We shared episode ten to talk about different kinds of insiders, and explore a little bit about the different kinds of roles or jobs some of these alters have. But sometimes, there are crossover moments that don’t always pan out quite as expected. Here’s what happened one day when our littles decided to “make supper” in effort to help (and play):
Our special guest in Episode Nine is Colin A. Ross, MD.
Colin A. Ross, M.D completed medical school at the University of Alberta and his psychiatry training at the University of Manitoba in Canada. He is a Past President of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, and is the author of over 220 papers and 30 books. He has spoken widely throughout North America and Europe, and in China, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. He has been a keynote speaker at many different conferences, and has reviewed for over 30 different professional journals.
Dr. Ross is the Director of hospital-based Trauma Programs in Denton, Texas, Torrance, California and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He provides weekly cognitive therapy groups at all three locations, in person in Texas and by video-conference in Michigan and California. He has been running a hospital Trauma Program in the Dallas area since moving to Texas in 1991.
Dr. Ross’ books cover a wide range of topics. His clinical books focus on trauma and dissociation and include: Dissociative Identity Disorder. Diagnosis, Clinical Features and Treatment of Multiple Personality, Second Edition (1997); Schizophrenia: Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment (2004); The Trauma Model: A Solution to the Problem of Comorbidity in Psychiatry (2007); Trauma Model Therapy: A Treatment Approach for Trauma Dissociation and Complex Comorbidity (2009); Structural Dissociation: A Proposed Modification of the Theory (2013); and Treatment of Dissociative Identity Disorder: Techniques and Strategies for Stabilization (2018).
Dr. Ross has published a series of treatment outcome studies in peer-reviewed journals, which provide evidence for the effectiveness of Trauma Model Therapy. Many of his papers involve large series of cases, with original research data and statistical analyses, including a paper entitled ‘Trauma and Dissociation in China” in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Besides his clinical psychiatry interests, Dr. Ross has published papers and books on cancer and human energy fields, as well as literary works including essays, fiction, poetry and screenplays. He has several different hobbies including travel.
Here is where, at the very beginning of this video, he shares his story of how he learned about dissociation and became interested in studying it and aware of the need to publish about it:
CLICK HERE for the link to his research website, the Colin Ross Institute.
CLICK HERE for the new Trauma Education Essentials website for clinicians, including a newsletter, webinars, and trainings, which Dr. Ross is doing with his daughter, Dr. Dana Ross.
CLICK HERE for more information about his inpatient treatment programs.
We are are so excited to be sponsoring the upcoming AIM Healing Conference!
WE WILL BE THERE, YOU GUYS!
Not only that, but to help get you ready for the conference, we will be interviewing some of the speakers who will be there!
It’s all so exciting! CLICK HERE for information about the conference!
It’s coming up in February, and it will be in Orlando. AHHHHH!!!!!!
We just sent out COURAGE medals to all our patrons who became Little Bears in November!
Thank you for all your support, and we are excited to see your medal pictures!
Share them with us here or on social media. Thanks for playing!
If you are not a Little Bear yet, and want to join the club, CLICK HERE.
Emma did her first podcast today, and read through some of her journals from this week. One thing it really brought up was how much she is struggling with nightmares and flashbacks. We needed some serious self care after doing that podcast, so she set herself up in our favorite chair with some hot chocolate, some journals, some essential oils diffusing, and some favorite books. It’s called “grounding”!
Grounding techniques often use the five senses - sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight - to immediately connect you with the here and now. For example, singing a song, rubbing lotion on your hands, or sucking on some sour candy are all grounding techniques that produce sensations that are difficult to ignore or distract you from what's going on in your mind. This helps you directly and instantaneously connect with the present moment.
Here are some ideas!
Sound:
Turn up the radio or blast your favorite song.
Talk out loud about what you see, hear, or what you're thinking or doing.
Call a loved one.
Put on some nature sounds such as birds chirping or waves crashing.
Read out loud, whether it's a favorite children's book, a blog article, or the latest novel.
Touch:
Hold an ice cube and let it melt in your hand.
Put your hands under running water.
Take a hot or cool shower.
Grab an article of clothing, a blanket, or a towel and knead it in your hands or hold it to your cheek.
Concentrate on what it feels like.
Rub your hand lightly over the carpet or a piece of furniture, noting the texture.
Pop some bubble wrap.
Massage your temples.
If you have a dog or cat, cuddle and pet him or her.
Drink a hot or cold beverage.
Smell:
Sniff strong peppermint, which also has the benefit of having a soothing effect.
Light a scented candle or melt scented wax.
Get some essential oils that remind you of good times (freshly cut grass, rain, clean laundry, or sugar cookies, for example) and smell one.
Taste:
Bite into a lemon or lime.
Suck on a mint or chew peppermint or cinnamon gum.
Take a bite of a pepper or some hot salsa.
Let a piece of chocolate melt in your mouth, noticing how it tastes and feels as you roll it around with your tongue.
Sight:
Take a mental inventory of everything around you, such as all the colors and patterns you see, the sounds you hear, and the scents you smell.
Saying this out loud is helpful too.
Count all the pieces of furniture around you.
Put on your favorite movie or TV show.
Play a distracting game on your tablet, computer, or smartphone.
Complete a crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search, or other puzzle.
Read a book or magazine.
When Dr. E gave her episode two podcast information about trauma and the shame theory, here are some of the references she used. We hope all you nerdy types enjoy! We are so glad it was helpful!
Several of us talk about “NTIS” in our podcasts because it is such a big deal for us. It has really helped so much! It’s a great tip for learning to separate “memory time” and “now time”. That can be really hard to do with dissociation, and we are so grateful for our T for coming up with it.
NTIS stands for “Now Time is Safe”.
It helps us remember that some of those bad memories, that can so often feel so very present like it is happening right now, is really in the past.
We have already been through the hard part.
That was memory-time.
But now, in the present, in now-time, we are safe. Our husband and children are safe. Our house is safe. Our T is safe. Her office is safe. We are safe.
NTIS!
We were all surprised by John’s podcast in episode three, which was hilarious, but we are so glad he joined in!
Here is a picture of John and the littles stomping through the snow.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Okay, so maybe it isn’t MY podcast, but I am so excited!
I think (I hope??!!) this will be a good way to reach out to people, or at least a new way to reach out to people. We are super crazy busy trying to keep up with real life, outside kids, and DID, so don’t get very much time to sit and watch videos. The videos were awesome, but we just don’t have time to sit and watch very many very often. I wondered if other people had the same problem, and so have been searching for podcasts that share about DID. When I couldn’t find very many, I decided to try doing one! It’s a big deal, way outside our comfort zone, and super scary. But we are trying it!
I am so freaking proud of us!
It’s also kind of the first time we have worked together at ANYTHING, so that’s good for us, too.
We maybe will also learn from each other as we go, so that’s my idea!
Here we go!
Love, Sasha
P.S. Lots of people asked us about the bear. Our T gave it to us! We love it!
