In order to feel safety in the present, we need to first learn how to differentiate past from present. This can be challenging when a trigger or flashback of a past trauma memory resurfaces.
Emma Sunshaw talks about this concept with the terms “Now Time Is Safe Time (NTIS)” vs. “Memory Time.”
“Now Time Is Safe Time (NTIS)” vs. “Memory Time.”
“Memory Time” refers to the time in which the trauma occurred. When someone gets triggered by something from the past, it can take them right back to old feelings and sensations to the time of the trauma.
Reminding yourself that “Now Time is Safe Time” can be a way to orient back to 2022. Name what you see, hear, smell, taste, and feel in the present moment. Name the people in your life currently whom you’ve chosen to keep in your life. What other resources do you have today that you didn’t in the past? Perhaps a pet? Spirituality? Your own space? Privacy? Support groups? Whatever it is to help you differentiate back them from now.
Healing is possible
