What You Can Do Now
Free Resources
Start by reading thought the information on this website. You can also check out some of the books and resources here. The best way to recover from PTSD requires two things be in place: a felt sense of safety and a method for desensitizing and overcoming the traumatic experiences. If you are not ready to start therapy, there are still things you can do now to aid in your recovery. And they are free.
To learn more about why and how to cultivate a felt sense of safety, read about Poly-Vagal Theory here.
You will also need a method for desensitizing and overcoming the traumatic experiences. TRE is a free resource that you can start by yourself. It is recommended to use a TRE Provider to begin if your trauma load is large due to potentially overloading your nervous system. Either way, start slow. You can read more about TRE here.
Improving Your Vagal-Tone
Improving vagal-tone means shifting down the poly-vagal ladder into the social engagement system. This section will detail how you can create a feeling of safety to help your body down regulate the activated state maintained by PTSD.
- Take a Deep Breath. As a rule of thumb, let your exhale be twice as long or more as your inhale. The exhale will stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system and put your body into a calm state.
- Release Tension in Your Body. Learn to feel the tension build up in your body and let it go periodically throughout the day. A mind cannot be stressed in a calmed body. You can try Jacobson Muscle Relaxation Techniques. To do this, first choose a muscle group and flex it for four or five seconds. You can take a big inhale at the same time. Then release the muscle slowly and let out a long exhale. Connect your mind to the feeling of relaxation to get the most benefit from this.
- Meditate. Body scans are an excellent way to check for tension and slow down. I recommend starting with this one here. Meditation can be very difficult at first, but just trying is progress. If you can be consistent, you will see improvement.
- Get in the Cold. Cold water or air will stimulate cholinergic neurons that are part of the vagus nerve pathways, and it stimulates the vagus nerve. If you have access to a cold plunge, go for it. But cold showers will work well too.
- Get in the Heat. A hot bath or sauna will relax your mind and body.
- Get a Massage. A massage will stimulate your ventral vagus system. Getting a massage gun and using it regularly will be money well spent.
- Exercise. But be careful not to over-do this one. Exercise is part of a healthy and balanced life, but over-exertion and heavy weight-lifting will stimulate your sympathetic nervous system and put you in fight or flight.
- Spend Time with Friends and Family. Being around loved ones that you feel safe with is the best thing you can do to keep yourself regulated.
What to stop doing
There are a number of things we tend to do on a daily basis that lead to sympathetic activation. Sympathetic activation will cause us to move up the poly-vagal ladder in to fight, flight, and freeze. While some nervous system activation is necessary for almost every activity other than sleep, we be sure to be very careful with a nervous system still effected by PTSD, as this nervous system will be more sensitive to increases and have trouble resettling back into calm.
- Stop Drinking Coffee.
- Don’t Over-do Exercise.
- Keep to a Sleep Schedule.
- Don’t Drink Alcohol.
- Stop Smoking Cigarettes.
While you will still be able to recover while doing these things, it is best to stop to allow the nervous system to calm down. These habits can negatively impact your recovery causing the process to take longer.
