Floods!

Flooding:
“The covering or submerging of normally dry land with a large amount of water”.

To be flooded, to have far too much of something suddenly arrive and immerse you. Submerge you. Flood you. And where that something is generally unwanted, unexpected, and not terribly useful whether in and of itself, or in the amount it has arrived in. Too much, too soon, too quickly.

Flooding is also a term known within the psychological realms.
From tutor2u.net – “A more extreme behavioural therapy is flooding. Rather than exposing a person to their phobic stimulus gradually, a person is exposed to the most frightening situation immediately.
For example, a person with a phobia of dogs would be placed in a room with a dog and asked to stroke the dog straight away.
With flooding, a person is unable to avoid (negatively reinforce) their phobia and through continuous exposure, anxiety levels decrease.
Flooding can take one of two forms:
• in vivo (actual exposure), or
• in vitro (imaginary exposure)
A patient is taught relaxation techniques (see above) and these techniques are then applied to the most feared situation either through direct exposure, or imagined exposure.”

However, as the article goes on the explore, this form of therapy is highly traumatic – placing a person in a situation which causes the greatest fear and anxiety can only really provoke the highest of fear and anxiety experiences.

In terms of usefulness for phobias, it may prove to be useful and swift – hypothetically, if we have ‘picked up’ a fear of spiders from watching our parent react with fear, then perhaps discovering for ourselves by direct exposure that nothing dreadful happens when in the presence of a harmless spider could well reset our fear reaction back to a more manageable level. The brain learning very quickly that such a red alert response to even a picture of a spider isn’t necessary, so rather than utter panic, we have the option of choosing to leave the room in a more controlled fashion, as our rational brain remains ‘online’.

When we are facing rather more complex matters of PTSD and completely reasonable responses to trauma, then this form of behavioural therapy may not prove to be of much use.

The very real experiences of threat to life and Personhood that accompany abuse and violence and military service have meant that the brain is acutely aware of threats anyway, and is geared up for keeping us safe.
In some matters, and for many people, flashbacks are a reality in everyday life.

Where the trauma was so severe, or repeated so often, the re-experiencing of the traumatic event can continue to be relived in the here and now, especially when there is a trigger that the brain automatically recognises. The back-brain takes over and then proceeds to act to keep us safe – flight, fight, freeze, fawn. The rational brain has no choice, and is effectively sidelined.

To try to confront trauma and trauma triggers in a manner of flooding can lead to re-traumatising events, adding to the difficulties faced and including guilt or resignation about how unable-to-be-helped they are….

Where shame and guilt have come along for the ride along with trauma, then I would suggest that trying to feel better by sitting in group therapy where others have sight of us in our shame and guilt could lead to increasing the feelings of exposure, fear and shame – thus, the effort to reduce difficult emotions may not be effective here.

There is a great need for the facilitator to hold an exquisite level of safety and care in such a group of differing people so that the exposure of painful emotions doesn’t simply reinforce the trauma.

In matters where painful emotions have been fuelling anger, any effort to trigger the anger as a flood, to fully experience the rages we can all have access to, could prove unhelpful and possibly dangerous. Especially where the person is a veteran and has training in combat. To trigger the rage here might be comparable to teasing the lion, and if the rational brain goes offline with a trauma response, then the rational brain will not be monitoring or controlling.

If you have found any efforts to get help have lead you to group work that you found puzzling and not-for-you, or if you have experienced any form of “you just need to feel it, all of it”, ‘just-let-it-all-out’ encouragement to dive into the flood, and found that to be scary or concerning, then please do get in touch with a trauma aware therapist like myself.
Life can be easier, better, and less horrid.

Rosalyn Young is a qualified mental health nurse with 30 years
Experience in govt and private agencies helping those in crisis
and in recovery. She has studied counselling to degree level,
and specialises in working with survivors of childhood abuse
and neglect, PTSD, DID, and emotional regulation problems.
She lives in Lincolnshire with her husband and a variety of
companion animals, is a keeper of bees, brewer of mead, and student of
growing things in the garden.
Contact her on 07906260310, or email contact@timeforcounselling.co.uk