RE: Using ACT for flashbacks

[Guest guest]

Hi Iolanda - Thank you for sharing your story. Life has certainly dealt you a difficult hand. But there's something about your posts that make me feel like you are finding a way to live a valued life in spite of your trials. You have plenty to struggle with but you sound like you are doing an admirable job, from what I can tell from your posts.

Regarding the flashbacks, you have it right - "to just basically hear it, not react in any way other than to just say "ah, nostalgia" ." ACT calls this defusion. Regarding the feelings you probably have, ACT suggests you accept these feelings as they are without struggling with them. Acceptance is a tricky word. A phrase that works for me is "make room for." The feelings are likely to stay around in some form. Your choice is whether to have them as they are or struggle with them and compind the problem. You sound like you are working to live a valued life. Bottom line, that is what acceptance is all about.

Bill

> To: ACT_for_the_Public > Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:58:25 +1100> Subject: Using ACT for flashbacks> > It's a very very complicated case and I'm sorry if I'm sending a long email ....... I'll > try to be short. But basically the question at the end is pretty simple. I hope you > understand but my mind is pretty scrambled at the moment typing all of this .......> > As you would have read in my introductory post, about 13 years ago I was diagnosed with > cancer and a rare & serious brain injury - limbic encephalitis. At the time I was with a > boyfriend and I was in the process of moving in with him and we were discussing marriage.> > Anyway, the brain injury caused me a lot of problems that seemed unsurmountable given it's > rarity. After 8 months the treatment was all over and it was time to see how and if I > would continue to improve. I used the time to do things like attend cancer support groups, > read motivating sites & emails, do rainforest-meditation, I was into positive thinking > etc. There were some motivational-types of songs on the Top 40 and I immediately took them > on and sang them ad nauseum. This all was compounded by the fact that on diagnosis the > encephalitis robbed me of my emotions ........ and months later when I started improving, > they began to return but with a "bang" .... so everything I did was at the extreme ends of > emotions - very very happy and very very motivated or very unhappy if something went wrong > and then spent time trying to get happy ........ But I was doing all of these things > primarily because I was trying to "prop up" my boyfriend and the relationship - he was > stressing terribly and my health, if I'd improve, what would the future be like etc..... I > was spending all of my time trying to help HIM.> > Anyway, we eventually broke up (about 1 year after diagnosis) I wasn't unhappy about it at > all (also because I remembered nothing about him and all I knew about him is what I saw > now which was someone very depressed about me and our future..........)> > What I found a few years later is that I began getting emotional "flashbacks" of this time > when my emotions were very heightened - flashbacks of ME myself and also of times when I > was unhappy - and I still do to this day. And it's these "flashbacks" that cause me > trouble because they are triggered by everyday things like fatigue, by general reminders > but also because they also have an aural and visual nature - flashbacks of those songs > multiple times during the day etc.> > So this is my question -> > Whenever I get any flashback or reminder of something from that period, then it's OK for > me to just basically hear it, not react in any way other than to just say "ah, nostalgia" .> > <I couldn't even remember what technique this was without spending 15 minutes flicking > through the book to find it ....... I got the idea from the 1st bullet point on page 232)> > Thanks for reading this far ..... thanks a lot. I'll post more questions in the coming > weeks ..... I just don't want to bombard you!> > iolanda> > -- > Smile – it increases your face value!!! ;-)> > > > > ------------------------------------> > For other ACT materials and list serves see www.contextualpsychology.org> > If you do not wish to belong to ACT_for_the_Public, you may > unsubscribe by sending an email to > ACT_for_the_Public-unsubscribe@...! Groups Links> > <*> To visit your group on the web, go to:> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACT_for_the_Public/> > <*> Your email settings:> Individual Email | Traditional> > <*> To change settings online go to:> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ACT_for_the_Public/join> (Yahoo! ID required)> > <*> To change settings via email:> ACT_for_the_Public-digest > ACT_for_the_Public-fullfeatured > > <*>