you can smell the scented candle in your happy place or perhaps theres food cooking. Finally the person will acknowledge one thing they can taste.

The 54321 grounding method is just one of a very large arsenal of weapons we can utilize to work through trauma. I definitely recommend checking out different techniques as this is often the best way to find the technique(s) which work for us individually. Before I end this check-in I will ask these three questions:

How are you today?

What are some coping strategies which you utilize when struggling with trauma?

What topic would you like to see me cover in a future check-in?

As always my friends I hope you have a greater today than yesterday in hopes for a better and brighter tomorrow!!!

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Guidelines for Trauma Support check-ins: https://www.7cups.com/home/trauma/#guidelines
List of team leaders if you need us: https://www.7cups.com/home/trauma/#leaders