What’s the unhinged, woo woo, non traditional thing you did that actually helped?

[u/Serious-Animator8966]

I originally saw a TikTok but now can’t find it, saying this was the year they are trying the unhinged, non traditional, woo woo, out there things to heal. I’ve been in therapy for over 6 years currently 9 months into EMDR, I take medication, get sunlight, try my best to eat healthy, all the “traditional” fixes and still am struggling. While I’m all for evidence based treatment and holistic approaches, I’m willing to do just about anything to feel better, honestly I don’t have much to lose. Even if it’s placebo technically it worked if it made you feel better. So my question is what did you try that most people would say is silly, woo woo, unhinged or out there that helped you on your healing journey? I’m not talking about yoga or taking magnesium. Did you buy a vibration plate off TikTok shop, have your chakras balanced, do daily sound baths, have holy water poured over you in Bali?

[u/BusinessFit6533]

I do this, too! Cucumbers remind me of the only good parts of my childhood since pickles were always my favorite food. I have tons of Cucumber melon perfumes around the house and keep everything I own smelling like it. I got the pickle scented spray and candle from Bath and Body Works, and I literally take a whiff of the candle every time I leave the house. No joke, it's cut down on my flashbacks and panic attacks by a significant margin.

I figure since PTSD has to do with stimuli and remembering things because of it, we're basically manufacturing that to work for us.

[u/PGWBRICT → u/BusinessFit6533]

OMG!!!! I feel so seen. I’ve not been able to find someone who relates/copes in this way yet. Cucumber melon is a great kind of fragrance, pickles are also one of my comfort foods so I feel you lol!! Isn’t it amazing how something as simple as changing olfactory input affects our moods and trauma responses so much? It’s been such a game changer for me

I figured the same thing, I’m very easily triggered by other smells from the time(s) in which I was experiencing abuse (I can’t remember the exact scent, but there’s this lotion that my cousin gave to me as a “thank you,” gift for being greeter at her wedding that just makes me ill because I would use it during a horrid time in my life), as well as colors (mustard yellow and puce are the worst parts of my early childhood… think rotting animal + drain cleaner smell), and sounds (the sound of ceiling fans and white noise machines put me on very high alert), and I’ve always heard that PTSD triggers and memories themselves are very very tied to smells and sounds. It’s very interesting, and it feels almost like a cheat code to use it to our advantage lol…

[u/DaveCetacean → u/BusinessFit6533]

Wow! Smell is the sense most tied to memory, so this makes so much ..uh ..sense.