http://www.nepda.org/component/jevents/eventdetail/70/-/webinar-borderline-personality-disorder-and-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-comorbidity-and-treatment?Itemid=1
Tomorrow evening I start at the very beginning of a DBT skills group. It is once a week, a 1 hour 15 minute session in a group, for about 30 weeks. I hope to journal here each week what I have learned.
When every thing seems just too much to deal with, and you are just overwhelmed by everything, remember the T.I.P. skills.
Fill a bowl with ice cold water. Hold you breathe and dunk your face into the water. Hold it there for as long as you can. The shock of the cold will activate the bodies ‘dive’ response. No bowl of cold water handy? Get some ice cubes and hold them in your hand, and if you can’t get ice cubes, try holding an ice cold drink, anything cold will help. The temperature change will slow down your heart rate and increase the flow of blood to the brain. This will help to lower the strength of the emotion.
Do something active! Run like crazy, dance, jog for a few minutes. This will expend the bodies energy and calm you down. Any intense exercise will do. Just try it next time.
Tense all your muscles at once, while you breathe in, then relax the muscles are breathe out, saying a word that will help you, like ‘Relax’, or ‘Peace’. You choose the word that works best for you.
When I got up this morning, nothing felt real. It was as if I was still asleep and in a dream. I didn’t feel like I was actually alive. It is called disassociation and there are skills that can be used to ground yourself and get back in touch with reality.
I couldn’t remember the skills required for grounding, so Google to the rescue. I found some articles that reminded me of the things I should try.
https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/dissociativeliving/2015/01/use-grounding-techniques-when-dissociating/
https://www.verywellmind.com/grounding-exercises-425376
I read the articles and tried a few of the suggestions. The one that worked for me this morning was a physical sensation. I clutched an ice cold can of Pepsi. I could feel the palm of my hand getting colder the longer I held the can. I concentrated on the physical sensation of the cold, and it helped me.
Next time you are feeling disassociated, look at the articles above and try some of the suggestions.
Good luck!