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Handling invasive thoughts . If a survivor suffers from excessive thoughts which prevent him from sleeping , he may find it helpful to write down his thoughts on a note pad by his bed , to deal with these the next day .
Take a hot bath . A bath will help the survivor to relax , and the drop in body temperature after bathing will help him feel sleepy .
Do not lie awake in bed . If he is still awake after lying in bed for more than 20 minutes , the survivor should get up and do relaxing activities until he feels sleepy . Fear of insomnia can make it harder to sleep .
Survivors should establish routines for waking up from nightmares and choose things that make them feel safe in the moment .
HELP AND ACTION
A survivor who wakes up from a nightmare should :
• Try to move his body , starting with his head , then his fingers and arms .
• Touch something that reminds him of safety ( the pillow , mosquito net , bedside table , etc .).
• Anchor himself in the present by using his senses .
• Turn on the light ( where possible ) and look around the room ; sit up and feel his feet on the floor .
Thinking ahead and seeing opportunities in the future
Boys and men who have experienced sexual violence often have difficulty thinking ahead or imagining the future . Many can scarcely see a future for them selves at all . Their traumatic experiences plus the hardships of relocation strengthen these feelings . It can therefore be important to get to this topic and explore it carefully . Helpers can underline that many people who are in a similar position feel the same uncertainty .
Gently encourage the survivor to try to talk about tomorrow and eventually think a little further ahead , to what the survivor feels might be possible , desirable , within reach or achievable . Do not bring pressure : this is a discussion of very small steps , that progresses very gradually day by day . With time , it may become possible to look further ahead , and even start to explore longer term objectives .
3.3.4 Strengthening strength - building resilience
“ Many people think that all trauma survivors need therapy , and that therapy is largely talking about what happened . But helping survivors is just as much about building resilience and mapping a course of action .”
Many people think that all trauma survivors need therapy , and that therapy is largely talking about what happened . But helping survivors is just as much about building resilience and mapping a course of action .
In the book ‘ BASIC-Ph ’, a team from the Community Stress Prevention Center in Tel Aviv tried to combine studies of coping and resilience in one holistic model . BASIC Ph stands for Belief and value systems , Affects , Social support , Imagery , Cognition and Physical interventions . Here is a brief account of each of these dimensions :
Belief and value systems . The theory often refers to Victor Frankl , a psychiatrist who lost his entire family in captivity during World War II and was himself interned in a concentration