Bringing You Back to the Present

It sounded weird, even silly, when my counselor suggested it. How could it help? She told me it was a tool that had helped her more than once when she was triggered and experiencing PTSD symptoms. She thought it would help me too.

The exercise is very simplistic. But it truly does help; I know that now. All you have to do is list five things you see, then five things you hear, and then five things you feel. You repeat this exercise listing four, three, two, and one thing(s) respectively. It is fine to repeat items. This exercise re-grounds you in the present moment, lessening the hold of the past event that is holding you hostage. It works! Give it a try.

For me, I forgot to try it the first few times. So come back and reread this post when you need the reminder again of what to do.

My prayer is that you will find relief with this simple tool and that you'll be able to then pray in the present for God's help in dealing with past crude and in processing the memories to the level that they can remain in the past as facts, not crushing emotional triggers.