u/dickholejohnny

I am currently doing 5 minutes of a coherence protocol. It seems like my symptoms increase for a day or two afterwards, then settle. I have an extremely delicate nervous system due to chronic illness and a horrific past benzo withdrawal that gave me PTSD. I do Somatic Experiencing therapy for trauma as well, and I always feel more dysregulated for a couple days after a session, and then feel better.

Is my increase in symptoms a sign that my protocol (it was created by Dr. Robert Coben based off of a 32 channel qEEG) is wrong, or just that my brain takes some time to integrate new patterns?

Just wanted to share what I experienced in my session today because it felt very meaningful. I suffer from dissociation and often feel very disconnected from my body and emotions. I was telling my practitioner how frustrating it is when I’m doing something enjoyable but it feels like the emotion of pure joy or gratitude are inaccessible and blunted. I can feel it to a degree, but it’s been so long since I’ve felt things in their full capacity. I KNOW I’m happy in that moment, but I can’t feel it as deeply as I want to be able to.

We decided to focus on that sense of frustration, and as I closed my eyes to find where it came up in my body, it showed up as a heaviness and sadness in my chest and as a visual of a big gray rock. I sat with that feeling for a bit, had a good cry, and then my practitioner asked me to slightly expand my awareness to what surrounded the rock. This ended up being a beautiful field of grass filled with bright, colorful flowers. As I continued focusing on that instead, the heaviness in my chest began to lift and it was replaced with a feeling of wonderment, happiness, gratitude, and warmth. My head automatically tipped back and I felt all those wonderful emotions wash over me, almost like I was being bathed in a light made from them.

My practitioner had me sit and really feel and experience those positive feelings for almost 10 minutes, and it was glorious. They are not emotions that I have access to often. I felt so warm and cozy, as opposed to the numbness I felt at the beginning of our session. I curled myself into a semi-fetal position and we spent another 10 minutes in silence while I let myself sink down into those sensations of comfort and warmth. When we checked back in on the rock, I was no longer able to visualize it; it looked like someone had painted over it. The weight of it felt so much lighter.

I wanted to share this because it’s a reminder of how incredible SE is, how capable and intuitive our bodies are, and how important it is to have a skilled practitioner. It shows that even if you are stuck in shutdown, or feel disconnected from yourself, these parts of you, and true you, still exist. We just have to bring them back to the surface. SE is slow going and can be scary at times, but peeling those layers back is such a beautiful and meaningful experience.

Hey all! I’m sure seasonal allergies are absolutely crushing a lot of us right now, and I’m wondering if anyone else suffers mentally besides me. Every April and May, my mental health tanks and I just have this chronic sense of either anxiety and depression. It’s a miserable existence and is so much worse than the physical allergy symptoms. These last couple weeks have been so brutal.

Wondering if it’s just me, or if other people struggle with this as well.

The pollen is killing me. I hate spring. I’m SO JITTERY.

That is all.

Am currently in a seemingly never-ending flare, just like every April and May. Yay Spring! Can y’all tell me what your pollen-induced flare is feel like? The mental effects are so bad for me.

Would love to hear about the experiences of those who have participated in programs that pay off student loans in exchange for a 2 year contract to work in an underserved area. Was it worth it?