Traumatic Experiences Community Daily Check-in Tuesday 15th May 2018

Hello lovely trauma family

Thought I would share with you today an incident that brought home to me the vaue of reframimg.Every mormig at daylight I plie the three dogs in to the car and we head up a nearby back country road.. very quiet and hardly ever a car. To get to the paddocks where they are free to run we have to walk down a stretch of metal road. The two older dogs are road savy and know to "wait'" if there is a vehicle.Young bub is only learning.. she is in training with "wait" and I have her on a long line. And because its early morning I can see the approach of any car lights. But the other morning I missed ths car lights and as we rounded the corner with bub flying out in front of me,there was the lights of a car. I called "wait" but she was excited , her herding instinct kicked in and she was behind the car. The driver stopped,we sorted it, and all was well. The next morning, new day, I could feel the anxiety.. what happens if a car comes again and I don't see it. So the usually enjoyable walk was clouded by my anxiety. Nothing happened, we were fine. This morning when we were in the paddock the thought came.. why don't I reframe this and call it "an opportunity for bub to practice her new skills" It was amazing how this changed my vew and my feelings about it. We did see a car coming and were able to calmly "wait" and let it pass by.

So a reframe can give another perspective, and also change how you feel about it. It can help you move when stuck or confused. You know how you can get in a vicious cycle of being sad or anxious and then hating oneself for getting like this again,and then saying something like "I'm so messed up." Suggest at this point it can help to slow down and press the pause button. Breathe Look at the thought as an outside observer. How can this be reframed.. going from passive to active and from negative to positive... can make such a difference.

Ancient wisdom says "You can't control what happens to you, but you can control how you react."

How is your day day going? How have you found reframing helpful? Is there something that you could reframe for yourself today. Or pop in to say hi! You are welcome here.. This is your space and a safe place. x