Mind-Body Workbook for PTSD (22 page)

1. Fill out the following log using your bubbled map. List any body tension related to each item. Identify the underlying requirements.
   

   

2. Review the previous list using your bridging awareness practices and thought labeling. Take your time. There’s nothing to fix. Your awareness is all it takes to gently heal.
   

   Continue using your mind-body bridging practices for the rest of the day to quiet your I-System and defuse your requirements, which are the source of your troubling symptoms.
   

5. Do the last Trauma mapagain. Write the same memory of the traumatic event in the oval. Before you start writing, listen to background sounds and feel your body’s pressure on your seat, your feet on the floor, and the pen in your hand. Once you are settled, keep feeling the pen in your hand as you start writing. Watch the ink go onto the paper and listen to background sounds. For the next few minutes, jot any thoughts that come to mind.

Trauma Map with Bridging

Notice the differences between the two maps:

1. What’s your mind-body state after bridging?
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

2. Do you see the truth that no matter who you are or what you’ve been through, you have the power and wisdom to heal yourself? Yes ____ No ____
   
3. Can you defuse your requirements from the previous map when the situation arises again? Yes ____ No ____
   

Day Three     Date:____________

1. Do a Nightmare map. In the oval, write your bad dream’s most disturbing image, theme, or content. Around the oval, scatter any thoughts that pop into your mind. Don’t be concerned if the thoughts seem unrelated to the nightmare. Take your time. When you’re done, write about your body tension at the bottom of the map.

Nightmare Map

Body Tension:

______________________________

______________________________

Dreaming is an organizing and processing function that’s vital to your well-being. Its purpose is to heal and refresh your mental and physical health. Your biological system supplies the hardware for dreams, and your I-System is the primary supplier of the software or content. Why? Because dreaming tries to resolve your spinning thoughts. As you already know, the I-System is the main producer of these spinning thoughts, so most of the content of dreams relates to the I-System.

2. On your map, see if you can find these signs of your I-System:

1. What are your depressors?
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

2. What are your fixers?
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

3. What are your storylines?
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

4. What are your underlying requirements?
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

3. Do the Nightmare map again. In the oval, write the same disturbing image, theme, or content from your bad dream. Before you start writing,listen to background sounds and feel your body’s pressure on your seat, your feet on the floor, and the pen in your hand. Once you are settled, keep feeling the pen in your hand as you start writing. Watch the ink go onto the paper and listen to background sounds. For the next few minutes, jot any thoughts that come to mind.

Nightmare Map with Bridging

1. Compare your two maps:
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

2. Are you starting to realize that the I-System is mainly responsible for your nightmares? Yes ____ No ____
   

Mind-Body Bridging Tools for Better Sleep

Before bed, do a What’s on My Mind map. In the middle of a piece of paper, write “What’s on My Mind” and draw an oval around it. Next, jot whatever thoughts come to mind. Remember, the busy head can never settle the busy head. Note your I-System’s unresolved activity. Now do the map again using your bridging awareness practices. With a quiet I-System, you are ready to sleep.

1. In bed, make a habit of using your favorite nighttime bridging awareness practice (for example, listen to the fan or the clock’s ticking; feel the texture of the blanket, pillow, or sheets).
   
2. If you wake up for any reason, notice your requirements, such as
   I shouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night
   ,
   The dog shouldn’t bark
   ,or
   The neighbors should be quiet
   . Use your bridging awareness practices before your storylines gain traction.
   
3. If you have nightmares or bad dreams, notice any obvious requirements, such as
   I shouldn’t have bad dreams or nightmares
   , realize that the force behind your bad dream is not the horrendous content but your overactive I-System, and go back to your bridging awareness practice.
   
4. On mornings after you’ve had bad dreams or nightmares, do a Bad Dream/Nightmare map. On a piece of paper, write your bad dream’s most disturbing image, theme, or content. Draw an oval around it. Around the oval, scatter your thoughts quickly, without editing them. Pay special attention to your depressors and fixers, and recognize as many requirements as you can. The I-System wants you to search for your dream’s meaning and create more storylines, rather than see the dream as the I-System’s creation. Now do the map again using your bridging awareness practices. This second map (the bridging awareness map) lets you release the dream’s energy, pain, and power.
   

Making a habit of using your daytime mind-body bridging practices calms your I-System so that your mind-body can regulate and heal itself. Gradually, your sleep will improve, and you’ll wake up refreshed.

Day Four     Date:____________

1. Throughout the day, be aware of when you want to avoid activities, places, people, or events. Log what or whom you avoid, noting whether you can find an underlying traumatic event.

2. Do a map about the activity, place, person, or event you try to avoid the most that’s related to the traumatic event. Write it in the oval. Around the oval, scatter your thoughts for three to five minutes, without editing them. Write your body tension at the bottom of the map. See the sample maps on page 166.

What or Whom I Avoid Map

Body Tension:

______________________________

______________________________

1. Bubble your map by drawing a circle (bubble) around the item that brings the most body tension. Take a few minutes to scatter your thoughts around the circled item. Bubble any other troubling items.
   
2. Identify and list as many requirements as possible:
   

   ______________________________
   

   ______________________________
   

3. How do you act in this state?
   

   ______________________________
   

Sample Map A: What or Whom I Avoid

Sample Map B: What or Whom I Avoid