Ep 37 | 8 Strategies to Accelerate Healing C-PTSD After Narcissistic Abuse

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This week we talk about 8 Strategies to Accelerate Healing C-PTSD After Narcissistic Abuse

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Transcript:

Speaker 1: (00:00)
Hello, hello. As a part of our psychological effects of narcissistic abuse series, today we are going to touch on a, a tricky, tough one, which is C P T S D, and that stands for Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Stay tuned to dive into some tips and tricks to help deal with it.

Speaker 1: (00:23)
Hey Queens, welcome to, but still she thrives. Do you wanna stop getting caught up in that wicked web of a creepy crawling narcissist? Do you find yourself up late at night replaying the abuse you put up with? I'm wondering how you can heal now. Do you wake up hoping for healthy relationships and peace only to feel totally exhausted? And mind F girl, I see you. I'm Christy. I too had to disconnect from toxic people in my life and I wished I could undo the damage. I felt ashamed, lonely, and kind of lost. But I'm a stubborn Italian and I refuse to give up. I found ways to recalibrate my mind and body more quickly than I thought and can now share them with you. In this podcast, you'll find coping tools, healing methods, and confidence boosters so you can trust yourself and find peace and freedom. So, shields up ladies, let's go protect our peace.

Speaker 1: (01:20)
So first of all, I am not a mental health professional, but I can offer some general suggestions on how to cope with complex post-traumatic stress disorder following narcissistic abuse. So first, it is important to remember everyone's experience is unique. So what works for one person may not always work for another. So you try and use these different techniques and methods and see what works for you. And there will be maybe some that don't. And if you're struggling with C PTs D, it's recommended to seek support from a qualified therapist or counselor who specializes in trauma and abuse. So they can provide the personalized guidance tailored to your specific needs. Nevertheless, here are some strategies that I myself have used and hopefully will be helpful for you. Number one, educate yourself. So learning about C P T S D and narcissistic abuse is huge. Understanding the dynamics of the relationship and the impact it had on you can be empowering and really validating.

Speaker 1: (02:25)
That's something for me that was really big, was the validation. I got like, oh wow, this makes so much sense and I felt a lot less either shame, guilt, confused, you know, that blame, that guilt, all of that. So it helps you recognize your experiences are valid and they're not your fault. So I definitely like you're here, you're on my podcast. Maybe look at talks, YouTubes. There's so much information out there to help you really educate yourself on this topic. Number two, establish safety. This can come in all shapes and sizes. So you wanna create a safe environment for yourself, not just physically, but emotionally too. Which I mean everyone should be doing this in life, but especially narcissistic Abu abuse survivors. It's really important for us to like gear up and protect our peace. So this may involve, not may involve, this does involve setting boundaries.

Speaker 1: (03:22)
Setting boundaries is huge. Removing toxic people from your life. I am such an advocate of clearing the clutter of toxic people. I have an episode on it. I will link in the show notes. Um, but it's really, really important because if you wanna maintain well get peace and then maintain it. You cannot have destructive people in your life. Bottom line, it's just not gonna work, right? So seek temporary separation if necessary or permanent and surround yourself with supportive and understanding individuals that you feel safe with. And again, we're not just talking about physical safety. That is yes, very, very important, but also even not having to walk on eggshells. I actually talked about this in my last episode. It was all about walking on eggshells. Many people wrote me, I was surprised at how many people reached out and said this episode really hit them.

Speaker 1: (04:17)
So I want you guys to take a listen to that. If you have not, I will put that in the show notes as well. It's so important to not be around people that make you feel like you have to walk on eggshells. It is not healthy. And some of us didn't know any better and we thought that's just how some people are and you just accept it. It's part of who they are and their personality. No, it's a no for me. No thanks. And of course self-care. You know what, always talk about this. There's so many episodes about self-care because it is one of the most important things for us to do after we have gone through abuse. Everybody should like have self-care in their life, but we really need to prioritize those self-care activities that promote your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. We need to run the whole gamut, right?

Speaker 1: (05:03)
And you can do this in bite size, habit changes, right? Adding some more water, lemon water, especially to your diet. You know, eating some more greens, it sounds like, simple stuff. But a lot of us really neglect ourselves, our bodies, our minds, our own wishes because we have been under the thumb of a narcissist. So when you finally get out, it's time to retrain ourselves, how to treat ourselves. Also, make sure you are moving that body. Get outta your head, get into your body. I cannot stress that enough. It is so important to move your body. Have regular exercise. And of course all of my relaxation techniques. I love meditation, yin yoga, deep breathing. These things may sound simple, but they can be absolutely life changing, especially if you're doing them on a regular basis. There is no way it cannot change all three parts of you as far as emotional, physical, and mental.

Speaker 1: (05:59)
As I mentioned in the beginning of this, seeking therapy is very important. If you have C P T S D and you're not working with a therapist, I do highly recommend that someone who specializes in trauma. So make sure they know what they are talking about when it comes to trauma, that is the most important thing. So get check your resources basically, right? They can provide a safe space for you to process these experiences and develop coping mechanisms and working through the impact of abuse. So cognitive behavior therapy, em d r, which is eye movement, desensitation and reprocessing say that five times fast. So we call it EMDR or dialectical behavior therapy may also be beneficial. So these are things you want to cross-Check that whatever therapist you choose has experience with trauma and also can perform these techniques. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert.

Speaker 1: (06:58)
Number five is really important. You have to build a support network connecting with others who have experienced this type of abuse or C P T S. Both all of the above is really important. So you can get this through online support groups, forums. I personally love in-person things for support, but it depends on, you know, you, your personality. Like I said, extreme introverts may be a little shy, especially in the beginning with this sort of thing. Um, so you could start online and kind of graduate to in person or just throw yourself out there and be brave. So sharing your story though and hearing from other about their stories can be so healing and really help you kind of accelerate your healing journey. Some. Mm, you know how I feel about giving yourself hugs. Do it. I'm want you to do it right now. If you're not driving, I want you to give yourself a big fat hug cuz number six is practicing self-compassion.

Speaker 1: (07:56)
You need to be patient and very kind to yourself through this healing process. Recognize your healing from narcissistic abuse. It will take time. But I wanna remind you it is doable and you got this okay? And if you wanna work with me one-on-one, check the show notes. I can help you accelerate your journey, right? But it is normal to have ups and downs and you have to have that self-compassion. Treat yourself with the same understanding and care you would to a loved one cuz you are a loved one. Okay? I hope you're still holding that hug. Mm. Say I love you. Me, I love you. Me, yes, Queens need love. This is a fun one. Number seven, engaging in grounding techniques. So these can help you bring your focus back to the present moment. Because with CPTs D woo, we know about some flashbacks you can get so overwhelmed by those flashbacks, the intrusive thoughts, right?

Speaker 1: (08:54)
The ruminating thoughts we call 'em. They go over and over and just you feel stuck in your mind. So grounding can include deep breathing exercises using your senses to notice your, your surroundings. So you could stop and say, okay, find four things that are green, or find four things that are shaped like an oval. Or I'm going to use my touch sense and find three different textures. I'm gonna smell and see if I can smell some delicious strawberry donuts. Is that just me? But you get the point. So using your senses really brings you into the moment. It's one of my favorite things for myself, but also for my daughter. And it really works well for her. So again, you try these things out and see what works best for you and what you might wanna hit. Pass on. Another grounding technique is just that you ground your feet in the naked soil of that earth or water or stick your feet on a tree.

Speaker 1: (09:54)
I don't care. I want your feet touching something that is natural. We have, I don't know, we've disconnected ourselves so much between, ugh, just putting our faces in our phones and not peeing as much and wearing thick sold shoes. Oh my gosh, you guys, I had these amazing platform sneakers. Anyone else? Anyone else have that as a teen? I'm 43, so maybe I'm aging myself, but I used to have three inch thick platforms. I used to rock love those total side tangent, but I'm kind of joking about that part. But it is important to get out in nature and really have your naked feet out there. Put them in. Think about at the beach, part of the beautiful beach experience is your feet in the sand because you are literally connected to Mama Earth and she's a big queen and you're a queen. So you're hanging out together, celebrating your queendom through your feet and your sand.

Speaker 1: (10:48)
So I want you, this is your homework actually, if we're gonna do homework, if you've never grounded, I want you to go find an area that is free of sharp debris, . Whether it's sand, if you live near a beach, whether it is, yeah, I mean, if you have to drive a little bit, go drive. What else are you doing? Come on, take me with you. Go to a beach, go to the woods, go to, you can go out in your backyard, you can go to water is my healing energy. I will be honest. Talk about like customizing your plan. My biggest grounding is putting my feet in the water. I just love it. So find a body of water, make sure it's not contaminated with nastiness. But you get my point. Find somewhere you can put your feet in. This is your homework. I want you to check back.

Speaker 1: (11:34)
I want you to email me. I'll put my email in the in the show notes there. It's always there. And I want you to tell me where you grounded this week. Find a grounding spot. And I would like you to ground your feet somewhere special for 20 minutes and see how you feel after. Check in before say, what's my level? And you should try it when you're actually like stressed out or feeling a little, eh. And then I want you to go ground yourself and I want you to do one to 10 before. Pick your number and one to 10 after. How do you feel? Practice this little exercise and get back to me. Now this one, I find some of my clients love, like super love and some of them were like, not my. So number eight, consider journaling. Writing in a journal can be a very helpful tool.

Speaker 1: (12:21)
I'm a hu I've been writing since I was like outta the womb. So this is one of my jams. But it really is a great way to process your thoughts and emotions. It allows you to express yourself freely, right? I just, I just think of it as like, just let your brain go. Just write. Don't think about it. Don't think about what you're writing. Just free write and you gain insight into your experiences because it's almost like you're subconscious when you let it go like that. And you're not editing what you're saying or holding back, it's just you in that pen. And sometimes it takes practice to get so free, but it's just like your subconscious starts to pour out and you're like, wow, you might realize something you didn't even know about yourself just by doing this practice. So I recommend it. It's not for everybody, but give it a go.

Speaker 1: (13:07)
Give all these things a go. And you can also, in your emails to me this week, I wanna, I wanna see a lot of emails, okay? I want you to tell me where you're grounding your big toe and which of these techniques do you feel really resonates with you and will be the most beneficial? Hit me up at Fierce Mama. See at Gmail. But I'll put in the show notes if you wanna work with yours truly. I obviously have my own experience. I have a lot of tools to help you. You can find my one-on-one coaching session link in the show notes. So if you wanna set up a call, let's do it. And I look forward to hearing from you. See you in the next episode. Oh wait, you thought you were gonna get away with not doing some affirmations? All right, we're gonna do Hand on the Heart. I think more people need to hear this one. We're gonna say this again even though we've said it, and maybe two episodes. But it's a very important for us to hear my feelings matter. My feelings are important. I know my truth.

Speaker 2: (14:20)
Hmm.

Speaker 1: (14:20)
Hope that felt good. I am with you. Okay, I am with you. I will see you in the next episode and have a beautiful day.