If you are coping with trauma, mindfulness can help. Establishing a mindfulness practice can slow down reactivity, increase your attention (and connection) to your body, and change the structure of your brain by building more connections and pathways. Eventually, you will have greater emotional regulation and the capacity to better tolerate triggers and life stressors.

It should be mentioned that mindfulness, if not used carefully, can exacerbate trauma symptoms. The following advice is meant to help guide you through a trauma-sensitive mindfulness practice.

Know your Coping Tools

Before you begin practicing mindfulness make sure you know what coping tools soothe you best. Square breathing, tapping, safe-calm place, listening to music, going for a walk, or noticing your five senses? Be ready to do whatever works for you!

Make sure you feel safe.

Find a physical location that feels safe to you and only practice mindfulness with people that you feel safe with.

Stay within your Window of Tolerance

Stay within your ideal emotional zone. Pay attention to your body and your emotions. Make sure you aren’t pushing it! Don’t begin mindfulness if you are already outside of your Window of Tolerance. Stop immediately if you feel you are starting to venture outside the window: racing heart, intense anxiety, dissociation, have blurry vision, start sweating, or feel like you can’t catch your breath.

Apply the Brakes when needed!

Open your eyes, change your posture, take slow deep belly breaths, structure breaks for yourself, make physical contact with your body (touch your legs, tap on your temples), and engage in self soothing.

Remember that mindfulness may look a bit different for you. You may need to practice with your eyes open and stay aware of your surroundings. That is fine! You can use guided meditation if you feel you need to ease into it.

It may be best for you to start with an informal mindfulness practice. That means you bring awareness to daily tasks such as eating, exercising, doing chores, or any other daily action. For example, you could start with brushing your teeth. As you brush, try to bring all your attention, awareness, and senses to the task. What does the handle feel like, what is the texture of the bristles, what sounds do you hear, what does it smell and taste like, etc.

When you have identified your coping tools, have a safe space, know your window of tolerance, and understand how to apply the brakes, you may be ready to begin your mindfulness practice. Here’s how to start:

Take a few moments to center yourself and enter the zone of “just being”.

Begin by drawing your attention to your breath. Feel your body and notice whatever comes up. Allow any thought, emotion, or physical sensation to be exactly as it is.

Just notice. This is not a time to analyze, judge, or solve problems. Just notice whatever comes up.

In the beginning, short sessions are best. 30 seconds to 2 minutes is plenty.

If you find that you would like to explore mindfulness with a professional, therapists at Niyyah Counseling are available to help!

Recent science tells us that when we experience something traumatic, our brain’s limbic system activates the “fight or flight” response. The “fight or flight” response is triggered by an acute threat to survival that triggers us to either react to, or retreat from, the threat. From there, the limbic system stores the memory in our subconscious in order to protect us from future traumatic events related to the original threat. This is an important protective factor as far as survival is concerned; however, some situations that are not life threatening can provoke the same physiological response without our conscious effort and can cause distress. With how quickly we receive information in our world today, it is important to remember that there are ways to help ourselves cope with triggers bringing up past trauma. Coping with past trauma can look like allowing yourself to experience the feelings and emotions that you’re having instead of avoiding them; however, in the moment, if they are too distressing, practicing the following 6 things came to mind, spelling the word “eclipse.” So, when current events bring up past trauma just remember the word ECLIPSE:

Engage. Enrich your daily routine by engaging in healthy activities that are positive, rewarding, meaningful, or that bring you joy, even when you don’t want to.

Connect. Continue to stay plugged in and connected to people who make you feel safe and valued. Connect with the people that bring calming energy, that create happiness, or with someone that understands what you are going through.

Limit. When coping with trauma triggered by current events, it is important to consider limiting exposure to media, including social media, especially if it contributes to your distress. Limiting screen time can also help with overstimulation and allow the brain to rest.

Inquire. Consider reaching out to family, friends, or community members and inquiring about what you may be able to do to provide some help to them. Of course, always consider reaching out to a mental health professional that can help you process your feelings or emotions triggered by current events. Depending on the severity of distress, there are also hotlines that can offer immediate support.

Practice. Self-care has become a real buzzword recently, but it has always been important. Make sure that you are practicing self-care by engaging in calming activities like listening to music, writing in a journal, practicing deep breathing exercises, or reading inspirational text.

Sense. Be aware of your surroundings and use your senses to ground yourself in the present moment. A common grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 method in which you use all 5 senses to put yourself in the current situation. Grounding allows you to activate coping skills to help get through past traumas being triggered.

Exposure. Use the exposure to these current events as a way to gain insight into what triggers thoughts of past trauma. Take time to document feelings, emotions, and mood daily to help track pre- and post-exposure feelings, emotions, and mood.

Though the ECLIPSE method cannot change the events of the past, it can contribute to alleviating the present. Though it may only provide temporary relief, it could buy you some time until you can reach out to the appropriate professional for help. Our therapists at Niyyah provide trauma-focused therapy and most are able to offer EMDR therapy–reach out today!