3. Explore your senses
Whilst immersed in the memories of a particular experience, your senses will be on high alert. You may smell something familiar, like your mother’s cooking. You may hear something familiar, like a sibling’s voice. You may picture something, like a holiday at the beach. You may taste something familiar, like ice-cream. If only all the senses you will experience while immersing yourself in a traumatic experience would be so pleasant.
Unfortunately, you are going to hear sounds that upset you, like gunshots. You will taste fear in your mouth. You will see images of the event that has traumatized you. You will smell odors associated with fear, pain, and helplessness. It is quite normal to be afraid of the prospect of ‘going back there.’ Remember that your feelings are valid, and you have to go through them to recover.
When you feel unpleasant emotions or sensory memories upset you, take the time to breathe in and out and relax. Examine your body and how it is responding. Have you broken into a sweat? Do you feel pain somewhere in your body? Are areas of your body tensed? Do you feel nauseous? Do you feel like crying, or are you already crying?
Take note of the physical reactions you have when you go back in time to recall the traumatic event. Record them in your journal. You might find that when you revisit the experience multiple times, you will either have the exact same reaction each time, or your reaction may vary. Over time, your reactions may become less severe. This is your body beginning to master its response to the trauma, allowing you to continue with the process of dealing with it.