Can I use Cascade Release this way

Hi pcguy730

CR does not clear out old feelings and memories but re-date stamps them to the future. The Click Tracks are the tool for detaching feelings from memories. Although they work in different ways I would suggest working with CT 2015 first in any case.

Hello Peter,
this conversation is old, so I hope it's ok to join in with my own questions.
I am thinking about buying CR for the use on my cPTSD. I already have lots of experience with the free tracks, with the EEFs, accelerators, PSTEC positive, negative and with CT 2015.

When you say that there will be a re-date stamp, does that mean there will be some kind of flashback with those memories for which I right now have amnesia? And after that flashback I can tap them in the usual way? I just would like to know in which way the memories will come back or manifest themselves for the first time ever. Righ now while tapping, I have some kind of structure that works very well for me.

I first tap, then I tell myself what I was tapping and what I think about that after tapping. No, I am not crazy. It's just that as soon as I am able to articulate something, it's not that frightening any more and it's no longer a heavy burden or a bruise on my soul.
I usually combine PSTEC with breathing techniques and with Jin Shin Jyutsu, that works great for me, because it relieves the tension in my body and it is comforting.

I am not a newbie when it comes to tapping on my PTSD and I did lots of therapy. I know what I am dealing with and right now it's just about those events where I know that there happened something bad or that there was something that went terribly wrong. I roughly know what happened, but without the details.
Those blanc spaces occour often for times when someone with a NPD/BPD was raging ( and I was dissociating) or gaslighing, so i am not sure if it is really important to know what happened as long as I bring to my mind that what happened was narcisstic abuse. Because it's about them in those moments, I guess it's “their” stuff? I did some surrogate tapping for that NPD/BPD persons and yes, I already listened to that interview with Cynthia.

My tapping is not only about PTSD, but also about my OCD, which I developed as an attempt to cope with narcissistic abuse. I needed to balance the cognitive dissonance resulting from gaslighting and abuse. I really worked hard with EFT, PTSD and all that other techniques and it got a lot better. There is still work to do, but as long as I know that there are techniques that help me getting over it, that's ok. I can live with that.

For me, it was important to be able to name that stuff, e.g. to know that there is something called gaslighting, that I am not going crazy. I needed to understand, what was going on and why, but I also learned that there is a time when it is necessary to let go of that stuff completely. In the end, that hurt, that was passed on during abuse, it's the pain of the offender and only subsidiarily mine. I only can heal my own wounds. But as I know now, healing my wounds is doable as soon as I give back the pain that does not belong to me, that only was contained into the soul of the child and the patient I used to be. Lucky me found herself a narcisstic therapist and the abuse continued for some time. But that eventually stopped some years ago.

For me my cPTSD was like a big hole in the ground. I was drowning in there and could not escape. And now, after all those hours spent on PSTEC, EFT, breathing techniques, all those self help articles and psychology books, it's like I finally get out of this hole.

I recommened PSTEC to a lot of people suffering from their own stories and problems. It was like they were just waiting for something like that. I am German and PSTEC is not really common here. The german PSTEC site does not really offer a lot and that's sad. Will there be more soon?

Sidney

Hello Peter,
thanks for answering.

I grew up with NPD / BPD parents and severe abuse, therefore it is hard to remember a happy moment before all of this started. I never had a clinical / major depression.
OCD was minor until it had a therapist who was “not that good”, that's why OCD exploded, but it's now getting better thanks to all that self help.
I am finally recovering, that's right. I am getting better despite therapy not because of therapy. I have a university degree for speech therapy, I don't work in that job, but I am able to read and understand psychological literature and find strategies to help myself.

CR
It's hard to imagine an “unreachable future”, but I guess I'll give CR a try someday.

German PSTEC
I don't have problems understanding PSTEC in English, but I know some people here who do. It's just that in my opinion talk therapy is kind of outdated, at least for PTSD, that's why it would be a great thing to have more PSTEC in German. I know that there are strategies especially for patients with PTSD, but there are not enough good therapist trained for that. I recommended PSTEC to my health insurance, but I am not sure if they will do something about that.

PSTEC Loop für PTSD
Is it possible to purchase the PTSD loop for self help? I have a therapist whom I told about PSTEC, he'll support me, so I would not be alone with that.

thanks again
Sidney

Dear Peter,
there is no need for forgiving. i just wanted a few tipps for tapping. Thanks for answering me. I am glad that there are answers at all.

You are right with what you wrote about abuse during childhood. Those people added scapegoating and severe physical abuse. I went no contact a few years ago. Of course there were some relationships with NPD / BPD people later on. I was trained like a dog to be the perfect supply / container for people with PD. But I am also like a cat, I always fall on my feet sooner or later and I had more than one chance for another start in life. Until my PTSD kicked in really bad and I chose to go into social isolation to stabilize myself and to build a new me. I work from home at the moment, so that's possible. Right now it's about time to connect with nice people again and that's just what I do.

I already tapped whatever I remembered from my early years and will continue to do so. I know that there is some important stuff going on. I assume you are familiar with the concept of ego states? I don't have multiple personalities, just ego states and one of my states is about 2 or 3 years old and that's were a lot of the stuff I'm dealing with comes from. So you are right about the importance of the first few years.

And you are right about the need to build a new me. I already started building one. Thanks for reminding me about using PSTEC positive on that.

My strategy for building a new me: I call it the “workbook-strategy” and “re-inventing myself”.
– Take a folder, lots of paper, a pen and post-its. It starts with defining the most important areas of my life.
– define goals for each area of your life. Try to keep the balance, all areas have to be covered, not just work or just PTSD.
– define first steps on my way to reach those goals and write an action plan using the S.M.A.R.T. strategy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria
– I always use paper and pen, because that's “more” than just writing it down on my computer

additonal:
I read everything I need to know about boundaries, limits, personal growth, development, etc. pp
–> I read a lot of articles in English, because of the bigger variety.
I love the Elephant journal and the websites like “pick the brain”, psychology today, open mind, mindbodygreen, lifehack, “barking up the wrong tree” and a lot more. I scan those websites weekly and take whatever seems useful for me.

I print articles that are important for me and use the information within as a tool for growing and learning. There are often checklists with advice to achieve something in those articles for specific purposes, e.g. setting goals or setting boundaries, so I print that, give it a try / try those strategies to ease my life. If it works, then I'll keep it. Otherwise I'll try something different.

Best advice of the week
How to cope with people with NPD – just don't. Whenever there is a possiblity to just go away, then do that. I really liked that advice.
http://time.com/4192385/narcissism-deal/
That's the kind of article I like. No complaining, just taking action and trying different things until you find something that works for you.

I refer to my workbook on a daily basis, because that's my groundwork. I developed this method a few years ago, because I needed something that would help me grow and go on with my life. And it really helps.
Usually I would not mention that, because people don't understand why I invest that much time and energy. But I have a feeling that you understand the need to build a better me.

For me it was a huge thing to allow myself to define boundaries. And allowing myself to build a structure for achieving goals was a really big thing, too. I grew up as a container, I was no human being as a child, just supply, and every sign of having a mind of my own was punished really hard. Doing my thing, thinking about what I need and want and how to achieve that, was and is important to me.
New lives don't just grow on trees, investing in me is a good thing.

It that what you meant with “build a new you”? Are there other people here in the community building a new life?

have a great day
Sidney

Hi Sidney

The PTSD Loop is part of the Tutorial PSTEC for PTSD for Therapists. You can get that here. It assumes some familiarity with PSTEC products including Cascade Release, therefore recommended for therapists, but is available to all at $37. Tim is the only person who could authorize getting and distributing just the Loop part.

Peter