Body Memories
Body memories is a flashback. This is what I deal with when triggered by something. Sometimes I don't even know why my body reacts the way it does, but all of a sudden it will go tense, and I start to feel fear. I don't get the "regular" flashbacks as must survivors do, I don't get the movie playback etc, I don't see anything I just feel it in my body. Here is some information from the Ross Institute on somatic memory (body memory) This information provided is just something that may be asked etc if you were to go into a it.
It is now thought that people who have been traumatized hold an implicit memory of traumatic events in their brains and bodies. That memory is often expressed in the symptomatology of posttraumatic stress disorder — nightmares, flashbacks, startle responses, and dissociative behaviors. In essence, the body of the traumatized individual refuses to be ignored.
While reducing the chasm between scientific theory and clinical practice and bridging the gap between talk therapy and body therapy, Rothschild presents principles and non-touch techniques for giving the body its due. With an eye to its relevance for clinicians, she consolidates current knowledge about the psychobiology of the stress response both in normally challenging situations and during extreme and prolonged trauma. This gives clinicians from all disciplines a foundation for speculating about the origins of their clients’ symptoms and incorporating regard for the body into their practice. The somatic techniques are chosen with an eye to making trauma therapy safer while increasing mind-body integration.
A fantastic book that everyone should read is this book about body memories...
This book literally helped me undestand body memories, it's something that is scary, frustrating and confusing especially when you don't know why they are occuring. My psychiatrist told me that the best thing to do when a touch triggers you is to allow the person (who you trust) to continue to do it so the body wont see that touch as harm.
My main example for me with this is that the biggest trigger for me with body memories is someone grabbing, squeezing the back of my neck. That is a very vivid memory for me with my past abuse. So everytime my boyfriend did this I had to constantly remind myself that it isn't him, that this is someone I love and trust. Now it rarely affects me anymore. It takes time though because it is hard to get those bad thoughts of touching and turning it around to positive. It takes time, maybe this book can help?
