#grounding techniques

[lousydrawingsforgoodpeople]

fr tho

#grounding #grounding techniques #screaming #in the dirt #doodles #bad art #lousy drawings #doodle #healing #realistic #dirt

[multiplicity-positivity]

Grounding Techniques

We often mention and recommend grounding on this blog as a way to help folks who feel dissociated, overwhelmed, anxious, dazed, blurry, or disconnected. But we don’t have a post specifically compiling grounding techniques, so we decided to make one! Here are a few things our system does to ground ourselves when we’re feeling out of it.

Breathe!

Breathe in deep through your nose for 4 seconds, filling up your chest and belly with air, then exhale through your mouth for 7 seconds. Rinse and repeat - we usually do this 4-6 times in order to gain a bit more clarity or calm down.

The following clip can also be used - feel free to save this and breathe along with it to help calm down!

(Description:) A short clip of a small line expanding into a triangle, square, pentagon, adding sides up to an octagon with the prompt “Breathe in,” then shrinking back down to a small line with the prompt “Breathe out” over a period of nine seconds (End Description.)

4-3-2-1

Try to notice and pay attention to your surroundings. List 4 things you can see, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you can hear, and 1 thing you can taste or smell. You could also do 5-4-3-2-1 for sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste!

Sharp Experiences

Pull yourself out of a spiral, bring your focus on the present, or gain some sensation if you’re dissociating with a sharp experience. Hold a piece of ice or eat a lemon slice our a sour candy. Our system carries Warhead candies to help ground ourselves with sharp experiences.

Observations

Notice all sorts of things around you - clothes, furniture, utensils, anything within reach that you can safely touch. What is the texture like? Is anything soft, rough, smooth, hard, cool, or bumpy? What does it look like? Can you name some specific colors or shapes that you see? Try to be as specific with your observations as you can.

Take a walk

Take a short walk outside or around your current space. Try to notice how your body feels as you move. Count the steps that you take. Look at everything around you, and notice how what you see and hear changes with your movement.

Centering Statements

A centering statement can be a great way to help ground yourself in the present moment in time and space. You can write your statement down beforehand and take a look at it whenever you need, filling in the gaps for your present moment and situation. The centering statement our system uses these days says:

“My name is [system member]. I am a part of the Halberd Crew. I am [age] years old. I have [physical features]. The date is [date] and the time is [time]. I am in [physical location]. If I need help, I can contact [partner system] at [phone number].”

REST

While this may work for grounding when dissociated, this strategy is more intended for calming down when overwhelmed. We’ve covered this technique in detail in a previous post, which we’ll link HERE (<- hyperlink).

This pretty much sums up the grounding techniques that various members of our system use in order to help themselves when feeling disconnected or frazzled. We hope something here can be of some use to someone out there! Remember to look after yourselves to the best of your ability, and use some of these techniques to help ground yourself if you need to in the future. Thanks so much for reading, and take care!

#grounding #grounding techniques #dissociation #blurriness #dissociative identity disorder #plurality #actually did #did osdd #not sure how to tag this - hope this is okay!

[4spooniesupport]

#jokes #psychology #coping mechanism #trauma coping #trauma humor #just cptsd things #living with cptsd #cptsd recovery #ptsd recovery #complex ptsd #ptsd #actually ptsd #coping skills #mental illness #mental health #laughter #spoonie #chronic illness #chronically ill #chronic disease #grounding techniques #grounding

[disassociation-culture-is]

Please tell me some grounding techniques.

My disassociation is getting out of hand

Also I love your blog

personally counting helps me a lot! i can sit and count my fingers pretty easily.

2. introduce new physical sensations and focus on them! nothing dangerous. hand under running water, hold ice. something like that

3. 1-5 is always a good one - 5 things you hear, 4 things you see, 3 things you can touch from where you’re sitting, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste

4. holding a comfort item of some kind! ill hold one of my plush toys and think through how I got it, who I got it with, etc

healthline therapistaid medicalnewstoday

~ mod maz

#mod maz #not dissociation culture is #not disassociation culture is #grounding techniques

[mahoushojo-chan]

Astarion x Tav || dissociation

something i wanted to feel

warnings: dissociation, ptsd, trauma synopsis: disguised as a drow, tav finds astarion after he's reverted back to old, unhealthy ways of using his body. she brings him back. When Astarion hears her normal voice, he feels soothed. “You weren’t here, fully. I wanted to bring you back.” She explains, like it’s the simplest thing. “If I let you continue, it felt like I would lose you.” she continues. an excerpt of 'cause my love (is mine, all mine) word count: 1,001 pairing: astarion/tav other tags: f!reader, half-elf?tav, bard!tav, hurt/comfort, angst, non-sexual intimacy, friends to lovers, song inspo: sanctuary by joji ao3: here concept: dissociation and grounding techniques

The elf—half elf, maybe, based off the point of their ear? They grab Astarion’s wrist to stop him, and pull him away. “P-Put on your clothes, first.”

There's something off, like the pieces of the puzzle don't quite fit together. The man before him appears unnaturally flawless, almost like plastic rather than real flesh. Confused, Astarion takes a step back.

“Well, if that’s… what you wish.” Astarion replies and proceeds to redress himself. He's so bewildered by the situation that he foregoes any reverse strip-tease or other playful undressing antics; it completely escapes his thoughts. He simply puts his clothes back on, sliding his pants over his legs and fastening his belt. His shirt follows, and after it's on, he walks back over to the other person. Astarion supposes that this is okay. He hadn't exactly planned anything out, after all. Whether he’s naked or clothed while he does… whatever he’s going to do doesn’t matter to him at all.

"Now, where were we?" Astarion inquires, his hands gently cradling their artificial features, as he attempts to regain his focus.

However, they gently remove his hands from their face and clasp his hands in theirs, asking, "How does it feel?"

Astarion’s response is automatic. “Oh, it feels lovely. I’d love to see what other—”

“Ah-ah,” they tut, “tell me about my hands. How do they feel?”

Astarion takes a second. A hint of confusion prods at his mind for a second before he understands that he’s supposed to actually be using his body to relay these sensations. He looks down, and the discrepancy between how they look and feel strikes him again. “Well, they’re soft, of course. They’re… thin, and graceful…” he says, all compliments that he expects they would want to hear. But then his hand runs over their ring finger, and he blinks, because he feels a callous that he doesn’t see. Then, he begins to realize who he’s with. “There’s always a callous that never quite heals, here… and then the scar, and… well, you have a hangnail here. Your nails have grown out, Tav.”

He grins, finally thinking he’s realized their ruse. When he looks up, he sees Tav give a tired smile, though she’s still in her disguise.

Instead of ending it there, she continues with a pleased hum, “Are my hands warm?”

“Yes, always. A little warmer today, but—what are you doing?” Astarion interjects, confused.

She never answers him properly at times like these. Instead, she asks him, “Do I smell bad?”

Astarion takes some time to mull it over before he shakes his head. “No… no, you rarely do. Well, my tastes deviate from others, and I take quite a delight when you’re covered in blood, of course, but—”

“What do I smell like?”

He takes in a breath of air, and then deeply exhales. Her scent is familiar, now. “Like… well, something floral, usually. A little like parchment, maybe the slightest of resin…”

She dispels the disguise. Even though it's just the two of them, it seems a bit reckless, considering he’s not sure how they'll escape. However, Tav usually thinks ahead more than he does, and Astarion doesn't have the time to dwell on it as she continues her line of questioning, “And do I look okay?”

Now that he sees her for her, his gaze drops into something more affectionate. “Your hair never sits quite right, here.” He says, teasing the rebellious tuft of hair on her head before flattening it. “There. Now you look perfect.”

He lingers a little when she finally lets go of his hands. He feels a little disappointed, but she self-consciously helps to flatten her hair. Astarion takes the opportunity to finally ask, “Care to tell me what all that was about?”

When he hears her normal voice, he feels soothed. “You weren’t here, fully. I wanted to bring you back.” She explains, like it’s the simplest thing. “If I let you continue, it felt like I would lose you. My only regret is not coming sooner…” she continues.

Astarion blinks in surprise. He realizes he hadn’t particularly been in pain, and part of him still feels like he wants to get lost in his own head, but Tav’s soft explanation—though he’s not quite listening to it so much as he is just relaxing into the comforting cadence of her voice—keeps pulling him back out of it.

The almost liberating numbness is inexplicably nudged to the side by his desire to feel her again.

Then it dawns on him, the gravity of his recent actions—how he had behaved when he was still feeling like a puppet on strings. He remembers pinning her against the wall, pressing his lips to hers, and he stammers, "Oh—I'm sorry for... I mean, I didn't mean to—"

"It was never going to happen," she states, and Astarion experiences a brief pang, a sting in a vulnerable spot, just for a moment. It's as though she's saying, I'm never going to sleep with you, but that’s what he wants, isn’t it? He wants not to sleep with her. He wants something beyond mere physical intimacy, and he has that with Tav.

Seeing his confusion, she snaps him out of his reverie and tells him, “It didn’t mean anything.”

This, in a way, makes the feeling worse because Astarion interprets it as ‘forget it ever happened’. But given that he’s still rather embarrassed about the whole ordeal—the inability to recognize her, his behaviour—he’s actually okay with complying.

So he takes her hands this time and rests his forehead against hers. She feels as warm as he remembers.

Finally, he responds. “Thank you.”

She seems to let him rest for a moment, and he sees her whisper a word of healing. He feels some of the earlier bruises and gashes heal themselves, and it’s not perfect, but he feels significantly better. At that time, he finally separates from her. But then, now that he’s fully present, he sees her as she is—she seems tired, her features gaunt, but she seems relieved.

#astarion romance #astarion x tav #baldur's gate 3 #fanfic #bg3 #writing #astarion x mc #tw: dissociation #tw: trauma #tw: ptsd #bg3 astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion x reader #writing prompt #astarion fic #grounding techniques

[bruxasdebolso]

#witch #witchblr #witchcraft #witches #witches of tumblr #beginner witch #studyin witchcraft #tips #witchy tips #practicing witchcraft #grounding #grounding techniques #meditation #balance #energy #visualization #protection

[electricbloodflow]

lava lamp asmr

Ngl I love staring at lava lamps. It's true peace in a meditative way.

#grounding techniques #complex ptsd #ptsd #meditation #lava lamp #asmr video

[ineffectualdemon]

There isn't a whole lot of advice for if you're dissociating really badly and desperately need to ground yourself in a way that isn't dangerous

Most self harm advice covers being depressed or an emotional reason for wanting to self harm (which I have had in the past but that's not relevant to this)

Not a lot of advice for: "I am so desperate to feel connected to reality that I think bashing my head against the wall is a suitable solution"

The name 5 things isn't super helpful if you're alone and spiraling and dissociating heavily

Also I'm sorry most of them prompted by apps are stupid and don't work for me

It's usually like "name 5 colours" "name five yellow things" and the "name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can taste" which doesn't really work for me either

I think I feel babied and it irritates me

It worked better when my husband started asking me things like "name 5 whales" or "name five words that end in N" because it makes me actually think about my answers so I might pop in a small notebook and have him help me come up with questions

(Btw he asked me "5 words that start with P" and my answers included both patchouli and patriarchy)

I do better with physical sensations

So when I remembered I had a spiky ring i used that but I'm going to order more and a bigger one I can squeeze and roll about

I should probably try to find something better to bite. Tbh I need a chewerly item that has the right amount of give to really sink my teeth into

Most are too hard and hurt my jaw

Is it weird to say it needs the consistency of a human finger?

Other things I'm including is a gummy candy with a strong taste and some lavender facemasks because smell really helps but most perfumes give me a headache. A face mask though will hopefully feel like something on my face and will smell strongly but not in a migraine way

Does anyone have any other suggestions of things to ground me in reality that are helpful keeping in mind my mobility is very limited

#mental health #dissociation #tw self harm #grounding #grounding techniques #not safe for esmes

[psychicreading-live]

#psychic #psychic protection #energy shielding #spiritual hygiene #grounding techniques #psychic boundaries #protective crystals #energetic cleansing

[cluelesspigeons]

This is written for the song “Spillways” by Ghost from @drarrymicrofic

Word count: 150

Drarry microfic: calm down

“Hey, look at me.”

Draco took Harry’s head between both of his hands, forcing Harry to look at him. His once green eyes were now glowing golden. A dangerous snarl escaped Harry’s lips.

“You’ll be okay,” Draco whispered. He rested his forehead against Harry’s, closing his eyes. “You’ll be okay. We will be okay. But I need you to calm down.”

He could feel Harry calming down almost immediately. It was only when he felt Harry wrap his arms around his waist and pull him closer that he opened his eyes again.

Harry’s familiar green eyes looked back at him. “I’m sorry,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I should have known better. But… but sometimes it’s so hard to control, I—”

Draco shook his head, caressing Harry’s cheek. “It’s okay, my love. I understand.” One corner of his mouth lifted up into a half smile. “We’ll get them next time.”

Prompt from March 17th

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#drarry #drarry microfic #drarry fic #drarrymicrofic #drarry fanfic #drarry fanfiction #draco malfoy #harry potter #draco x harry #harry x draco #my writing #cp writes #cluelesspigeons #march 2023 #spillways #ghost #werewolf Harry #trying to calm down #grounding techniques

[ptsd-phoenix]

I will share some helpful things that I use to deal with my trauma, dissociation and flashbacks.

For me it helps to recite what year it is, what the date is, what location I am at, what my name is, what my age is, which other people may or may not be around me, and to keep repeating no harm is currently being done to me. It also helps to repeat reasons as for what proof I have that it isn't or can't easily happen. Such as: I have my phone in my hand to call the police if something happens now. or: my door is locked and I live in a different house and they don't know my address. I usually tend to hold my own hand and squeeze it reassuringly, pet it or even go as far as to hug myself or gently tap the side of my thighs when walking. I try to sort of gently brush my hair sometimes while saying reassuring things to myself. Usually it's just 'I'm safe, nothing bad is happening' over and over again.

I also am in the process of making bracelets and key chains that have the current year on it and 'you are safe, just breathe' on them. so that I can look at them if I have a flashback outside of my house.

Sometimes when I'm really afraid I just curl up hugging my plushie and I imagine a character from my favourite show shows up in the flashback to save me and fight the abuser/make them not be a danger to me anymore. Or take me away to a safe place where I'm protected. Sometimes it helps to imagine revenge, but most of the time the focus is safety. So I will imagine my abuser's hands are tied up, or that I lock him behind a door in a different room. I then imagine myself being comforted. I (or the character) sort of comfort my younger self if that makes any sense.

Grounding techniques help you come to the present reality instead of floating away to your past memories. The most common one is the 5,4,3,2,1 method. Say to yourself out loud or inside your thoughts 5 things that you can hear around you, 4 things you can see, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell and one thing you can taste. You can also name more of each.

You can also pick something up near you and focus on the texture of it, the weight it has, whether it's hot or cold to the touch, the colour, the sound it might make as you let it touch something else. Or if you have something edible around you you can try and really focus on the textures and the taste of it. (helpful things would be menthol gum or something spicy/sour as this will really sort of jolt you out of a dissociated state. but it can also be something really sweet or a fruit with a strong smell such as oranges. In the case of an orange you could also focus on how to peel it and focus on the different textures of that) You can also do this holding a piece of ice and focus on it melting.

If you need a distracting mental exercise you can try counting backwards from 100 to zero subtracting by a number such as 3 or 7. You can also try listing things from a certain category from a to z. So book titles or animals or even just fruits.

There's also the box breathing exercise. It's probably best to google that one rather than I try and explain it. There's also the 4-7-8 breathing technique. And a technique called the butterfly hug.

Also a more vulnerable coping technique that touches on body memories. Is I put on multiple layers of clothes. I tend to do this especially if I have to go to bed. I will put on 3 layers of underwear or sometimes even like a period pad. Then tight fitting leggings or something. For me it helps that I can feel the fabric is covering me tightly against my body. I need that barrier to be there to give me a sense of protection. It really helps when I feel 'exposed'. I can also just wear double underwear on bad days when I go work because nobody can see it but it gives me an extra sense of safety. I tend to wear boxers so it covers more of my skin.

I also have put together a 'grounding box' which is full of distracting and sensory stimulating things. There's a book in it where I have to connect the dots to create pictures. There's some comfort pictures and items in it that make me feel safe (such as my favourite animals and my favourite colours). There's a lot of fidget and stim toys in it that make me use my tactile senses (poppits, infinity cubes, slime, soft things) but also my visual (things with falling glitter, lights) or my hearing. I especially use this one trick. It requires 'Baoding balls'. I discovered that the ringing/chime sound they make has me focus on it in such a specific way that it really grounds me, or at least calms me down. I shake one ball next to my right ear and the other next to my left ear and kinda alternate between them. (I think I was probably inspired by EMDR to do this) The fact I have to move my hand in a specific way to make the actual sound happen, combined with it sort of vibrating and echoing and fading and being so close to my ear, as well as it alternating between both sides of my body has me focus on it in such a way that it calms me down from flashbacks a lot and brings me back to my room. I also use scented candles and I try to buy the ones that have a mixed scent so that I have to focus on trying to figure out what I'm actually smelling. so for example buying 'tropical sunset' and then it's up to me to smell the individual pineapple, coconut, lemon, etc.

I also express a lot of emotion in art such as poetry/singing or drawing/painting. I tend to sing in my shower and car really loudly because it feels like a private space for me. I also used to do an exercise in the shower where I washed every part of my body by really focusing on it and then thanking it. So I started either at the top or bottom and very gently massaging it with soap as I thanked it for doing what it did for me. (like, thanks toes for making me able to stand upright, or thanks hair for protecting me from sunburn on my scalp)

I also express a lot of emotion by moving my body to music and really listening to the lyrics. Dancing just by yourself can really express emotions.

I also have a pet dog that I can lie next to. I will put my head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat/breathing as well as pet him. Feeling a warm comforting presence helps with feeling safer. He is not a service dog but I find that outside when I walk him he also helps guide me the right directions as he usually follows the same roads and he ends up bringing me home when I'm dissociated. I also feel safer with him next to me when I walk outside.

This is not by any means all of my coping techniques but it's a large sum of it. They're likely my most frequently used ones.

#actuallytraumatized #actuallyabused #traumacore #actuallyptsd #abuse survivor #sa survivor #ptsd #phoenix posts non poetry #coping mechanisms #coping techniques #coping skills #grounding techniques #grounding #flashbacks #trauma recovery #abuse recovery #phoenix healing progress #phoenix grounding kit

[wolfeyedwitch]

I bet Weapon will be very confused about getting anesthesia for the removal of that tracker! Will any of the team realize how confused they are?

Weapons Don't Weep, Part 10

So my plans changed from the original "remove the tracker" to "it makes more sense to put the tracker somewhere it wouldn't be safe to remove, so let's fry that sucker instead." Have some angst and miscommunications.

CW: living weapon whumpee, internalized dehumanization, it as a pronoun, panic attacks, implied touch starved whumpee. Please let me know if I missed anything, or if you'd like to be added to the taglist!

Masterlist

---

The Weapon tried to sit still and think of nothing. It succeeded at only one of these tasks.

What were the terrorists planning? They said they were going to get rid of the tracker, but Command had always said that was impossible. And then they took not only radiographs, but a CT scan as well…

It wished it knew more about the scans than just how to best produce results. What were they looking for? 

No. No, no, no, it needed to stop these anomalous thoughts. They weren’t conducive to optimal functionality. It couldn’t predict the terrorists’ plans, and speculation only led to decreased efficacy of its biological system. It needed to stop, before it caused even more cortisol production. 

The Weapon turned its focus to breathing as evenly as possible and smoothing out its heart rate. 

After far too long and not nearly long enough, the leader and the doctor returned. 

“So,” the leader began. “Do you remember what we discussed earlier?”

“Yes, sir,” it said, voice a bare thread of sound. It was glad Command hadn’t heard it give such a paltry, feeble response to a question. 

A long moment passed. Was that not a good enough response? It had answered their question promptly, if quietly. It had been concise and not included anything more than asked of it. It knew better than to say anything other than what its handlers— no, these weren’t its handlers, but still. It knew better than to speak more than asked.

 One of the terrorists cleared his throat. The doctor picked up speaking where the leader had left off.

“Right,” he said. “As you recall, we said we were going to remove your tracker.”

“Yes, sir.” Non-negotiable, they had said. 

“The radiographs and CT scan were to give me a better idea of where exactly it is located,” he continued. “It’s in your right pleural space. That’s between your lung and ribs.”

The statement didn’t seem to require a response, so it remained silent.

“While Government has the resources to safely put a tracker in that location, I don’t have the resources to safely take it out.”

Oh. 

Oh. 

The Weapon’s chest was too tight. Its eyes filled with excess fluid even as it looked down to the floor. System malfunction. 

It’s trying to act human again. Make it cut that shit out.

So they were going to destroy it after all. That. That made more sense. Far more sense than the- the bullshit (the word was too crass and inaccurate for its reports, but it seemed appropriate for this situation) that they’d spouted off earlier. All the nonsensical things about giving it food and water and appropriate medical care. Like it was a person, not just a thing.

You aren’t human, darling. You’re a weapon. My weapon. And weapons don’t weep.

It was still malfunctioning, and it couldn’t make itself stop. Its breathing pattern was impeded by its chest refusing to expand properly. It bit its cheek viciously to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. 

The door opened with a clatter, and…

Was that the sound of wheels squeaking? 

“Weapon? What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

That was Chloe’s voice. So she was going to be here for its destruction as well. It didn’t look up as it swallowed hard.

“Nigel was just telling them what he’d told us, about not taking the tracker out,” said the leader.

“Did you tell them the other part?” Chloe asked, tone not holding anything close to the proper respect for her superior officers. 

“Not yet,” the doctor said, sounding… defensive? That couldn’t be right. It must be misinterpreting that. “I was getting there.”

“Well, maybe you should have started with that,” Chloe said back, tone even less respectful. Was she not worried at all about the discipline these infractions would incur? “Now they’re not exactly in the right mindframe to listen!” 

Footsteps came closer, then a figure came into its blurry vision. 

“Weapon? It’s Chloe.” Her voice was soft. “I’m going to kneel down in front of you now.”

She did as she said, and it moved its eyes to avoid hers.

“Can you look at me, please?”

Since when did anyone say please to their weapon? 

It did as she asked. Asked, not ordered. The difference was jarring. It still avoided her eyes, but now it could see the birthmark creeping up her neck and the freckles liberally dotting her skin.

“Thanks,” she said. She smiled, though the Weapon didn’t understand why. What about this situation warranted that expression? 

The expression seemed to fold in on itself, somehow. When she spoke, it seemed to be more to herself than to it. 

“Okay. Okay, I can do this. Normally I’d touch, or at least ask, but… yeah, no. Okay.” Her tone got louder. “Weapon, can you please tell me five things you see?”

It blinked. An observational exercise? Now? For what purpose? 

It complied, even if it didn’t understand why. It didn’t have to understand; it just had to obey. Its breath hitched as it said, “Freckles. Birthmark. Blonde hair. Earrings.” 

It was at this point that it realized it probably should include things about the room, not just Chloe. “Um. Floor.”

“That’s… that’s really good. Good job,” she said. “Now four things you hear.”

Its voice was steadier this time. “You speaking. The… air conditioning?” Everything was so faint compared to the sound of blood rushing in its ears. What else, what else? 

“You’re doing great. Don’t worry if you can’t get four, just… do your best,” Chloe said.

Of course it would do its best. It would never perform at less than peak efficacy. 

(Except when it did, when it malfunctioned, when it pretended to be— No. No, it wasn’t a person, and it wouldn’t try to pretend it was.)

“Electronics beeping,” it finally added. The noise was faint but audible.

She smiled again. “Yeah, I think three’s plenty. Well done.”

“Thank you? Sir.” It hastily added the proper form of address.

“Okay. So,” she said, “I’m glad you’re back with us. Let’s try this again, since Nigel didn’t break the news the best he could have.”

“My apologies, Weapon,” the doctor said. He even sounded like he meant it.

“First thing: we don’t want to hurt you,” Chloe said.

What?

“I should have made that clearer,” the doctor said. “I don’t often work with people in… difficult situations, so I wasn’t as sensitive as I should have been.”

What did people have to do with the situation? They were still talking about it, weren’t they?

“It’s like we said earlier,” the leader added. “Unless it’s necessary for the team’s safety, we aren’t going to do anything you don’t consent to. And even then, we will do our best to minimize any harm done to you.”

A quiet snort came from near the door.

Chloe turned towards the noise and said, “Shut the fuck up, Tyler.” Her voice was perfectly pleasant despite the harsh words. 

“I just think it’s funny, is all,” Tyler said. It hadn’t even realized he was in the room. “Minimizing harm.”

“This is neither the time nor the place,” the leader said. 

Chloe turned back to the Weapon. “Alright. So. The plan is that we’re going to disable the tracker rather than remove it, given that we can’t take it out safely.”

What?

“We had to get some equipment, which is why it took us longer to get here than Nigel and the boss,” she added. 

The following sequence of events were surreal. There was no way this was actually happening. There couldn’t be. There was no reason for the terrorists to explain their process to it. 

Chloe and her partner moved around the wheeled cart they’d brought in. (That explained the wheels squeaking, then.) They sifted through clunky electronic devices, so unlike what it was used to at the compound. They talked as they went. 

“That’s a bug sweeper,” Chloe said, gesturing to the device in the other terrorist’s hands. “Tyler’s gonna use it to find the frequency your tracker is on.”

“Got it,” he said.

Chloe peered over his shoulder at the device. “Yeesh, that's strong. Government wasn’t fucking around with this thing. Okay. Next step is we’re gonna use an EMP on it. It won’t touch you, and you shouldn’t feel anything other than…” She trailed off.

“Maybe a muscle twitch?” Tyler speculated. “Shouldn’t be anything, really.”

“Want me to use it on him to prove my point?” she asked.

It didn’t understand the question, and said so.

After an uncomfortable pause, Chloe said, “I’m just gonna take that as a yes. Doc, where can I use this without frying your tech?”

He pointed her to a section of the room. Chloe took Tyler’s arm and led the reluctant man to the area. 

“Now stand still and do your best to look pretty,” she said. She grabbed another device off the cart and held it almost directly over his ribs.

Tyler twitched and shook himself. “Okay, that was definitely not nothing. Jesus, that's weird. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely made the muscles sit up and pay attention.”

Then it was the Weapon’s turn to undergo the same process. Chloe set one hand on its shoulder as she aimed and fired the EMP. The warmth of it through its thin scrub top distracted the Weapon from its muscles clenching involuntarily.

Tyler brought the bug scanner over. “Nothing. The signal’s gone.”

And just like that, any chance it had of being rescued disappeared.

---

Taglist:

@ghostfacepepper, @kim-poce, @badluck990, @cupcakes-and-pain, @lonesome--hunter, @wits-and-wrongs, @neuro-whump, @winedark-whump @aswallowimprisoned, @rose-pinkie, @whumpy-writings, @whump-cravings, @secretwhumplair. @hobiisthesunfiteme, @whumpcreations, @myhusbandsasemni, @heart4brains @kixngiggles @neverthelass @extrabitterbrain @towerlesskey @ohnowhump @vickytokio @whumpinggrounds @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @extemporary-whump @pigeonwhumps @ifurd4d @aswallowimprisoned @the-magpiesystem

#weapons don't weep #living weapon #living weapon whumpee #the weapon thinks the rebels are terrorists #chloe the youngest #tyler the bomber #dr. nigel trello #zeke the leader #panic attack #grounding techniques #dehumanization #internalized dehumanization #touch starved whumpee #(implied)

[heartnosekid]

A positive thing that happened recently is that I discovered a new way to help my girlfriend with certain trauma responses! As a bit of a background, she's a big fan of perfumes and lotions, and has a problem with dissociation. The other night, after being woken up from a really shitty intrusive memory nightmare, she couldn't connect with her body and felt like it wasn't hers. After a little bit of reassurance (reminding her that we'd talked about a nail being broken the night before, etc.) I suggested that we get one of her perfumes or lotions that she always wears. She picked out a lotion that she wears daily without fail, and the scent of it on her body really helped. I think it has something to do with how strongly scent is associated with memory. She's also mentioned in the past that a hair perfume she uses is very grounding.

Anyways, this is a super positive thing because it means we have a new, really effective strategy to tackle a major challenge she has. Between this and her getting a diagnosis for her early onset arthritis, we've been making a lot of progress with her health- both physical and mental.

I'm wishing the best for you, and I really hope you get to a place where you're safe, comfortable, and healthy as your body and mind will allow. I'll keep you in my thoughts, and I wish you the best in your struggles with food

you know what, this is such a sweet and helpful ask. i also struggle with this to be quite honest, just waking up feeling disconnected, and that is such a smart thing to do to initiate and aid in grounding! i am so happy for you two and i am so proud of the progress you’re both making, you seem so thoughtful and caring for your girlfriend. this is just so sweet and wholesome 💕

thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes, this ask made me so happy and i feel so much love and care emanating from you. again thank you so much for this, and i hope you and your girlfriend have a wonderful day or night and a lovely upcoming weekend and continue to make so much progress going forward 💕💕💕

#anon #💕💕💕 #dissociation mention #trauma responses #grounding techniques #ish talks

[chaoscorpio]

I found this helpful mental grounding technique, and thought I'd post the methods and add some to it!

These are super helpful for us when we're dissociating so we wanted to share this :]

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( Temperature/Tactile)

• If I had to guess, what is the exact temperature now? inside or outside, depending on where you are

• What is my body temperature like now? a little cold, a little warm, or perfectly comfortable

( Sound )

• If I don’t make any noise, can I identify every single sound that I hear? are there any loud or quiet sounds? High pitched or low pitched?

• Close your eyes and listen, can you tell where any specific sound located? up above, down below, to the left or right?

( Sight )

• Can I find 5 things that are my favorite color/s? Do they look light, dark, bright or dull?

• How would I describe what I see in the sky? is it sunny, cloudy, or stormy? Are there planes or birds?

( Taste )

• If I could choose to eat any dish right now, what would I choose? what flavor is it? is it something sweet or savory?

• On a scale of 1 to 10, how hungry am I? all full, snackish, or hungry?

-------------

+ feel free to add onto this! Any add ons are super appreciated and helpful!!

#text #my post #helpful #tips #mental health #grounding techniques #dissociation #depersonalization #derealization

[fromthewondersystem]

Dissociation and Memory Loss

I’m a little wiped out today, so I don’t have a ton, but here’s what I do have! I’ll start with some grounding tools and techniques for dissociation my therapist shared with me.

A grounding box: Put different things in here that stimulate your senses. This includes things that are visually appealing, things that have strong scents (I’ve found smell to be one of the easiest ways to ground for myself), things with different textures, things that make certain noises, etc.

Setting up a calm place you can go to in your mind when you’re stressed or triggered can help with grounding. It involves taking a memory of a place and time where you felt safe and calm and going through your senses in that memory to help remind yourself of that feeling. You also set up a word connected to the memory and reinforce that connection to help you get there more easily.

Use an anchor item. This can be rings, a bracelet, a key chain, or fidget toys that can help you be more present in the moment.

Rub ice on your left collarbone.

Use a heating pad or warm item on tense areas like your stomach, shoulders, chest, or feet.

Salt on your tongue, sour candy, lemon or lime juice, mint candy, breath strips (for the intense mint), and (peppermint) five gum can all help you with grounding by stimulating your sense of taste and bringing you to focus on that as you come back from dissociation.

Cold showers or splashing cold water on your face can sometimes help with grounding.

Tip: Look for yawning as an indicator you are becoming more grounded.

While we do what we can to lower dissociation from day to day, amnesia can still be a problem. Here are some tips for identifying/dealing with amnesia from DID/OSDD.

First I wanna share a tip for my fellow systems with ADHD out there. I’ve now had two therapists let me know a good way of identifying whether memory loss is due to ADHD or dissociation. With memory loss in ADHD, if someone reminds you of something, you’re likely to remember it once they tell you, but with dissociative memory loss, you may not actually recall the memory even after someone tells you about it.

There are different types of inter-identity amnesia you can experience with DID. What we often call blackouts are more well-known, where it seems like a whole chunk of your day/week is just fully missing. You don’t know much about the time you lost. With what we often call greyouts, the memory is more like knowing what happened than visually remembering, in the way that it’s more like someone gave you a summary of what happened while you were out. In some cases, you may initially remember everything that happened after a switch, but those memories fade soon after.

Some of what helps me identify which alters were present during certain memories is going through the memory and seeing if it seems like it’s in first person or third person to me. Most people have memories in first person, and if I as an alter was fronting (and not just co-con or remembering shared memories with other alters), I may see the memory from a first-person point of view, while if it belongs to someone else, it’ll seem more in third person.

Have a (private) place to keep important basic info about yourself if you need it/can’t remember. If you have a journal, you can dedicate a couple pages to this.

Setting reminders/alarms to go off when something needs to be done (and making sure I write what I’m reminding myself about) is really helpful in trying to be less forgetful.

Something that’s been helping me out a lot lately is having a small whiteboard on the wall by my bed. It’s got different daily tasks (including a lot of self-care like drinking water, taking meds, brushing my teeth) and check boxes next to each task. I’ve found this easier than bullet journaling personally, because I’ll often forget I even have a bullet journal. When this is on my wall, I can’t miss it. It’s also satisfying to check off boxes as I complete things, and if I get everything done I need to, I give myself a gold star sticker, and I give myself a silver star sticker if I got everything but one thing done, so I don’t just give up if I miss something during the day.

#summersystemeducationweek #syseducationweek #summer system education week #sys education week #SSEW #dissociation #time loss #amnesia #grounding #grounding techniques #did #osdd #system #i know i’m 5 minutes late for today oops #info

[4spooniesupport]

#grounding techniques #mental illness #psychology #mentalheathawareness #mental health support #mental health awareness