Self-help technique: Rescripting

Accepting applications for psychological assistance, it is necessary to note that almost 32% of people who applied do not have the possibility of constant access to means of communication (telephone, Internet).

What does this mean? First of all, the fact that Ukrainians were deprived of the opportunity to live a normal life, the simplest forms of communication are now not available.

We suggest not to despair, and to find a way out even in such conditions. A notebook and a pen can also be excellent tools for emergency psychological self-help.

We have already published material called "LETTER TO OURSELVES IN 10 YEARS", we will try to supplement this topic.

With the help of self-correspondence, you can not only lay out what happened. Writing allows you to transform events. You can rewrite the event as you please: change the ending, give yourself strength or helpers, rewrite your reaction. The brain doesn't care how things really happened, it doesn't care how you perceived it. And you can work with this perception.

Choose the situation you would like to work out. Let it be something that does not cause too painful feelings (for example, the experience of violence or recent loss is best worked out together with a psychotherapist). Imagine and start writing your old story with a new ending.

Imagine a person (real or fictional) who could give you now what was needed then. Describe on paper her image.

Remember the situation as it actually happened. At any moment, you can press the imaginary "Stop" button and the scene will stop.

Once what's going on is dead, you can transform it. For example, call for help from a defender and see how he comes and changes the situation in your favor. Detail this process on paper.

Specify whether all your needs have been met. Evaluate how your character feels in an imaginary situation as a result of playing an alternative scenario. Was he satisfied, or did he need anything else? You can add actions that help. For example, the defender, having coped with the threat, approached you, hugged you and offered to take care of you.

Once the new scenario is described on paper, move on to reality. Do yourself something of the defender's actions. For example, brew yourself delicious hot tea, wrap yourself in a blanket and lie down, addressing yourself with words of care, like a defender from your story.

With this rescripting, you can artificially create an alternative experience of the past - and thus affect your self-perception in the present and your relationships with other people.