I had an email in my inbox this week from Sarah Woodhouse( https://sarahwoodhouse.com/about-me/)
Those of us with relational trauma often struggle to feel good, literally. We struggle to recognise, name and ‘be with’ positive emotions.
In part this happens because we’ve spent our lives hyper vigilantly scanning for problems and threat. Over time we’ve become programmed to notice a negative feeling or a potential ‘bad thing’ in a split second. But because we over attenuate to negative, we have a reduced capacity to notice the good.
Finding freedom from trauma requires us to expand our capacity to recognise, name and ‘be with’ positive emotions. This is something that’s rarely talked about but it so very key to rebalancing our body and moving into regulation.
Perhaps for today our intention can be to notice the things that feel good to our body, mind and spirit and allow them, for just a little longer.
And on that note I’ve had a busy, but a good week.
Firstly I put together the magazine as usual and I liked the cover.
Next, I took a step forward in my cello lesson which was very pleasing. I’ve reached a stage when sometimes I hit the note. When I’m playing alongside my teacher and I hear my efforts beautifully melding with hers, it is a wonderful sensation. Of course I still crash (screech) moments later but when I’m there, I’m there.
And finally, I went to visit a family member for a day out (the train was cancelled but, it wasn't a disaster, I ended up only half an hour late). We shopped and had a Korean lunch, it was very enjoyable, great chatting, and I had been wanting to try Korean food for a while, so very satisfying to do so and have someone else order who had eaten there before!