We're struggling to try and keep our ph balance to then hopefully control symptoms better. One key? Think of the body and mind as one system. Stress can then lower everything from seratonin and dopamine to affecting your thyroid and other areas as well.
This means changing parts of your diet. Avoid chemicals as much as possible. Also stimulants. Does this mean a boring diet with no fun? No. Just be aware of the effects of things on you and why you're doing it.
For us, lemon juice in water, tea and other things helps the ph balance (it's more alkaline). You just have to experiment to find what's best for you.
Since there's no instant cure for trauma, how do you deal with it? Break it down into small increments so it feels "manageable".
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
New Layout
Bear with us as we add new stuff to the layout.
Who's in the new pic? Cool dude Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead, Planet Drum and other stuff). He's a firm believer in the healing power of rhythm. It can help you to use your chi for healing lots of different problems. We've found that it can be helpful. We all have our bad days. But if you take maybe 15 minutes a day and just pay attention to your body and nothing else, it can help somewhat in coping with symptoms.
Who's in the new pic? Cool dude Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead, Planet Drum and other stuff). He's a firm believer in the healing power of rhythm. It can help you to use your chi for healing lots of different problems. We've found that it can be helpful. We all have our bad days. But if you take maybe 15 minutes a day and just pay attention to your body and nothing else, it can help somewhat in coping with symptoms.
Time to Catch Up
Sorry to be offline for a while. Lots of stuff to do and too many passwords to keep track of. It seems to be ok now.
How are your symptoms? In the past few weeks, there's been a lot of despair and being bombarded with flashbacks. Sights, sounds, colors and phrases that set off a chain that you have to fight your way through. On an intuitive level, you don't have a choice. You have to fight back. If you don't, you'll fall apart.
You fight to wake up and focus. Then all day long you keep screaming and trying to stay focused to be able to do everything else. At times you're this close to snapping or blacking out. However, you can't do that. If you don't fight back you'll fall apart.
We can't go back to therapy due to money. Which means new jobs first, stable income. Then go back. We've tried different sources to see if they could give us extra ideas to help us cope. Everyone's saying we're not therapists, so we can't do that. We'll just keep trying other places and see what happens.
The despair and terror is there. On the other hand, we try to keep our balance as best we can. There's no point in torturing yourself over things that you'll never have. That doesn't mean that we're not like every other normal person with emotions and bad days with this. At times, we turn things off and just go sit and look out the window. We reassure each other in different things:
It's not our fault
We can't control what others do and say
We're entitled to be heard
We know all of those things. However, the despair is still there. Other things are there too. Feeling like you're somehow abnormal or damaged (for lack of a better word). So obviously nobody wants anything to do with you.
We know that's not true. But that fear is still there.
How do you cope with that? How do you keep your balance and some sense of normalcy?
Did you know that it's illegal in the States for rape crisis centers to talk about guy survivors in any of their content? If you do, you get no government funding at all. Why in 2011? Who knows.
Does this happen in your area?
Thanks for the growing support. Since we have no ad budget, we're using quality content and word-of-mouth promotion. Please spread the word as much as possible (unless it endangers your safety or overall healing). It would be nice to save the world. First though is your protection.
How are your symptoms? In the past few weeks, there's been a lot of despair and being bombarded with flashbacks. Sights, sounds, colors and phrases that set off a chain that you have to fight your way through. On an intuitive level, you don't have a choice. You have to fight back. If you don't, you'll fall apart.
You fight to wake up and focus. Then all day long you keep screaming and trying to stay focused to be able to do everything else. At times you're this close to snapping or blacking out. However, you can't do that. If you don't fight back you'll fall apart.
We can't go back to therapy due to money. Which means new jobs first, stable income. Then go back. We've tried different sources to see if they could give us extra ideas to help us cope. Everyone's saying we're not therapists, so we can't do that. We'll just keep trying other places and see what happens.
The despair and terror is there. On the other hand, we try to keep our balance as best we can. There's no point in torturing yourself over things that you'll never have. That doesn't mean that we're not like every other normal person with emotions and bad days with this. At times, we turn things off and just go sit and look out the window. We reassure each other in different things:
It's not our fault
We can't control what others do and say
We're entitled to be heard
We know all of those things. However, the despair is still there. Other things are there too. Feeling like you're somehow abnormal or damaged (for lack of a better word). So obviously nobody wants anything to do with you.
We know that's not true. But that fear is still there.
How do you cope with that? How do you keep your balance and some sense of normalcy?
Did you know that it's illegal in the States for rape crisis centers to talk about guy survivors in any of their content? If you do, you get no government funding at all. Why in 2011? Who knows.
Does this happen in your area?
Thanks for the growing support. Since we have no ad budget, we're using quality content and word-of-mouth promotion. Please spread the word as much as possible (unless it endangers your safety or overall healing). It would be nice to save the world. First though is your protection.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
What's Safe to Deal With?
Sunny and 100F here. With the heat index, make that about 108F. Lucky for us, the pool is about 100 yards away.
Other stuff is close by as well. However, we're turning it all off. Trauma survivors have to ask, is this really necessary for me? Many things are second nature. Then again, is it helping you in any way? If not, reconsider and do something else. See how that goes.
We can't handle our trauma and the rest of the world's at the same time. It's too much. What then? Be selective and fight your battles that way.
Everything has to be screened. We have to fight to keep our balance. What else can we do?
Other stuff is close by as well. However, we're turning it all off. Trauma survivors have to ask, is this really necessary for me? Many things are second nature. Then again, is it helping you in any way? If not, reconsider and do something else. See how that goes.
We can't handle our trauma and the rest of the world's at the same time. It's too much. What then? Be selective and fight your battles that way.
Everything has to be screened. We have to fight to keep our balance. What else can we do?
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Effects of Things
It is Friday. Lots of triggering stuff everywhere. Protect yourself as much as possible.
We're trying to pay more attention to the effects of things on our system. Lately, it seems like lots of foods are allergens (in every sense of the word)? Spices. Acidic foods and drinks. Too much sugar (always a bad thing). Are these connected to a high level of cortisol? We're not sure.
Kombucha and white tea helps some in trying to focus. However, symptoms are still there. The despair and dissociating are still rough to handle. So we really try to pay attention to what we do and why we do it.
Do you really have to do something? Or, is it bad second nature?
We're trying to pay more attention to the effects of things on our system. Lately, it seems like lots of foods are allergens (in every sense of the word)? Spices. Acidic foods and drinks. Too much sugar (always a bad thing). Are these connected to a high level of cortisol? We're not sure.
Kombucha and white tea helps some in trying to focus. However, symptoms are still there. The despair and dissociating are still rough to handle. So we really try to pay attention to what we do and why we do it.
Do you really have to do something? Or, is it bad second nature?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Covering Bases
Finally unpacked in the new place. Now, it's back to job hunting and other stuff.
Part of our routine is setting boundaries as you cover various bases. Nobody else will protect you. Which means that you have to screen everything (and everyone). Do you feel like you can trust anyone after surviving your trauma? We wish we could, but we can't.
We still have to fight symptoms all the time. Do you black out from dissociating? We haven't for a while. However, it's exhausting to feel like you're barely hanging on.
As you fight to maintain your balance, ask some questions:
Do I really need to do this?
If I don't, is it just second nature? Or, destructive?
Setting boundaries shows that you respect yourself (especially when others don't).
If just going with your feelings helps you, fine. However, that doesn't help us.
All trauma survivors deserve to be heard.
More coming soon.
Part of our routine is setting boundaries as you cover various bases. Nobody else will protect you. Which means that you have to screen everything (and everyone). Do you feel like you can trust anyone after surviving your trauma? We wish we could, but we can't.
We still have to fight symptoms all the time. Do you black out from dissociating? We haven't for a while. However, it's exhausting to feel like you're barely hanging on.
As you fight to maintain your balance, ask some questions:
Do I really need to do this?
If I don't, is it just second nature? Or, destructive?
Setting boundaries shows that you respect yourself (especially when others don't).
If just going with your feelings helps you, fine. However, that doesn't help us.
All trauma survivors deserve to be heard.
More coming soon.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Late Night Stuff
Sorry to be off for a while. But we finally got everything cleaned and packed. This week, we'll be offline till Friday as we move into the new place. Then, a weekend to chill.
As we close stuff out, symptoms are still there. Dissociating, flashbacks, some physical pain and lots of moments where you don't know what's real and what isn't. We fight symptoms all day long and then we're exhausted at the end of the day. What else can you do but NOT fight back?
How are your symptoms? What helps you to not snap in two? We scream and fight to be aware of solid things and what's real. But we also feel like we're getting assaulted every day.
It's backed up trauma and it has to come out.
As we close stuff out, symptoms are still there. Dissociating, flashbacks, some physical pain and lots of moments where you don't know what's real and what isn't. We fight symptoms all day long and then we're exhausted at the end of the day. What else can you do but NOT fight back?
How are your symptoms? What helps you to not snap in two? We scream and fight to be aware of solid things and what's real. But we also feel like we're getting assaulted every day.
It's backed up trauma and it has to come out.
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