Yellow Meadow - Boundary 1: Eleni ( a Leimonide nymph)

Originally my boundaries were in the Blue Meadow, which was part of Persephone's realm. Even though boundaries are now a part of the Green Zone since I need to use them daily, they will still be in a Blue Meadow, it will just be in a corner of the Green Zone.

However, Persephone can bring her boundaries with her when she goes to the Yellow Meadow to help Artemis with the dogs. The Yellow Meadow is also in the Green Zone, and is where Artemis starts to struggle with the dogs (emotions). I know I took it out of my plan awhile ago, but I just put it back in, lol.

I have now made my Yellow Meadow into a wetlands area where the river runs into the lake. It transitions from green grass to buttercups, which grow in wet areas. The dogs can run around in the buttercups and cause some trouble, but Artemis can still get them under control after awhile by using some strategies. These strategies are the Amnisades, river nymphs who are Artemis's handmaidens. 

This is when Persephone needs to come and help, and bring a boundary with her, or the dogs will go too far into the wetlands. Before, everyone ignored Artemis's struggles until it was too late. If the dogs go deeper into the wetlands, they get bogged down in the muck where the cat-tails grow. Because cat-tails grow tall and packed together, the further the dogs go, the more lost they get and the more panicked they become. Artemis wades in after them, but she has essentially no control over them.

Eventually the dogs start to get into sinkholes. Artemis tries to pull them out, but she herself begins to sink. This is where Persephone used to yank Artemis down to the underworld, leaving the dogs behind in the muck. 

Persephone's first boundary will be to protect herself and Artemis and the dogs from overwhelm. Boundary 1 keeps the dogs out of the cat-tails and sinkholes. The other goddesses are called to come and help.

Eleni is a Leimonide (a nymph of the marshes and watery wetland fields), and will be my personification of being swamped. If I can keep her in my mind, and run through the steps below, I might be able to stop the cPTSD shut down.

The steps look like this:

A) Identify the problem and the boundary needed. Ask "What is wrong?" and "Why/How is it wrong?"

Persephone will know that the problem is overwhelm when she can see that the self-care strategies from the buttercup section are not working. The overwhelm could be lifestyle (too busy, too tired, etc) or it could be emotions. The cues are withdrawal and feelings of  hopelessness.

The boundary here is to stop and visualize a fence, limiting access to the boggy section of the wetlands. This is the time to pull out the goddess book and go through everything, especially the safety plan (the green journey). 

B)  Reframe my thinking / positive self-talk

Artemis and her dogs come to help Persephone manage the emotions. They use a calming action with breathing and mantras to calm her down and reframe her negative thinking into positive / growth mindset thinking. They remind her that she is not alone. 

 

3. Clarify the situation with others, remind myself of the boundary and what I need to feel better, then do the work.

If it is life overwhelm, then redo my schedule, focusing on only the most urgent things and making 'me' a priority. I learned last time not to drop all of the social things - I became isolated and spiraled into freefall fast!

If it is emotion overwhelm, then getting outside and having some time to myself usually gives me the space I need to calm down enough to use strategies. Remembering that I am not alone is very important here.

Athena and Inyx share this step, using logic and love to talk it through with others - mostly because I have a huge problem with saying 'No'.

4. Hold the boundary - Pallas holds my negative reactions inside the boundary, and stops negative things from coming in and overwhelming me. As I learned in my sessions with Donna, the boundary is not a wall. It is a fence with gates, so things can still go in and out UNLESS I close the gate. I can also have more than one fence, some things can come in but only so far if I close the inner gate.

5. Recover from the stress of holding my boundary - the 3 charities and their Mom from Step 6 of the Apology Bridge. This is a step I often forget, this step-by-step plan should help.