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Exercise 1 : Safe Place
This exercise can help survivors to calm down , subdue overactivation , and find a more balanced emotional state .
While doing this exercise , you can choose to keep your eyes open or closed . ( 1 ) Think of a place that makes you feel calm and safe . It may be a place you ’ ve been to , or a place you ’ ve seen in a film , or heard of . It can be at home with yourself or with someone you know , or a place in nature . You can also create a place in your imagination . ( 2 ) The place must suit you and your needs . You can constantly adapt it . No two people are alike : this is your place . ( 3 ) It is a private place that no one else knows about or can find without your permission . You choose it and you decide whether you want to share it with others or not . The place should shut out all the stimuli of the present that are overwhelming and should be comfortable and richly equipped for all your needs . Everything is here that you require to be comfortable . ( 4 ) Visualise this place in your imagination , and imagine that you are there . Take time to imagine it in detail : its colours , shapes , smells , sounds . Imagine the sunshine , feel the wind and the temperature . Notice what it is like to stand , sit or lie there ; feel how your body is in contact with it . Feel what it ’ s like when everyone is safe , everything is fine . In your safe place you can see , hear , feel , smell and feel exactly what you need to feel safe . ( 5 ) You can go to this place whenever you want and as often as you want , and just by thinking about it you will feel safer and calmer . ( 6 ) You might want or need more than one place . Work on this step by step . Notice what each memory or emotion needs .
Note . Some male survivors might find it more useful to imagine an activity they like that comforts them to think about , instead of a place ; for example , playing a game of football or walking their favourite hiking path .
Exercise 2 : Distinguish past from present
This exercise can help survivors to calm down and deal with overactivation .
• Recall a mildly unpleasant incident , when you were a little anxious , restless or ashamed . What do you notice in your body ? What happens in the muscles ? What happens in the stomach ? How does your breathing change ? Does your heart rate accelerate or decelerate ? Do you become hotter or colder ? If there are changes in temperature , do they occur everywhere or in specific parts of your body ?
• Now turn your attention back to the room you are in . Notice the colour of the wall . Notice details of decoration . What is the temperature ? What do you smell ?
• Does your breathing change when your attention changes ?
• Now try to pay attention to your current surroundings while remembering the mildly unpleasant event . Can you keep your attention on where you are physically now , while remembering the event ?
• End this exercise with your attention focused on your current surroundings .
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