Do betrayal triggers leave you flooded? Try ice.

Do you experience "flooding"? This is when the "flight/fight/freeze" system in your nervous system goes into overdrive. It feels like intense emotions, unstoppable crying, paralysing fear, panic, or shut down. There is literally a flood of body-based response that takes over the system. It can leave you feeling helpless.  

Enter the power of ice. Yes, ice. It gives you something intense and immediate to bring your senses into the present and help you down-regulate or calm. Put an ice pack on your forehead, cheeks, neck or chest. Hold ice cubes in your hand or in your mouth. Focus on the cold sensation and observe how the intensity of the cold ice brings down the intensity of the emotional flooding. 

For more intense use of ice, the "dive reflex" is a technique where you lean forward, put your face in ice water and hold your breath for several seconds. If you don't have a bowl of ice water handy, a similar effect is worked by leaning forward and applying cold (eg. ice pack, cold drink) to the face while breath holding for 30 seconds. This method so effectively engages the heart and blood vessels that it is not recommended for people with heart conditions.

 For less intense experiences, cold water can also be used by running cold water on your hands, splashing it on your face or drinking an ice cold beverage. Cold water can also be used as regular self care with cold water swimming, showering and bathing. It boosts the parasympathetic nervous system response which lowers the activation symptoms of fight and flight. 

Healing begins with simple techniques that you can use on your own. Be an experimenter and see what works for you!

Jane tenderly and skilfully comes alongside women seeking healing from betrayal trauma. She is a certified partner coach with APSATS. 

If you want to contact Jane for help with healing from the effects of sexual betrayal, contact her here.