reimeichan

[reimeichan]

Somatic resources for healing trauma and PTSD

I decided to bring together a range of links and online resources in one place to make it easier for people to find their own path to healing. I’ve noticed that certain personality types, especially Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) seem to be more susceptible to trauma. I hope that these tools will help you get started on your healing journey.

Where to start:

EFT Tapping* - Learn it for free here: What is tapping and how can I start using it?

Butterfly hug exercise: The Butterfly Hug (EMDR Self-Help)

5 Step holding exercise: 5 Step Holding Exercise for Regulation of PTSD symptoms

Somatic experiencing exercises: Two Simple Techniques that can Help Trauma Patients Feel Safe with Peter Levine

Voo Technique: Reduce Stress - 2 Minute Voo Technique by Katie Brauer

Felt Sense Exercise: Peter Levine’s Felt Sense Exercise at The Art of Healing Trauma

For more in-depth online help:

The Healing Trauma Online Video Course by Peter Levine (Sounds True)

Roland Bal: Resolving Trauma and PTSD

Organic Intelligence

Books:

Reclaiming Your Body by Suzanne Scurlock

Healing Trauma: A Pioneering Program for Restoring the Wisdom of the Body by Peter Levine (book and CD)

Complex PTSD: A Guide from Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker

The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living by Nick Ortner

* Please note that it’s best to use EFT for emotions and thoughts in the present moment, or any memories that come up spontaneously. Intentionally going back to traumatic memories and using EFT on them can be too triggering for many people (putting them into a hyper-aroused state, and possibly leading to dissociation), and if you have PTSD/C-PTSD is not advisable without the guidance of a trauma-informed therapist. This can also trigger symptoms for people with chronic health conditions.

[reimeichan]

I hate. Tumblr.

ANYWAYS ETHAN ASKED ME THE SAME THING JSDKLHGJDSF basically I had made like. a huge long shoutout list for some of my favorite DID tumblrs. and then realized it was too long and it wasn't properly tagging everyone. so I deleted that section.

If you got a phantom @ know that it's because ilu

We're a polyfragmented system so our healing journey will probably look very different, but know you all just being here gives the other alters in here a lot of hope. - Seto Kaiba (fictive)

Aww, I'm very glad! I definitely feel you, having polyfrag DID can feel so lonely and confusing. I followed several DID blogs and the individuals that run those blogs always inspire me to keep doing better and to keep sharing my own experiences online, because the world is always a brighter place when we know we're not alone. So I'm glad to be one of those people for you ^^

[reimeichan]

hi this has nothing to do with your fusion and i'm sorry for the tangent+ if it's like...Not Okay but i wanted to send you an anon because i get too nervous to send things over dms and i'm super sorry bc i know it's been like a month or more?? lol

a while ago i reblogged a post of yours that deeply resonated with me and that i honestly hold close to my heart as a reassurance that i'm not alone that you DMed me about saying that the tags i added were okay (among other things). i'm not sure if you'd be comfortable with me referencing the specific post but i just wanted to say thank you for your response and for the post proper. and honestly for your posts in general, because they're starting to help me slowly be more open with my parts and realize why i'm kinda sometimes not + why i'm hard on myself about my DID stuff. still hard but we're working through it, slowly but surely 🫡

congrats on your fusion (honestly how you're experiencing it reminds me of two-now-one of my parts in a way, but slightly different), and i hope you know that your posts are really helping at least someone out there. have a good one 💛

(also sorry for being on anon but the blog this would be asked from is my main)

Anon this is so sweet omg

It's more than fine to reference any past post of mine, and thank you for taking the time to respond back to me even a month later. Reading this made me smile and I'm honored to have been a part of your healing journey in some forme or fashion.

And don't worry about being on anon, do whatever makes your most comfortable.

#by green #anon #anonymous #asks #ask stuff

[reimeichan]

We're a polyfragmented system so our healing journey will probably look very different, but know you all just being here gives the other alters in here a lot of hope. - Seto Kaiba (fictive)

Aww, I'm very glad! I definitely feel you, having polyfrag DID can feel so lonely and confusing. I followed several DID blogs and the individuals that run those blogs always inspire me to keep doing better and to keep sharing my own experiences online, because the world is always a brighter place when we know we're not alone. So I'm glad to be one of those people for you ^^

#by purple #ask stuff #asks #baku-go #baku go

[reimeichan]

I admittedly never really looked into what a "median" is in a system context, but based on what I know, I don't think so? I'm just me. I have a lot of different parts of me and different versions of me that interact with the world, but I identify with each and every one of them. The sort of identy framework I use is along the lines of thinking of myself as 2 people, but I'm still a fully fused alter between the two that make me up. And honestly I'm more than 2 people, I have sooo many other parts that make up who I am.

I dunno if a label can really explain my experiences and honestly I don't really want that either lol. I'm just me. Call me Purple, or Gray, or Reimei. All of them are my name.

So what are you called now, Purple-Gray? Mauve?

Nope, not Mauve, never Mauve lol.

I'm Purple! And I'm Gray. I'm both people at once, not a new person. So I still use both names and just tag based on which version of me is most prominent in the fusion as of time of posting. And if both are equally there, well, how lucky for me that I get to pick and choose if I want one name or the other or even both.

#by purple #by gray

[reimeichan]

So what are you called now, Purple-Gray? Mauve?

Nope, not Mauve, never Mauve lol.

I'm Purple! And I'm Gray. I'm both people at once, not a new person. So I still use both names and just tag based on which version of me is most prominent in the fusion as of time of posting. And if both are equally there, well, how lucky for me that I get to pick and choose if I want one name or the other or even both.

#by purple #by gray #asks #ask stuff #quincy-clover #quincy clover

[reimeichan]

if i can ask, how did people and gray fusing go?

I assume you're talking about Purple and Gray? XD

Heyo! I'm the fused version of the two of them :3 it went surprisingly without a hitch, especially considering the history the two parts of me have with each other. Reimei system lore drop incoming!

Purple and Gray have known about us being a system way longer than anyone else in the system as well, and have sort of acted as the two halves of our ideologies. Purple's the one who believes in "being true to yourself" as much as possible, and Gray tries to "be the responsible person because we need to make it to tomorrow dammit". These two halves of our ideologies have kind of been at odds with each other for... well, basically our entire life, and we genuinely weren't expecting Purple and Gray to fuse for a long, long time.

But then, over the past few months, we've noticed that Purple and Gray have started bleeding into one another. Purple would sometimes ramble on about her various thoughts and philosophies much like Gray would, and Gray would bounce around and playfully tease others in a very Purple-like way. And recently, the two of them have actually managed to sit down and actually talk things through with each other and started integrating aspects of each others' beliefs into themselves. And as such, I'm able to both keep true to myself while also keeping tabs on my responsibilities (as much as my ADHD brain can). And it's not really one or the other; both are true aspects of who I am and even intertwined with each other.

All in all, the fusion's gone incredibly smoothly and feels fairly seamless. I easily can flow between the Purple and Gray states as much as I want and still stay as me. I'm Purple even when I'm more Gray-coded and vice-versa. I actually consider myself as two people but one fusion. How does that work? Who knows! But it makes sense to me and the rest of my system. (Green note: no, it doesn't make sense to me but I just let them do their thing at this point.)

Thanks for the ask, anon! I hope this answered your question ^^

#fusion #DID fusion #did stuff #did system #actually did #actuallydid #by gray #by purple #about green

[reimeichan]

Self love is not always easy. It can be challenging and not fun at the time, but your future self will thank you!

Chibird store | Positive pin club | Instagram

[reimeichan]

sometimes it’s better refrain from deep introspection and allow yourself to just be.

[reimeichan]

A quick, sloppy little comic about Magritte

#I've seen this comic before and each time it punches me right in the gut #the first time I read it was after I broke up with my ex who was all remembering = priorities and shit #so I definitely really needed it then #and I'm reblogging here for whenever I may need it again

[reimeichan]

Check out these archives of various people sharing what DID means to them, and what they'd like to know more about it. There's a variety of different perspectives here! It's interesting to see people speculating what causes their dissociation, too.

I'm not sure exactly when these were published, but these pages were archived by the wayback machine on 1999 and 2000 respectively. Please be mindful that these are snapshots of the past; language/views especially regarding mental disorders change over time.

Potential TW! Both links below detail abuse stories, unreality issues, distress and worries, and similar things that might be potentially triggering.

Click here for page 1.

Click here for page 2.

This is my favorite response. It really resonates with me:

"For me, dissociation is like a veil. It keeps me at a distance from the world, protected and hidden. But at the same time it obscures my vision, and prevents me from living as fully as I might otherwise do."

#ty so much for putting in the work to find these relics

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Chronic ilness pain scale

[reimeichan]

yeah and we have a couple layers of it

the first is hair color. it's not really that we internally have an appearance so much as when we try to make external avatars to represent ourselves some of us gravitate towards certain hair colors, and we've noticed that hair color is a good indicator of seeing connections between alters. not that it tells us anything more than "these two alters are somehow related", but it's a decent start.

we also have what we call "threads", which is just how we visualize how our system is structured. I won't go into too much detail, but basically what we call an "alter" is not really an alter but rather an amalgamation of various parts that tend to work together as one. the amalgamation of parts aren't always the exact same grouping, but there's usually a pattern to the grouping. we visualize these parts as colored threads, and the colors are pretty significant as they can tell us which of the main subsystems these threads come from.

lastly is just.... the fact each individual alter has their own unique color vibe. colors that are more similar to each other are usually related (for example, Green and Mint were from the same subsystem), but not always (Mint and Cyan are not at all related to each other). and sometimes completely unrelated colors are actually closely tied (Yellow and Purple are very closely related to each other despite being different colors).

this is all detailing aspects of our system that are now kind of obsolete as most of our system has fused down to the point there's really only 4 of us in the system now, but thought it would be fun to finally talk a bit about it here.

Is your system color coded?

Hey y’all, after being on the DID side of tumblr for over four years, I’ve finally decided to ask the masses if this is something anyone else does? So both my partner system and I have alters separated by colors, but we each do it in different ways. While I won’t go into it too much, my partner’s alters are color coded by their “lineage,” color coding their trauma and who they’ve split from. For my alters, they’re color coded by personality. Specific colors tend to indicate certain personality traits within my alters, and while they might not all present them the same way, there tends to be some kind of overlap if they share a color. Can anyone relate? Do you guys have a color coding system too? Do you want me to go into more depth with mine?

If you said yes, please elaborate in replies or reblogs if you’re comfortable. And if you hit no but you’re organized in a different way you’re comfortable sharing do the same! I’m really curious

This is for traumagenic systems only as I am trying to see if I, a DID system dating another DID system, have an experience that is shared by other systems of similar formation. Please respect this

#by gray

[reimeichan]

The denial is genuinely going to drive me insane, how do others trust their organically resurfaced memories and not think they’re crazy? Genuinely help

#ow. #this is a much more direct way of saying it than I've been told in the past #shocked me so hard I actually teared up

[reimeichan]

A commonly overlooked symptom of depression is anhedonia, the inability to feel joy or pleasure. The reason that it's easy to overlook is that it's easier to miss the absence of something that's not around all the time than it is to miss a symptom that causes active distress, such as feeling tired and miserable all the time.

Anhedonia is good at being a persistent undercurrent to your life. My aunt, who has major depressive disorder, related to me that she figured out that something was wrong when she looked at the daffodils she had planted blooming, and couldn't recognize the emotion that she felt when she looked at them. It had been long enough since she had felt happy that she lost the ability to recognize the emotion.

It's a particularly dangerous depressive symptom, because it robs you of the ability to feel those little spots of joy that keep a lot of people going, while not doing anything to impair your ability to function. If you don't know that this is a treatable symptom of depression, it's easy to assume that your ability to feel good is permanently broken, and decide to commit suicide because you don't want to live like that. It's not an irrational conclusion, but it is an uninformed one, and everyone deserves to have all the information when making a major decision.

This is what a lot of questionnaires are trying to look for when they ask about "loss of enjoyment". If you can't remember a loss of enjoyment because you can't remember enjoyment, then you probably have anhedonia. If you struggle to define how it is to feel "happy", "content", or "good", or how it feels when you feel those emotions, you probably have anhedonia. If you can't remember feeling any of those emotions for a week or more, you probably have anhedonia.

Symptoms commonly co-occurring with anhedonia are fatigue (often the cause), clear and thoughtful consideration of suicide, loss of desire to socialize or do activities that used to make you happy, and weight loss (due to lack of enjoyment of food).

This section is anecdotal. In what I have observed, anhedonia due to fatigue rarely responds well to depression treatment unless depression was causing the fatigue. If fatigue and anhedonia are co-occurring and are not both alleviated by depression treatment, consider other causes for the fatigue.

[reimeichan]

people say folks with adhd struggle with "delayed rewards" aka long term goals and as such we tend to focus more on short term rewards. what they don't talk about is that at when we Do accomplish long term goals we don't actually feel anything proportionate to the amount of work we did to achieve it. In my head I suffered for a while and then money spontaneously appeared in my bank account.

#yeah this so much #adhd

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I was talking to my therapist about some anxiety symptoms --- "In my mind, I know I'm going to be perfectly okay, but my body doesn't listen and reacts anyway" --- and she recommended TIPP as strategies to keep in my toolbox of dealing with distress in the moment. I really appreciate having more than one option to try in moments of overwhelm!

Transcription below:

If you're feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or other strong emotions, TIPP is a set of techniques that use the body's natural physical responses to bring you back into balance.

TIPP stands for

temperature

intense exercise

paced breathing

progressive muscle relaxation

Temperature:

The body naturally lowers its heart rate in response to cold. If anxiety is making your heart race, try an ice pack, a cool washcloth, or a walk outside in cool weather, and it should help you calm down.

Intense exercise:

Anxiety is typically a symptom of your body going into fight/flight mode. If your body is coursing with nervous energy, burn it off with 10 minutes of jumping jacks, dancing, climbing stairs, or another cardio activity to complete the stress response cycle.

Paced breathing:

Deep, slow breathing from the belly can also help signal the body to come out of fight/flight mode. Try inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of six until you feel more relaxed. (I like to hold the breath for a count of two between each inhale and exhale.)

Progressive muscle relaxation:

If anxiety makes your body tense up, try this. Start by squeezing the muscles in your toes and feet for five seconds, and then intentionally relax them. Move up to the calves, up your legs, and every region of your body to purposefully let go of extra energy.

When you're feeling overwhelmed, try one or more of these to see what works for you.

#TIPP #anxiety