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Triggers( trauma reminders) and flashbacks( continued)
SAID ALOUD
Aim. To understand how trauma memories, trauma reminders or triggers dysregulate survivors.
Trainer. I will continue.
Soon after she arrived at the health centre, the Butterfly Woman had to go to the hospital because she had suffered injuries during the rape. She knew that the nurses and doctors wanted to heal her but, as soon as she had to lie on the bed and spread her legs to be examined, horrible memories from the rape returned. Suddenly she thought the doctor was the soldier who had raped her. She tried to flee. The memories flooded her thoughts and body and she could not separate them from what was happening to her now at the hospital. A wise nurse repeated the Butterfly Woman’ s name over and over again in a calm and strong voice. She said:“ You are in the hospital now”,“ You are safe now”,“ It is [ day, day of the month, year ]”,“ We are here to help you”. The tone of her voice and what she said helped the Butterfly Woman to return to the present. She realised that she was at the hospital receiving help, and she managed to calm down.
PART II: THE TRAINING
The wise nurse understood that the Butterfly Woman’ s memories of the rape were very close to the surface, and could be triggered during the care she would receive and the examinations she would have to undertake. She decided to prepare her for what would happen and explained to her how easily old rape memories can be triggered by reminders. They talked about the Woman’ s reaction during her medical examination the day before. The nurse suggested exercises the Woman could do to prevent old memories from flooding her mind. She taught the Butterfly Woman to use her eyes to look at things around her, and to say aloud to herself what she was seeing. When she did this, the Woman noticed that she felt more present, more in the here and now. The wise nurse said:“ When you focus on the present the past stays in the past”. The Butterfly Woman also learned to ground herself by using her sense of touch. She held a stone that just fitted in her hand and felt its weight, its coolness, its shape. The two women practised these exercises together and the nurse told the Butterfly Woman to do them whenever she felt her memories coming back. The nurse also said that she would remain during her operation, to reassure the Butterfly Woman and remind her that the hospital was safe.
Role Play 3. Calming a survivor who has been triggered.( 5-10 minutes.)
Form pairs. One of you is the Helper, the other the Survivor. Practise how you might calm a survivor who experiences flashbacks. Like the wise nurse, you might say things like:
• You are in the office( or where you are at the present moment) now.
• You are safe here in this room.
• You are here now and not where the traumatic event happened.
• You are strong and courageous.
• Remember to breathe.
• Look around, try to be present here and now.
ROLE PLAY EXERCISE
You might give the survivor a stone, or something else, to hold in her hand to keep her grounded. After a few minutes, change roles. At the end, remember to brush off your roles and be yourself.