Practically every dissociative trauma survivor that I have spoken to has said to me that at some point in time or another, they have felt hated, truly hated. What's worse, they didn't feel hated by strangers -- they felt hated by their loved ones. These trauma survivors felt hated by their mothers, their fathers, their siblings, their spouses, their children, their friends. They felt hatred from the … [Read more...]
Body Memories – The Body Remembering
Body Memories -- ouch! A long time ago, many years ago, on the television show "One Life To Live" -- Bess tried to rescue Jessica one more time by taking baby Chloe and going on the run. Their secret had gotten out -- baby Chloe belonged to someone else and the dear little one was not Jessica's baby at all. Tess was angry with Bess for trying this last stunt. Every time Bess looked in the mirror, … [Read more...]
Developing Internal Communication – Starting with the Basics
There are a variety of ways to develop basic, effective skills in internal communication with your dissociative system. Most of these skills are very similar, even the same, as the communication skills used with real people in the everyday world. There is no fancy trick to learning to talk to your inside people. Everyone can do this. Remember, it's like talking to other people. Have you … [Read more...]
Overcoming Instability Issues and Unsuccessful Memory Work
Kerro commented: I have a question about stability. I accept that I need to be reliable, motivated, responsible and willing to delve into things I generally don't want to delve into. As for stability - I can see how a stable client is easier to work with for a therapist. However, what if the beginning stages of therapy have resurfaced old issues or retraumatised the client to the extent that … [Read more...]
25 Ways to Avoid Self-Injury and Prevent Self-Harm
Survivors of sexual abuse often struggle with self-injury (SI). Survivors often use dissociative walls to contain and separate intense emotions from themselves. This allows them to stay numb, and to not feel. They can split off their unmanageable, uncomfortable, or conflicting feelings into other parts of themselves, as frequently seen in Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID/MPD). As those dissociative walls … [Read more...]