Coping with Trauma-Related Dissociation: Skills Training for Patients and Therapists by Suzette Boon & Kathy Steele & Onno van der Hart

Author:Suzette Boon & Kathy Steele & Onno van der Hart [Boon, Suzette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 2011-03-28T00:00:00+00:00

IMAGERY EXERCISE: THE NECKLACE OF POSITIVE EXPERIENCES

The following is an exercise that may help you experience more of the positive aspects of life. This kind of experience is not meant to deny or minimize your painful and difficult times, but rather is one of many ways to soothe, calm, and reassure yourself, so you feel stronger and better able to cope.

This exercise uses the image of a necklace or armband made with various beads. If this image is not suitable for you, try another, such as weaving a tapestry with threads of positive experiences, or imagine a garden of flowers or beautiful mosaic, or a book with beautiful pages. You can find the right image for you. You can make a scrapbook or piece of art as well, if you would like something more tangible.

Imagine that you, and all parts of yourself, are making a beautiful necklace or armband for yourself. It is crafted from lovely beads. Wooden beads, glass beads, ceramic beads, metal beads, beads of light, beads of water, beads of stone—you can use whatever material appeals to you. But in addition, these beads have a very special quality: Each one represents a good, positive, enjoyable experience in the present. These experiences do not have to be big, just simple things that have added a moment of contentment, satisfaction, happiness, or calmness to your life. For example, it could be a nice cup of tea with your feet propped up, a walk in the woods, a good night’s sleep, a dinner with a friend, a feeling of being accepted and understood by your therapist, a sense of progress in your healing, satisfaction in finishing a project. Let each part of you add beads. You might add proud beads, poignant beads, hopeful beads, happy beads, silly beads, playful beads, safety beads, loving beads, funny beads, or friendly beads. And also beads of strength and serenity, perseverance and peace, courage and kindness, resilience and rest. You are making your creation just as you want it. You can even turn it into a vest or coat or blanket that covers you! You can look at your creation, wear it, hold it, see the light glint off the various beads. Feel their weight, whether they are light or a little heavy; feel their texture, whether they are smooth or rough. There may even be beads that make sounds like little cheerful tinkling bells or soft clicks and clacks. You are completely free in the design of your creation. And if it helps you, you can also imagine that you have a very special box in which you can keep it. If you have such a box, or choose to make one, you can also keep notes or other mementos of special events or moments in your life. In this way, you can return time and again to experiences that are good and pleasant. After all, our memories are not only of painful experiences but also of good and positive ones.

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