unlearning a stress reaction

[Melalvai]

Every place around here has long waits so it took a while to get in. Since I knew I'd have to wait no matter where I went, I was a little bit selective. At one of the FLATS steering committee meetings (FLATS is the paved trail we're trying to get built), someone asked "Does anyone know this person? She made a donation and I wondered who she is." No one knew much about her but one person did say she's a therapist and she bikes out to the lake (on highways, which is something few people, especially women, around here do).

That was enough of a recommendation for me! I got an appointment scheduled (only 3 months out) I had my first visit with her last week, and a 2nd visit this week. It turns out--I knew her from spin class!

In the meantime I was reading the "Cognitive Behavioral Workbook" that Crankin recommended. At first I tried to read it thoroughly keeping a log and doing all the exercises and making notes on them. That was discouraging because what I kept learning is things that didn't really seem to work or make much difference for me. I'm sure they're good exercises, they're just not priority for me. I quit reading it for a while, then started reading again but just reading, not trying out all the exercises.

In our first visit she tried out this Pranic Healing thing on me. That was pretty cool. I felt so calm and relaxed and peaceful for the rest of the day. Like I'd been drugged or something.

Then a couple days later, I started to have another stress reaction. I'm having trouble identifying the trigger on this one. It happened because of a meeting I was in, I just can't figure out why that meeting triggered a stress reaction. But I didn't worry about that too much because the past 2 stress reactions have had triggers that were laughable, so I don't think the trigger is important anymore.

Anyway I headed this one off by going through the Pranic Healing steps on my own. I had to do it 2 or 3 times over that evening and next day, but after the initial panic the stress reaction didn't materialize further. I didn't get nauseous, I had a decent appetite. The stress reactions typically take about a week to run their course, so this was a pretty major achievement.

I saw her again yesterday and we did the Pranic Healing focusing on some of the postdoc experiences/traumas that are really what has led to me having these stress reactions now. That was more intense, but it really took the sting out of those memories.

It's really something to be able to visit those memories without that repulsion. I've just been avoiding the memories as much as possible.

I had my husband go with me both times. She was fine with that, and it was really nice having him there. He dozed off during my Pranic Healing bits. It's very relaxing.

I tried to look up more info on Pranic Healing. I'd asked her for a book or article, and she said "I do have that, but not for you, because your approach is to research a problem and fix it, and I want you to try another approach." Yeah... I looked it up online anyway (because she's spot-on about my approach) but I couldn't get past the mystical mumbo jumbo. Oh well.