I don’t know about you, but cost has been a barrier to entry for me in the past when it comes to therapy. An even bigger barrier is fear, shame, and the unknown, and the list goes on. There is a reason we avoid our pain! But we also know that the longer we avoid it, the more damage can be done. Again, been there done that!
So, I would like to hop on the Shauna Quigley band wagon here and introduce you to the concept of pre-therapy or the preparation stage of any therapeutic process, (including Trauma-Informed Coaching). There is a process that will ease you into your inner world on your own terms. And I am happy to guide the process in baby steps.
Step 1: Start thinking about your thinking (this is metacognition)
I just had the thought that I need to take a break and get some lunch. And then I ignored the thought and kept typing. Because I also have a bunch of thoughts going through my head about this article and I want to keep typing. So I press pause. What do I think about this thinking? I think I am not taking care of my body right now. So I pause and feel into my body, “am I really hungry? How hungry am i?” wait…breathe…feel my empty stomach.
This is an example. And yes, it also helped me to take a break. But the point was just to show you an example. It could be about anything. Pause and observe yourself and what you are thinking in the moment and think about those thoughts. Where might they be coming from and then…how do you feel about them. This moves you to the next step.
Step 2: Observe feelings about feelings
I definitely feel hungry. How do I feel about that feeling. It’s a bit of a nuisance right now so I feel agitated and distracted by it. I feel a competition inside of me between motivation to write, fear that I won’t be able to get back into flow if I stop, and hunger. Now the collective ME can make a choice. We choose to honor the body first as we realize that we will continue to be distracted anyway. End of writing session.