https://pixabay.com/users/tsukiko-kiyomidzu-1850874/
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Intrusive thoughts were unknown to me until my trauma exploded one day during a family crisis.
It is like thoughts, emotionally terrifying thoughts, triggering thoughts, arriving at a rate similar to a gatlin gun firing.
My fight or flight mechanism would fire violently 15 times a day, because of these nasty thoughts, paralyzing me.
That cortisol dumped would light my solar plexus up enough to scare the hell out of me. That jolt was terrifying and intense, powerful in fact.
It sure felt like I was facing an imminent threat.
Now, healed, or much improved, the intrusive thoughts are still alive.
My nervous system is my friend now and does not fire unless a real threat appears.
This has given me the ability to discount, not letting these intrusive thoughts get an audience.
Without an audience thoughts wither and fade.
I use other focus tools when these thoughts arrive.
I touch my thumb with each finger, saying release, release, release, release, release.
My senses take over, sight gets total awareness first, then I listen intently, searching out sounds in an order of loudest first. Finding the lowest decibel sound in the room gives me a goal to focus on.
I feel my skin, register the temperature, then smell for any aromas.
Another tool is reciting my affirmation out loud, In this moment, right now, I feel my body overflowing with Kindness, Aprroval, and Safety.
When negative thoughts arrive, replace them with our focus tools, be prepared, practice when things are calm.
Thoughts needs attention to live.
Thinking is the opposite of what we should do when negativity or trauma arrives.
Extra credit: https://ptsdawayout.com/2018/05/24/this-is-known-as-dysregulated-arousal/
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PTSD - A Way Out.com 