Emotional Flashback Grounding - Trauma Informed

A gentle walk through a grounding exersize for an emotional flashback. In this space we will work on accepting the feelings we may be having, as well as re-orienting ourselves to the present. This is a very calm and slow process, set to gentle music.

Emotional Flashbacks are a common symptom for individuals with Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD), those who have a history of Trauma, or other Mental Health concerns.

Music by Kevin MaLeod: "Relaxation Music"

Transcript

The first step in moving through an emotional flashback is recognizing that you're in one.

You've already done this and that is worthy of recognition.

I'm proud of you and I hope you can take a moment to be aware that this is indeed an accomplishment.

Some folks who are in this space are helped by having a comforting object near them.

If this rings true for you,

Feel free to take a moment to retrieve this object.

If you need to pause for a second to do so,

Please do.

Everyone is different.

Your object may be something like a blanket,

Teddy bear,

A special rock,

Or even a photograph.

If you can't access this object right now,

You can instead imagine it is with you.

If nothing comes to mind,

Or if you just don't feel like it,

That's no problem.

This is just an option for some folks who may gain some comfort from having this object.

Emotional flashbacks are disorienting and involve intense feelings.

You are doing the best that you can to walk through this moment.

With your permission,

I'm happy to walk beside you.

The emotions you are feeling right now are real.

You are feeling them.

These emotions aren't wrong or right,

They just are.

You aren't a bad person for having them.

I want you to know that in this space,

I'm not judging you or the emotions you are having.

If you can,

Contemplate what it might be like to do that for yourself as well.

What would it be like to approach this moment with kindness?

Would it be helpful to set aside any self-criticism you may be having?

Can you give yourself permission to be gentler,

Even if it's just a little bit?

If this feels right and you're able,

Let's take a deep breath in and out and we can think about exhaling the inner critic,

If only for these few minutes.

Let's take this breath.

In and out.

If you feel like you need more,

You can try that one more time.

In and out.

Good work.

When you're ready and if it feels good,

Repeat the following after me.

But if saying it out loud isn't possible,

Feel free to think it or even write it down.

Let's begin.

I am in the now.

This is an emotional flashback.

I am safe.

I am doing the best that I can.

Things will eventually shift.

Good job.

Let's repeat those one more time.

I am in the now.

This is an emotional flashback.

I am safe.

I am doing the best that I can.

Things will eventually shift.

Good job.

Notice if anything changes in you as you say these things.

Perhaps you don't notice anything and that's okay.

If you do,

What do you notice?

Do you feel lighter?

Calmer?

Perhaps you can breathe a little better.

You might notice an area where you're holding tension.

If it feels like the right thing to do,

Give that area permission to relax even just a little bit.

If it feels more safe to keep that guard up,

That's no problem.

You can choose to keep it there.

You can even thank that part of you for doing what it thinks it's best to protect you.

Let's shift a little bit now to your surroundings.

We're going to take a bit of time to notice the things around you.

If your eyes are closed and that feels better,

Then you can just imagine where you are in your mind's eye.

If this exercise causes you to feel agitated or anxious,

It's okay to skip it.

Then instead,

You can just listen to the sound of my voice or the music.

You are in control of this moment.

Some folks,

When they do this type of exercise,

Find it helpful to have their feet on the floor.

Some folks even like to sit on the floor.

If any of that is true for you,

Go ahead and do that now.

Let's take a moment and just take in our surroundings.

Is the room that you're in big or small?

Is it bright or is it dark?

Do you feel cold or warm or maybe just the right temperature?

You're doing such a good job.

We're going to use a little bit of time to use our senses.

Let's start by looking around the room.

Look and see if you can see anything that's the color blue.

You might see a book,

A clock,

An ornament or any other thing.

Maybe there's nothing blue in the whole room.

That's okay.

Now pick a color of your choosing and see if you can find that in the room as well.

I'll give you a moment as you look around.

Good job.

Let's take a few more seconds with that same color that you chose and see if there's a second object in the room that's that color.

Great work.

Let's use our ears now.

We're going to take this time to listen to what's going on.

It's always interesting because everybody's experience in this part will be different.

Some rooms are very,

Very quiet and sometimes the room is going to be very noisy.

So this part can always be different for everyone.

Take a good listen.

What do you hear?

If the room is very quiet,

Can you hear maybe the sound of air conditioning?

Maybe it's the sound of your breathing.

Maybe you can hear traffic or the ticking of a clock.

If you're somewhere that's a bit more noisy,

Maybe you hear the voices of other people.

Maybe you hear construction.

Maybe you hear children laughing.

And of course,

You're all hearing my voice.

Now we'll take a moment and see what it is that you can feel.

This will again be different for everyone.

What are some of the sensations that you notice on your skin?

Can you feel the way your clothing sits on top of you?

Maybe if you picked up a blanket like we talked about before,

That's something that you feel.

What are your feet on?

Is it the carpet,

Tile,

Wood?

Maybe your feet are up on the couch.

Now we're going to use a sense that can be a little bit of fun.

We're going to see what we can smell.

You might be somewhere that's very smelly or you might really have to try hard on this one.

Take a breath in your nose.

What do you smell?

You might be able to notice something that's on you.

Hopefully something good,

But if not,

That's okay too.

Maybe you smell perfume,

Deodorant,

Your hairspray,

Your laundry detergent.

Maybe you smell the garbage that hasn't been taken out.

Maybe you smell baking or cooking.

Maybe you smell rain or maybe you just don't really smell anything and that's also a smell too.

Last but not least,

We're going to turn to taste.

Is there anything that you can taste in this moment?

If you forgot to brush your teeth today,

Maybe that's the taste you've taste or maybe you taste toothpaste.

Maybe you've been having some coffee or maybe there's just kind of a taste in the air.

Maybe something that's being cooked,

You can kind of taste it as well as smell it.

And again,

Maybe the taste that you taste is nothing much and that's okay because that is a taste too.

You're doing such a good job.

Let's take a moment to think about the statements that we made earlier.

If you'd like to repeat them with me,

You can or again,

If it feels better to just think them or write them down or maybe even imagine them.

That's all right too.

Here's those statements we made.

I am in the now.

This is an emotional flashback.

I am safe.

I am doing the best that I can.

Things will eventually shift.

Good job.

I hope that as we've walked through this moment,

You have been able to feel a shift.

It may not be big,

But it might be.

Whatever it is,

That's okay.

I know that you are doing your absolute best in this moment.

That may include that you don't feel all that better just yet,

But I truly believe that in a short time,

You will experience a change.

If the first step of having an emotional flashback is recognizing that you're in one,

As we said at the start,

You've already done that.

The second step is to walk through it,

And that's what we've done here.

Think about the rest of your day.

Is there something special that you can do for yourself?

Is there something that you're looking forward to?

Maybe this could be something as simple as looking out the window or having a nice cold glass of water.

If you're feeling a little more active,

Maybe that means taking a bath,

Going for a walk.

Maybe it means calling up a friend.

Do something that will help you,

And you know best what that is.

Sometimes that thing is curling up in bed,

Hiding under blankets,

And having a nap or a good cry or a combination of the two.

Whatever's right for you is right.

I will leave you with these final thoughts.

You are enough.

I believe you,

And I see you.

We are all changing moment by moment.

May you carry this with you as you go on your way.

Reviews

Wow! So helpful with my flashbacks. Thank you so much!

I have been returning to this one repeatedly during hard times. Very soothing voice, grounding practice, and affirming for those with CPTSD. Thank you.

Hope this will help to tackle my intrusive memories.

Lovely and soft, like a warm hug. Thank you so much, Heidi 🙏🏻💚

Nice comforting thank you. Just coming out of another empath meets narcissist... idolization/devaluation/discard cycle. I get it....I bail asap. But I can never believe I miss the signs from the start 🤔😵‍💫your kind voice and words are soothing ..thank you 😌🙏

Excellent. Will surely come back to this in case of emergency. Thank you Heidi 🌷

I am grateful to you Heidi! Your words rang so true and powerful for me. I was finally able to rest for awhile and calm my anxiety. This is one that is now bookmarked!!!! 🙏❤️

I did not know I needed this so much, untill I stumbled upon your recordings ~ this helped me tremendously. Thank you 🌻
Your calm and supportive voice was very helpfull too!

Thank you, I have suffered CPTSD for so long, this was the first meditation to take me through a flashback. Am saving for future use. So grateful right now.

Thank you for this. It was perfect and non triggering. ❤️

Amazing! I went from being in an emotional flashback to feeling calm and present. Thank you!

Really supportive, thank you.

Is there a version available where you recognize you're in the flashback but the triggering situation is currently going in and you can't immediately get away from it?

Thanks you for sharing this with us here. I see you and the light within you. Be well. 🤲🏻💖🤲🏻

Thank you!

Thank you 🙏

I was able to acknowledge that I am having an emotional flashback. Thank you. 🙏

Beautiful ❤️ thank you Heidi

Thank you