Your Special Place When Anxious

[lallieth]

Do you have a particular special place in your mind,that you go when you feel anxious? I do..I developed a very special place quite a few years ago and been revisiting it alot these past few weeks

My special place allows me to to detach from my body and observe what is going on from a safe and peaceful place..it's not 100% all the time,but generally works most of the time..

 

[Retired]

I developed a very special place quite a few years ago

Would you care to describe the method or mental scene you use?

Many years ago I participated in a study involving bio-feedback. In order to trigger the electronic signal that indicated the required brain waves were being utilized, I discovered that by visualizing a scene my wife and I enjoyed at Cape Cod one summer, while sitting by the ocean, I could trigger the desired result in the testing.

So this has been the mental scene I use when I need to turn down my mental RPM's.

If I concentrate on this scene for a fifteen minutes or so, I feel as though I've slept for a few hours.

 

[Cat Dancer]

I don't really have a place in my mind that I go to, but I think it's a great idea. I would like to imagine the ocean or maybe a little babbling brook, somewhere warm.

 

[ladylore]

I have two safe places that I can go to

The first one looks like a beach with a bit of grass, stream, campfire complete with a log to sit on. There is a tree, a rainbow with a swing attached to the rainbow - where I sit.

The other safe place is where I go when I am under more extreme stress or badly triggered - outer space among the shooting stars and the moon. Enjoying the show.

I didn't realize about the second place until recently when it just appeared instead of my "regular" safe place. Ver cool.

 

[Halo]

I actually don't have a safe place that I go to but I really wish that I did as I definitely need it. I have to come up with one but am not sure how.

Ladylore if you don't mind me asking, how did you come up with those safe places? If you prefer not to answer on here, feel free to pm me.

 

[ladylore]

I actually don't have a safe place that I go to but I really wish that I did as I definitely need it. I have to come up with one but am not sure how.

Ladylore if you don't mind me asking, how did you come up with those safe places? If you prefer not to answer on here, feel free to pm me.

My new therapist asked me to really think and see my safe place and then she had me draw what I saw.

A few weeks later during a panic attack and trying to get to my safe place the second one came up.

It said to me under normal circumstances earth is a fairly safe place but when things geti rocking I head into space.

 

[Halo]

My new therapist asked me to really think and see my safe place and then she had me draw what I saw.

A few weeks later during a panic attack and trying to get to my safe place the second one came up.

It said to me under normal circumstances earth is a fairly safe place but when things geti rocking I head into space.

Thank you Ladylore I really appreciate your response on how you came up with your safe places. Hopefully I can come up with one as well.

:hug: :hug:

 

[lallieth]

I have two special places

1.In canoe on a gentle river,flowers and birds and tall forest trees, all around,peace and quiet,but in my canoe are bags of various mental states and emotions.I envision myself throwing the negative bags over the side of the canoe and watching them sink to the bottom,while the positive bags are sitting right beside me.I feel the sunlight on my face,feel the peace of my surroundings and breath in deeply the fresh forest air

2.This is in a field of flowers,I am laying down among the flowers and inhale their sweet scent and feel the sun on my body as peace sets in

 

[braveheart]

I have a safe place in my internal 'house'.

It took me a long time to get to the point of having that.

When we first did visualisation of a safe place [as Babette Rothschild advises in 'Trauma and Recovery]on the therapy training course I did... I couldn't. For a start the window was open and we were on the ground floor... so I asked the facilitator to close the window.... but 4? years ago I wasn't in the place to conceptualise a safe place. I am now. Thankfully.

 

[ladylore]

Something interesting happened today which I think relates to this thread. A visualization my therapist lead me through.

I have been having panic attacks of sorts lately. She had me go right into it and had me look at the colour, texture, temperature...For me it was a black box. She then led me into another visualization where she said there was a pin prick hole at the bottom of the box to allow some of what was inside out. It flowed down into the earth to become composte and allow the earth to heal it.

I liked the pinprick hole as it allows some of the pressure off without it feeling like I am going to explode.

 

[Halo]

That is interesting about the pinprick hole idea....I kind of like that concept. Thanks Ladylore

 

[David Baxter PhD]

That's a great visualization, ladylore. I like it.

 

[ladylore]

That's a great visualization, ladylore. I like it.

It felt great doing the visualization too - fully grounded for once.