nature – Eyes On Trauma

Kindling Space is Happening

Time for another little update! I’ve been enjoying a lot of campfires lately, both alone and with friends, for fun and to cook on. ?

It’s really grounding me and proving to be exactly the therapy I need at the moment. Nothing else comes close (OK, maybe jumping in the cold English sea in October!). Nature is absolutely the best, and I have written more here about how the flickering flames of fire are nature’s version of EMDR.

I’ve already made some amazing progress with taking this further and setting up the non-clinical, trauma-informed safe crisis space that we need, with a campfire at the heart, that I wrote about the other day.

And now it has a name: Kindling Space. ✨

The beautiful drawing is a gift from @whispering_earth, a wonderful inspiration

I posted about it online in a local Facebook group, and within 24 hours I was absolutely overwhelmed with support from over 200 of my peers who, like us, desperately need something like this.

Many commented that they have similarly struggled with their own lifelong mental health battles and have never found the right help. Others are professionals, qualified therapists, and even work for the local mental health services, and still also see the need for this.

It’s equally sad there are so many of us who do need this, but I’m more convinced than ever that the time is now right to build it. And I’m going to make it happen.

I’ve already managed to gather a strong group of 22 local peers (and growing!), with relevant skills & lived experience who really want to help build this safe space that we need. Let me know if you are near Brighton, UK and would also like to be part of this group, contributing ideas & skills to help set it up.

Even if you’re not local, I’ll continue to share any progress we make to hopefully inspire similar initiatives in communities further afield. Every town, village and city needs a Kindling Space.

I’m also more inspired than ever to carry on raising awareness of complex trauma via the content & resources I usually create, continuing to help you on your healing journey wherever you are.

I wish for every community in the world to have a Kindling Space for those of us who need it, and hope to see you by a fireside one day wherever you are. ???✨

P.S. Yes, they are toe socks! Another new favourite, to go with the barefoot shoes. So unbelievably good for reconnecting to your body & the earth, as nature intended, and something I already can’t live without.

Flickering Fire is Nature’s EMDR

Have you heard of EMDR? You probably have, because it’s the latest ‘revolutionary’ therapy in the field of mental health.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) is not a talk therapy. Instead, the basic premise is that you move your eyes from side to side, whilst thinking of a troubling event or the feelings related to it. You can do this in person with a trained therapist, you can do it online with a therapist’s support, or even by yourself.

There is a proven link between our eyes, and their connection to how the brain stores memories. We already know this from Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, the dream stage.

Growing evidence is showing us that EMDR helps the brain process traumatic memories. This evidence means it is quickly becoming the go-to therapy for trauma.

But do you know what is truly revolutionary?

Realising that EMDR is nothing new at all. Psychiatry cannot take credit for it. We don’t need professionals for this, or another acronym.

I’m not saying that it doesn’t work. It clearly does.

But why? Where did it come from? Why are we only just discovering it?

Recently, I sat in the dark, a candle lit in front of me. I’ve been having a tough time again lately – the trauma healing journey is not a linear one by any means – and a very negative thought came to my mind.

But as I kept my focus on the candle, flame flickering from side to side, the negative thought disappeared. I tried to hold onto it, but it was gone.

I realised that my eyes were following the flickering flame of the candle, just as they would an LED light in a therapist’s office, or a pixelated ball bouncing across a computer screen.

Fire. Nature’s version of EMDR.

Or more to the point, EMDR is psychiatry’s version of nature’s flickering flame.

Humans have always experienced trauma. But we used to live in tribes, villages, communities. We used to come together every day around the fire to share stories, cook, socialise and dream.

Trauma is culturally mediated. In the west, we are told by our family & friends to deal with it alone, go to see “professionals”, pay lots of money for 50-minute sessions, week after week.

What if nature has all the answers already? And all we really need is to stand by a fire, alongside our peers, supported in community? No pixels required.

Our disconnection from ourselves, each other and nature is a key part of trauma. And it’s completely left out of modern mental health care. Coupled together, it’s why so many of us are struggling today, and failing to find the help we need.

The need for non-clinical trauma-informed crisis spaces and healing communities is clear.

It’s time to build it.

Let’s start with the fire. ??✨

Book Review: The Hidden Life of Trees – P. Wohlleben

Title:	The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate
Author:	Peter Wohlleben
Year:	2018
Importance:	5/5
Accessibility:	5/5
Recommended:	5/5

Trees? A book about trees, on a website about trauma? Yep. I think that one of the systemic reasons behind trauma includes the loss of community and connection with nature that humans have evolved to rely upon.

This book gives us wonderful insights into the hidden life of trees – you’ll never be able to look at one in the same way again.

Alongside sheer entertainment and education factor, this book is particularly great to read if you’re on a bit of a recovery journey right now. It remind us how powerful nature is, how much compassion is present within nature, and how all of the reasons for everything to do with life are there all along.

There are so many parallels you can draw to your own journeys with complex trauma. This book really empowers you to embrace the awe-inspiring force no greater than nature.

And, it goes some way to putting our lives into perspective and bringing out a greater mindful consciousness – some trees are hundreds and hundreds of years old.

So, there’s no better cliche: we all need to get back to our roots, and this book is a great way to take a break from the trauma books but still be inspired.

Have you read this book too? Share your thoughts in the comments below.