i like the lean-to in a hurricane analogy. that’s like when my CAMH therapist made some suggestions to me, like deep breathing, and looking at art magazines before bed, etc, as a way of dealing with some compulsive behaviour and i was like “hah… that’s like using a feather against a concrete block” and she said something interesting. she said, the techniques are not about “fixing” the issue, or “distracting” or “denying” things, they are just to open up in your brain a new way for doing things… that you will come to learn in coming months, so it was about creating space for something new… it was interesting for me to look at it that way. first time anyone explained it that way. it’s like holding ice when you want to self-harm, i always thought it was about substituting one pain for another, but she said it’s about re-booting your brain. anyhoooooooo…. 
Over at Tesseract http://bluescilla.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/nice/ this comment was posted. I love this explanation as to why other techniques of dealing with a problem can be helpful. I also like Ellen's comment about some techniques are "like building a lean-to in a hurricane." PTSD reactions are like an emotional hurricane ripping through my mind leaving nothing untouched. I know KavinCoach talked to me OFTEN (as in many, many times) about becoming self-aware enough to pay attention to the first signs...the ones I always ignored. Following the analogy those gusting winds that are hitting 80 miles per hour is the time to button down and get ready for a storm. Too often I tried to keep going and carry on. So not good for me. I am learning that taking time to weather a storm and taking time to clean up afterwards is in my best interest. Where possible, I desensitize the trigger. If that doesn't work, I build a shelter around the trigger to keep me from having those triggers run my life. Sometimes I just need to weather the storm and hug myself until it is over.
Moody Blues album Days of Future Passed introduced me to this poem. I sometimes use it at night when nightmares are tormenting me.
Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watch lights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another day's useless energy spent
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love and has none
New mother picks up and suckles her son
Senior citizens wish they were young
Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is grey and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090710104024AAHV781
