Time Orientation – Time

When doing work with trauma, we often talk about trauma time.

Trauma time refers to how people (or parts/alters) who’ve gone through trauma can get stuck in thinking and reacting as though they are still in that period of their lives when the trauma was actively occurring.

This can range from a full reliving, such as a flashback, to seeing others as dangerous (like the abusers), or feeling really young (like you were when the was occurring).

Trauma time is feeling like you are still there-and-then, instead of here-and-now.

One way to cope with this is to help your nervous system reconnect with the here-and-now by utilizing time orientation skills.

This involves reminding yourself of how different things are in the here-and-now, compared to the there-and-then.

There are several different categories of time orientation skills: time, distance, power, choice, & comfort.

In the category of time this might look like reminding yourself how old you are now, reminding yourself what year it is, or how many years it’s been since you got out of that traumatizing situation.

Brainstorm ideas of what might remind you of how much time has passed since the trauma.

Maybe it’s looking at your driver’s license or ID card, maybe it’s a degree/certificate/title you’ve earned since that time.

Maybe look at your cell phone at the date.

Maybe it’s noticing if your ears are pierced, you wear a wedding ring, or some other adult form of jewelry.

Do you carry a wallet/purse of an adult or a child?

Maybe take a look at your hand and notice how much bigger it is than when you were young, notice any wrinkles, age spots or other evidence of time having passed since the trauma.

Notice how tall you are compared to how tall you were when the trauma was happening.

Remember, not all of these ideas will resonate with you. That’s okay, the important part is finding the ones that do work for you and using those when you notice that you’re reacting or responding from a place of trauma time.