Picking a theme for bomb blast witnesses!

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This was discussed in the last forum call and as always I was wondering :thinking:

This stayed with me, like I was actually going to have a session for such clients. Here’s what I felt and decided to share-

Both @kobrakulsh Supritee &@vikrantsharma.sap Vikrant have witnessed Bomb blasts at some point in their lives and now both have a fear of crowded places, and both process it differently because both of em are different people with different personalities and thought processing system. So the question was how to pick a theme for such clients?

I feel when a client has witnessed a bomb blast and is now afraid of crowded places, it’s crucial to chase the EMOTION that stayed with em.The bomb blast is what happened. The fear, helplessness, panic, or feeling of being unsafe is what stayed behind. That emotional imprint is what guides the session. Instead of focusing on the explosion, ask the client, “What do you feel when you think about being in a crowd?” or “If you could describe that feeling in one word, what would it be?” Their answer often reveals the real theme.

Some people may say, “I feel trapped,” while another says, “I don’t feel safe,” or “I feel powerless.” Even though both witnessed the similar event, their one-word themes are different because each person experiences trauma differently.

The true theme lies in the emotion that still lives within them. We can help em asking gentle questions such as, “What do you feel when you imagine being in a crowd?” or “If that feeling had just one word, what would it be?” The answer may be Unsafe, Trapped, Powerless, Helpless, or Terror. That one word becomes the doorway into the subconscious.

Two people can live through the similar event yet carry completely different emotional themes. One person may leave with the belief, “I’m not safe,” while another carries, “I have no control.” The therapist’s role is to listen deeply until the client’s emotional truth emerges in their own words. When we follow the feeling instead of the story, the subconscious often leads us to the origin of that emotional pattern.

Thank you!

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@hc2101 ,

Main issue arises when we suppress these emotions. After some time conscious mind hide this in some layer of our memories

I witnessed these instances 3 - 4 times and always after 15 - 20 days everything was normal

Not sure, hiw this suppressed memories impact us

Br

Vikrant

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Harmeet… reading your post took me back to that day.:heart:

Amit and I were there in Central Market that day, just moments before the blast. Even today, after so many years, neither of us can explain what happened. It still feels as though some unseen force threw us away from that place just in time. We often look at each other and ask,

*"*How were we saved? … and Why us?"

We still don’t have an answer.

What stayed with me is not just the memory of the blast…it is the feeling still living inside me. For years, crowded places didn’t feel the same. My mind knows I am safe, but the body remembers something else…

This is why I completely resonate with what you have written. The incident may only be the outer story, but the real story is the emotion that gets imprinted within us. Two people can witness the same tragedy and yet carry two entirely different emotional wounds.

I believe as therapists, our job is not to assume what the client is carrying but to help them discover it in their own words.

One more thing I’ve learnt through my own journey is that healing begins the moment a client feels deeply heard, without judgment or interpretation. When we patiently follow the feeling instead of the event, the subconscious may naturally takes us to the place which is asking to be healed.

Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful reflection and I know it will help many therapists look beyond the incident and connect with the person’s unique emotional experience. :folded_hands::folded_hands:

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@Harmeet…

In a cases like this, I as therapist may not pick the theme based on the bomb blast. I will pick based on the dominant unresolved emotional imprint which still exists in present as the blast may be the triggering event, not necessarily the theme.

Me as therapist, for my client, I will first explore …

what emotion arises first…

the worst part of that memory for them…

what stayed with them in one word…

and

what changed inside them after that incident…

Then I would observe not just the words, but the physiology, voice, breathing, pauses and emotional intensity.

The theme will depend on their answers

In my own case, in my self healing sittings, I always explored

"Who saved us?

and

Why were we saved?"

and the unresolved theme was never fear…in fact it was always searching for meaning, the divine protection and the survival with unanswered questions…

This is very different from someone whose dominant emotion is terror.

This is why Harmeet your point is so so important that two people can witness the same bomb blast but require completely different themes in regression.

So, we should not choose the theme from the event, but from the emotion that still has energy in the present.

Coz the subconscious never heals events, it heals the meaning and the emotional imprint attached to these events.

Once we discover what still hurts, scares or remained unanswered in present, the correct theme usually may reveal itself naturally.

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@Vikrant, this is a very valid point.

I feel not every traumatic incident necessarily becomes a lifelong subconscious wound. Sometimes our mind and body process the experience naturally, especially when we have enough emotional support and resilience.

But in some people, even when life appears “normal” after a few weeks, the nervous system may still be carrying something quietly in the background. It may show up years later as avoiding crowds, feeling hyper-alert, unexplained anxiety or a strong emotional reaction to certain sounds or situations.

This is why, as therapists, rather than assuming the memory is suppressed or unresolved, I feel it’s always better to stay curious and let the client’s present-day symptoms guide us. If there’s no emotional charge left, there is nothing to chase.

But if the body or emotions still react, the subconscious usually has something more to say.

Thank you for sharing your experience. These discussions speaks of every person’s journey with trauma is unique and this is what makes our work so fascinating. :folded_hands:

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May be we suppress our feelings and get away with telling ourselves that it doesn’t impact us? Or I’m a strong person it doesn’t affect me? Being numb to feeling/supressing? How does it change us in the long run. Some people do not feel anything but for some people their mind shuts down the whole thing simply to protect em. So the key is to find the difference. That’s another question :woman_raising_hand: sometimes I feel, I have to go back in my life bit by bit and check for the bugs in my system to reboot my self for a better version? Or leave it alone to enjoy the present version of me with all the mistakes, regrets and update? Acceptance is the key here! Whatever you want to do, or be!

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@kobrakulsh Supritee, I feel you. Coming out of something that horrific is not easy and many a people experience PTSD and for em Life doesn’t stay or feel the same. Both you and your husband are lucky to have each other. You have the clarity to address and process the issue for both of you and that’s a blessing.

Yes, chasing the emotions here is the key and it may have many layers to it and everyone is going to process that in their own way but admitting that you need help is the first step and mostly people fail there. Some people are more verbal and expressive and they keep telling the incident to others repeatedly until it becomes just another story to em and they can recall it without feeling anything. And some more sensitive people just can’t process and it changes them completely. They lack coping mechanisms. So I don’t know, but everyone processes in their own way.

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Harmeet, thank you so much :heart:

What you said really make sense to me, especially that everyone processes trauma in their own way…soooo true.

N you are right… sometimes it’s not the incident, but the emotions that remain stuck afterwards.

I am truely grateful that my husband and I have each other, and am equally grateful for this community where we can share without being judged.

Thank you once again for your understanding :heart::folded_hands:

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@Harmeet,

This line

“checking for bugs in my system” :ok_hand::ok_hand::blush:

even I do this sometimes. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Personally, I feel we don’t have to go looking for every memory, but if something from the past is still affecting our present, then maybe it’s worth understanding and healing. Otherwise, acceptance is beautiful too.:heart:

I guess it’s all about finding that balance between healing, what needs healing and accepting what has made us who we are today.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

They really got me thinking. :heart:

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Stuck emotions are caused by us catching hold through the will of a person.
so that we go to the past and help them to release the painful emotions and fill with happy light as healers. :face_without_mouth: