Disaster recovery

Clarkes Beach, Byron Bay

We’ve just come though what could have been a cyclone. We’re now calling it ex-cyclone Alfred. The prospect of not only a cyclone but more flooding post 2022 was almost an unbearable prospect. How could this be? A cyclone so far south in SE Queensland and Northern NSW which is were I live.

Still, we braced ourselves, removed any object that could be flung around in the wind and tied everything else down. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The cyclone fizzled out and became an East Coast low. We’re used to those. They bring low cloud, endless days of rain and erosion on the beaches. Then the sun comes out again like a giant sun lamp. Everything dries off and the world is luminous again, just like in this photo I took.

However, if you went through the floods and devastation of 2022 and didn’t do the work to release the trauma from your body, you will be triggered again by the noise of the rain, the uncertainly of needing to escape, the fear and terror you experienced in 2022 will resurface. How do you release these feelings of terror that put you back into flight and fight mode?

It’s a body of work. Literally. I would start with a basic program like the pioneer, Peter A. Levine’s book; Healing Trauma. Peter Levine, a medical doctor pioneered how to develop body awareness to “renegotiate and heal traumas by revisiting them rather than reliving them”. It sounds basic but we start with what do you feel in your body/where do you feel it?

We then move through self-awareness to what the triggers are. When do these feelings resurface? What do you feel when they do? It’s kind of like an exposure therapy but done in the safety of the therapy room with a skilled therapist who can take you there and bring you back to safety within your body.

In another blog I will explore the latest frontier of polyvagal theory.

Try this simple grounding exercise when you are activated:

Sit under a tree or somewhere you love. Start by grounding yourself in the place. What sensations do you feel? Is it windy, sunny? Are you hot, cold, clammy?

If you can, take take off your shoes and socks and plant your feet into the earth. Explore the textures around you - the tickle of the grass, the fine grain of the abrasive sand, the pungency of the earth. And so on.

Focus on your breath. If you breathe deeply and exhale longer than you inhale you will be suffused with calm and lose track of time. That’s what being grounded and in your body feels like.

I know many people don’t feel safe in their bodies because of abuse and trauma they have suffered. I’m here to reassure you that you can find safety in your body again. You can reassure yourself that the tiger isn’t going to eat you.

Sending love and light.

Lu