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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by littleone on January 19, 2007, at 17:16:46
Today I am going shopping to buy a couple of items to make up a real life safe place in my home. I am really looking forward to it.
A while ago I drew my perfect imaginary safe place. It was very interesting to see not only what went into it, but also to see what was left out of it. Very interesting. The book "Got Parts" has some really nice examples of safe place drawings.
I thought it might be nice to hear of various imaginary (or real) safe places.
My imaginary safe place was wonderful. It had an indoor section with a big magical library. I just had to think of a topic and the shelves would magically fill with books about that subject.
It had a magical teleportal link to my T's office. So I could immediately go there any time I wanted.
It had an art and craft work area with lots of kitty cats to comfort me.
It had beautiful paintings on the walls.
It had a huge bed piled high with quilts and pillows and was the perfect nest for journalling, reading, napping, etc.
The outdoor area was amazing. There was a giant rocky mountain to climb and explore. There were meandering paths through a beautiful cottage garden filled with birds and butterflies and interesting insects. There was a track down to the beach where I could build sandcastles or explore rock pools or go paddling.
There was a swing set and lots of kitties sleeping in various nooks and crannies. And lots and lots of birds to watch and have visit me.
The whole place was surrounded by a forcefield so no one could get in and I had something there to protect me. I can't remember if it was a dragon or a lion. But the protecting creature loved me very much and kept me very safe.
What does your safe place look like?
Posted by Tamar on January 19, 2007, at 18:45:42
In reply to A Safe Place, posted by littleone on January 19, 2007, at 17:16:46
Your safe place sounds wonderful. What a great idea!
I don't have a safe place, but I have a safety box. It's quite small, but inside it I have a couple of music CDs and little printouts of a few of my favourite paintings and some photos of friends. I'm on the look-out for a special candle to put in it and I'm planning to make a small rag-doll that represents my inner kid, so I can cuddle it when she needs a cuddle. It's a bit of a work in progress. Now I have to find a place to put it that's out of reach of my children but not so high that I can't reach it myself!
Posted by Daisym on January 19, 2007, at 22:37:14
In reply to Re: A Safe Place » littleone, posted by Tamar on January 19, 2007, at 18:45:42
I love your safe place, littleone. And I like the idea of a safe box, Tamar.
I want that teleporting tube ASAP.
I've been able to establish my first ever safe place over the past 9 months. The house itself is a haven - I even have a library -- but my safe place is my room. It is just mine, and I've been able to decorate it exactly like I want. I have flowered chairs that sit in the corner and a thick bed-spread embroidered with roses. I have my favorite books on the shelves by the bed and a vase full of Daisies. It is frilly and girlie and off of my room is a deck and the garden. It is a nice place to rest and heal. I have an old fashion nightlight too, which makes waking from the nightmares not quite so bad.
It isn't perfect yet, but nothing bad has ever happened in my room. I tell my therapist often I wish he could see it. It reveals a side of me that would surprise him.
Posted by bil on January 20, 2007, at 5:11:43
In reply to A Safe Place, posted by littleone on January 19, 2007, at 17:16:46
Hello, Littleone-
I have a safe place that I go to when I'm doing meditations... it's a cottage with a thatched roof, in the middle of a garden with a very high stone wall around it- the wall has a big strong oak door, with old-fashioned iron bolts that I can lock if I feel i need to.In the garden is a wolf, and a German shepherd dog... (they guard it when I'm not there), inside the cottage is a black Persian cat. The inside of the cottage is quite simple, with an oak chest with iron locks, (I don't know what's in that yet!) candles, flowers, cushions.
I did a painting of it once. :-)
Bil
Posted by Poet on January 20, 2007, at 9:51:28
In reply to A Safe Place, posted by littleone on January 19, 2007, at 17:16:46
Hi Littleone,
My imaginary safe (still hate that word) place is an isolated cottage on the ocean in Hawaii. It has a huge porch overlooking the ocean and I sit out there with my cats and watch the waves.
My real safe place is a room in my house that is all mine. It has Hawaiian print curtains and pillow cases, wind chimes, a real tropical plant, silk tropical flowers, my gekko, any cats who wander in, usually the oldest one as she sleeps on the futon, books, and my notebook computer.
Poet
Posted by littleone on January 21, 2007, at 23:02:59
In reply to A Safe Place, posted by littleone on January 19, 2007, at 17:16:46
Thank you for sharing your safe places (and box) with me. They all sound so wonderful and special. Having a safe place can make such a difference. I’ve only recently started to understand that feeling safe is a real need and learning to recognise when I feel unsafe.
Safety has been on my mind so much recently. I felt very unsafe at home with my husband. He gets mad a lot and then I tend to see him as my dad. I have a lot of trouble seeing him as himself. So I’ve found that my need for a safe place has been very great lately.
It’s interesting how I desperately need a screen or something for my real life safe place. I need to be huddled into a corner to feel safe. One day my T’s daughter walked into my T’s waiting room and it totally terrified me (I think that I’ll disintegrate/vaporise if we are together). So I scurried into one of the other offices there and huddled in the corner until my T found me later on.
So it’s interesting that my safe place (real or imaginary) can never be round or open. Has to have corners.
And hidden behind lounge chairs or under tables is safe too.
Sometimes I wonder what healthy kids find safe. If they need corners and chairs, or if their idea of safe is being held in their mother’s arms or something.
I find it hard to talk about safety. It so easily leads to unsafe places. I’m sorry if this isn’t a safe thread anymore.
I painted my little bookcase in a pretty soothing lilac colour. It’s very pretty. And nothing like the rest of my house. It’s just for my special safe place. And I got a couple of the Willow Tree statues. They have so much feeling in them. I have my papasan which is like a soft comfy nest and I just need a little box for my art supplies and a little low table to draw at. I wish I could have found a screen to hide away my little corner. I found a really pretty feather yesterday.
This is the end of the thread.
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