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INNLEDNING
• Keep your attention on your breath and follow it in and out .
• Notice what thoughts are flowing through your head . What feelings do you have ? Acknowledge the feelings . What are your bodily sensations right now ? Feel for any tension or discomfort .
• Every time you notice something else entering your consciousness , notice it (“ greet it ”), and kindly but firmly bring your attention back to your breath .
Try as well as you can to see your thoughts as mental events , perhaps by naming them . Accept all thoughts , images and feelings that arise . Try not to push any thoughts away or become involved in them . Leave them alone and concentrate on your breathing . If your attention is distracted one hundred times , your only task is still to return to your breathing . If you have thoughts like “ I can ’ t do this very well ” or “ this was weird ”, notice them and return your attention to your breathing . If you need the help of a picture , imagine that your consciousness is the sky and that thoughts , feelings and sensations are clouds moving across it . For some , it will be difficult to focus on breathing . It is possible to choose another focus , such as looking at an object , listening to a sound , or repeating a specific movement ( for example , walking ).
Exercise 6 : Squeeze hug
This exercise soothes people who are upset . It can help a survivor who is in a state of ‘ freeze ’ ( numb ) to concentrate on the here-and-now .
Cross your arms in front of you . With your right hand hold your left upper arm . With your left hand hold your right upper arm . Gently squeeze and pull your arms inwards . Hold the clamp for a while . Find the correct pressure for you right now . Hold the tension and let go . Then squeeze again for a while , and release . Stay there a moment .
Exercise 7 : Reorientation to the present
This exercise is helpful for a survivor who is a state of ‘ freeze ’ ( numb ).
The helper assists the survivor to use his senses to re-orient himself in the present and feel safe . The helper says :
APPENDIX
• Look around and name three things you see .
• Look at one thing ( a thing , a colour , etc .). Tell yourself what you see .
• Name three things you hear .
• Listen to a sound ( music , voices , other sounds ). Tell yourself what you hear .
• Name three things you can touch .
• Touch something ( different textures , different objects ).
• Tell yourself what you know . Notice your state of mind .
• Do you feel that you are more present in the room or less present after doing the exercise ?
• Do you feel calmer or more energetic ?