Help Yourself Heal
Do you want to get rid of anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and CPTSD?
Chronic stress reshapes the personality, and this cannot be changed in a couple of days. Fortunately, the human brain has neuroplasticity, that is, the ability to rebuild and recover, and at any age! Stabilizing the work of the amygdala and a decrease in activity in this area of the brain will help stabilize the entire body, improving your physical and mental well-being. For this:
* Spend 2 minutes in the morning and 2 minutes in the evening on a simple meditation. Meditation harmonizes the work of the brain very well, and then the whole body. It also improves the mood. A very simple, but at the same time effective meditation technique is to follow your breath, breathing with your stomach, making your exhale twice as long as you inhale (for example, using a 4–8 count). Controlling the breath, stabilizing and slowing it down, soothes and relaxes you.
Calm, measured breathing reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which continues to keep you in a state of tension and chronic stress even when the danger is no longer present. Studies have shown that a rate of 4–7 breaths per minute (counting from the beginning of one inhale to the next) is optimal. If any thoughts or emotions come up while meditating, try to observe them as if watching from the sidelines, without holding on to them, or letting go. You are MORE than these fleeting states!
Another effective meditation is to imagine yourself in a pleasant, safe place, real or imaginary (but you should feel the sand under your feet, and a fresh breeze on your face, everything is as if in reality, feeling the joy of life).
Or move your attention to something beautiful: the sky, trees (this is the simplest kind of meditation). Take just two minutes a day for yourself!
* A warm bath with subdued lights (this is important) and relaxing music will also help. Instead of a bath, you can just lie down under the covers. Try to relax your whole body: legs, arms, and so on (Google the Jacobson Method of Relaxation), focusing on the pleasant sensations that you are now experiencing.
* It is good to give yourself a very gentle self-massage, especially of the tense parts of your body. Professional massage did not help me, but when I started kneading and stroking my rock-hard shoulders for several minutes every day, I was able to relax them after a couple of months. When you experience pleasant bodily sensations, your cortisol levels drop, while the pleasure neurotransmitters serotonin and oxytocin are both produced at the same time (both of them also have a relaxing and anti-stress effect).
* Another way to lower cortisol is any kind of physical activity. When you exercise, your stress hormones are more quickly eliminated + endorphins are produced (and thanks to them, dopamine). During long (more than 45–60 minutes) or intense workouts, endocannabinoids (and additional dopamine) are also produced. Yoga, qigong, massage, walking, running and any other form of exercise will also help by normalizing metabolism, as well as the function of the brain and nervous system.
* Pamper yourself. Cook your favorite meals, pour some aromatic tea or cacao, enjoy the taste and smell: this will also lower cortisol and increase serotonin.
*Normally, cortisol levels are highest in the morning, helping you wake up easily. People with CPTSD have the highest levels of cortisol in the evenings, which is why they suffer from nocturnal insomnia and are sleepy in the morning. To bring your cortisol levels back to normal and get rid of insomnia, it is very important to go to bed before 11 pm (even better at 10) and sleep at least 7–8 hours. Otherwise, you’ll be in poor health due to the fact that you didn’t give your body a chance to recover. It is very important to get up early and do exercises immediately, even if you don’t feel like it. Even better, go for a walk/jog: sunlight in the morning puts your circadian rhythms into balance, treats depression, so in the evening it will be much easier for you to fall asleep and your mood will improve. Another option: walk at least part of the way to work to catch some morning rays.
*Sugar, simple carbs, caffeine and alcohol increase cortisol production. Don’t drink caffeinated drinks or black tea any later than 4 hours before bedtime, otherwise you are guaranteed to have insomnia.
* Foods with Omega-3s (fatty fish and fish oil) lower cortisol, as well as polyphenol-rich green tea and dark chocolate, and magnesium-rich foods: the very same dark chocolate, bananas, broccoli, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, and avocados. Dark chocolate also helps increase the level of the “happiness hormones” endorphins and dopamine.
Taking care of yourself, your safety and well-being is an investment in your health and future. At the same time, you shouldn’t have “black holes” that suck up your energy. These include a lack of sleep, poor nutrition, working more than 10 hours a day (including homework), and toxic people in your environment. If it’s impossible to cut communications with them — for example, the narcissist is the father of your children — keep communication with him to a minimum and communicate only through text messages. So he will also not be able to provoke you. And if he begins to insult and threaten, you will have evidence!
TO BE CONTINUED! There will be even MORE IMPORTANT information in my new posts! Especially for people traumatized by toxic partners and narcissistic parents. Stay tuned to find out how to protect yourself from toxic personalities, how to heal from abuse, and how to get rid of malware of codependency and CPTSD. How to find and keep real love, how to create healthy relationships!
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