Recovery from Coercive Control

Please note this practice should only be done if you have practiced mindfulness for some time.

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

Saira has created these mindfulness practices for you to try.

You're best starting with the shorter ones. And just bring them in a few times a week.

It can be hard breaking the patterns of our lives to begin spending time doing these exercises, but it is worth the trouble.

Your mind is going to wander during these practices. Don't worry, it's what minds do and the work with mindfulness is when you notice your mind is drifting and bring it back to the present and the practice.

Some discomfort and difficulty is expected because it is work. You are changing your neurological pathways and working on your attentional system, so bear that in mind when you're trying to decide if this is something that's going work for you.

These practices from Saira are all trauma sensitive.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

After a crisis everything can feel like a big ball of distress. Everything feels as though it is spilling out and it can be hard to make sense of what is happening internally.

To help with this Saira uses mindfulness.

In this episode she explains what mindfulness is and why it's so helpful in recovery from a psychological perspective.

Of course as with every tool in the recovery toolkit it doesn't work for everybody. Trust your judgment and intuition.

• Amishi Jha - This is the podcast by Amishi Jha mentioned by Saira in this episode
• Resources & Free Audio Practices - Oxford Mindfulness Foundation - These are the resources from the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation mentioned by Saira in this episode.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

Much of the research around survivors of coercive control is grim and dark according to Saira.

So in this episode she is sharing her thoughts around post-traumatic growth.

Of course survivors, including Saira herself, have been through grim and dark times but they also have a real strength.

Having said that it's important to note that post-traumatic growth does not mean that the crisis or the trauma that was experienced was worth experiencing in any shape or form, but the gains that happened were an unintended consequence of this horrific event.

• Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

For people on the outside of abusive relationships it can be very confusing to see survivors return to the person who has harmed them.

And it's often confusing for the survivor too, this desire or urge to go back to the person who has hurt them.

In this episode Saira examines why this might happen.

• Harlow YouTube Video - This is the monkey experiment that Saira talks about in this episode. Please note these you may find the experiments upsetting.
• ALEXANDRA STEIN Ph.D. Understanding Cults and Extremist Groups - storage - In her book Terror Love and Brainwashing, Alexandra Stein explains how in this confused state, this disorganized attachment that's created that we can't think clearly. And internally there's a conflict. That causes one to collapse mentally, and we're more easily prone to adopt what others around us are telling us, because psychologically it's just easier.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan

Saira Khan is a psychologist and a human rights advocate.

Her area of interest is in mental health and recovery from trauma. She's also has lived experience of coercive control.

In this episode Saira introduces herself and explains why she has created this podcast series.

We hope this podcast has been helpful in your journey to understanding what has happened to you and provided some new insights and perhaps, hopefully even helped you feel less alone.

Any feedback, helpful suggestions or ideas on what you would like to hear more about are very welcome.

Please get in touch on email [email protected] or via the website mendality.com

Copyright 2024 Saira Khan