These the techniques I was taught to fend off intrusive memories and their attendant unpleasant feelings that arise from the simmering mists of the mind. They really can yank you out of the present moment and place you in the emotional past when the event was happening. These tools put you back in the present. Mind you, as with any tool, they are to be used with focused intent. You gotta wanna make the memories go away, you gotta wanna come back to the NOW. It just takes focus, and these exercises provide the space for simple focus to happen.
The first way is to look for objects of a certain color in your surroundings and say what they are out loud. Red pencil on the desk, red targets on the Target bag, red book on the dining room table, red shoes on the floor, red dress on the girl on the picture on the wall, red bottle of nail polish on the counter. If the memory persists, change the color you are looking for, and do it all over again. Blue rug, blue paper on the table, blue donkey on the mug, blue porcelain goose on the shelf, blue blanket on the chair.
The other one I use is this: Say your name, say the date, say your exact location. Get really specific, like this--My name is Rozenkraai and it is Saturday October 27, 2007 at 11:30 am. I am sitting at my computer at the desk in the living room of my house on 145 Random Road, Whichevertown, That State, That Zip, That Country.
I repeat this one as often as I need to to be able to firmly remind myself that I am safe in the present. I repeat the place I am, the date, the time, over and over until I have convinced myself I am HERE and not there.
These really do work.
Until next time, I remain, your friend, Rozenkraai
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