I had the following clip come through on my YouTube feed and after listening to it a few times, I believe it has changed my life for the (far) better.
"I wish I knew this when I was younger" by Gabor Mate.
It's a long podcast and covers a LOT.
I found the life changing part was his analysis of the power of "triggers". When this information really sunk in to my mind and I accepted the information as truth, I've had a complete transformation of thought processes.
Just like magic.
I have Complex PTSD, with my version of this, I've had countless "triggers" to deal with.
Some were completely debilitating, confining and I felt literally insane when I was in a locked up reactionary zone.
Sure I had effective "Exposure Therapy" and worked more than compliantly with my Psychologist on the SOURCE of each trigger. So much so that she taught me how to do ET on my own, which was scary at the time, but after doing it and doing it, the situations that used to trigger me, lost their "power".
Gabor Mate talks about the impetus of "triggers" and where it all comes from.
This was the missing piece for me.
Yesterday I had opportunities to practice pretty much staying in situations with other people that would previously have had me shut me shut down, run, do the whole shebang.
Not at all yesterday.
I literally felt SAFE throughout the entire conversations. Silently acknowledging so many parts that would've previously held "trigger laden content" but they didn't. I was calm, listening intently, I even felt FREE being there.... like I was more ABLE to engage in difficult conversations with others like a "normal person" lol...
Be patient and kind with yourself. Practicing self-care has brought huge transformations to my life also.
Love EMxxxx
