light Archives - Survivors to Thrivers

Keeping Grounded During Unstable Times

admin2020-05-15T10:00:00-04:00May 15th, 2020|

The first rule of when you get yourself lost during hiking is to stop walking. The next is to take a deep breath so you can slow your mind down from racing. Only then can you begin to formulate an action plan. Finding yourself suddenly in an unstable time is very similar. You might have thought you were doing everything right, for it all to go horribly awry in a matter of moments.

Panic robs us of our abilities to think critically and objectively. It forces us into such heightened states of anxiety that we not only fear, but believe, the worst possible situation could occur. This phenomenon known as catastrophizing amplifies the normal triggers and limited beliefs, we bravely tackle every day. This is particularly true for those of us who have suffered traumatic events in our lives like sexual abuse.

As the world is currently facing panic due to the grips of Covid-19 we all benefit from strengthening our abilities to ground ourselves during precarious times. Please explore one or more of the following exercises to help you rediscover your sense of stability and reclaim your power to enjoy life as a thriver.

Tackling the Shame Game

admin2020-04-15T10:00:00-04:00April 15th, 2020|

Shame is like a squatter in your mind. It enters unexpectedly and requires tremendous effort to evict it from the premises. Shame creeps up when you experience pain and feel life has not lived up to your expectations. It quickly established a presence in your psyche and creates a vicious cycle of limiting and toxic thinking.

There are steps you can take to rewrite the shame script. First, understand what the shame is trying to tell you. Although the noise has become distortive, shame is a signal that you have unresolved issues that require more attention for you to more fully heal and engaged with your life. As sexual abuse survivors, we might carry the unnecessary burden of shame for thoughts, behaviors, and actions that don’t belong to us. These thoughts are a transference of pain from being subjected to intense and personal manipulative violations. The good news is that you have the powerful ability to rewrite your story into something filled with more self-compassion and fulfillment. To help expel the shame from your psyche, try one or more the following exercises.