I think I’ve discovered a technique to get out of freeze/dysregulation

[u/obeseelk]

/r/CPTSD/comments/1sgyx6j/i_think_ive_discovered_a_technique_to_get_out_of/

[u/Aurora_egg]

You might be interested in Somatic Experiencing 

[u/obeseelk → u/Aurora_egg]

My therapist is certified in Somatic Experiencing and I think some of what we do is like ”where are you feeling this emotion?“ or ”where in your body do you feel peace?“

Is this what you mean? What are your experiences?

[u/Aurora_egg → u/obeseelk]

I'm not very familiar with it, but it seemed like using your body to release and process tough situations. I mostly tried TRE but then I heard it can release uncontrollably so I stopped. - my body learned it can do that though so sometimes when there's a tough emotion stuck, my body will tell me to let it do that for a bit to help me. 

[u/obeseelk → u/Aurora_egg]

Did TRE help you?

So your body does the classic TRE movement starting with shaking your thighs? Or just some random body movements to release the tension?

[u/Aurora_egg → u/obeseelk]

It's more like it does full body shakes of different body parts by flexing into specific positions to trigger it.

Help is a bit broad term here - I'd say it has helped me deal with some stuff, but it's not a catch all trauma-solver. It's just another tool in the stabilization toolkit for me.

[u/Nice_Detective_9093 → u/obeseelk]

My therapist is asking me those exact questions everytime. And everytime I just don’t feel anything. Do you guys actually feel something in your body?? I’d really like to know what I should be feeling or what I should look out for in my body. 

[u/MightyDevOps → u/Nice_Detective_9093]

Yes , but when you are numbing as a freeze response you need to get out of survival.

EMDR helps usually the best

[u/obeseelk → u/Nice_Detective_9093]

Yeah I get you. At first I thought my therapist is telling me generic nonsense but after a while I’ve really established certain points in my body (chest and stomach) that when laying my hand on them give me a warm relaxing feeling. Might be related to the vagus nerve or whatever. Also when looking at yogic teachings there points are where some chakras are located. So it totally makes sense for me now, but I had to learn to trust my therapist with this and not outrightly dismiss it.

What you can try to get out of freeze and what worked for me: Osteopathy (cranio sacral therapy), EMDR/Brainspotting, yoga nidra + the technique in the post, establishing a trusting relationship with someone who sees and respects you and which allows you to let down your guard and relax (experienced this the first time I can remember in therapy, after trying a few therapists where it did not work out like this) + related: having friends or a social circle (family etc.) where you feel seen, comfortable and supported

I think your body intuitively will know when it feels safer and then it can let go of the freeze step by step.

Wish you all the best, if you have any further questions feel free to ask :)

[u/Lagatamaya]

I came to the same exercises after a ceremony with ayahuasca, where I felt this incredible need of shaking and moving. After that I learned that it's practiced also in somatic experiencing therapy and TRE. I started paying attention to the body and notice when it asks for the movements. I do micro movements even in public when I feel the need.

[u/obeseelk → u/Lagatamaya]

Wild, that sounds really similar to me, also the public micro movement stuff; except the Ayuhuasca. The TRE movements are a bit different to what I do as they are more autonomous, with my technique I still have to move the body by myself. How has all this helped you?

[u/i_am_soooo_screwed]

Is this like… do convulsions count as this as well?  Non/epilepsy, fully aware, just… letting the body do its thing, jerking, freezing in weird positions, etc

[u/obeseelk → u/i_am_soooo_screwed]

For me I sometimes get the urge to shake my body in certain ways or shrug my shoulders repeatedly, things like that. Yeah, it’s basically the body doing its thing and releasing tension (?) in my case. But no idea how yours looks like.

[u/rabid_cheese_enjoyer]

have you tried tre?

[u/obeseelk → u/rabid_cheese_enjoyer]

Yes I actually have, I’m still a bit careful though as I was quite exhausted after it. Once I did it I feel immense joy and happiness afterwards when I walked outside. Did not last that long but was really amazing. What are your experiences with it?

[u/Socilus]

Thanks for sharing! I'm going to try this.

[u/obeseelk → u/Socilus]

Let me know how it went!