Somatic Practices for Disintegrative Crisis — Breakdowns to Breakthroughs examination

Eleven questions. Nine of eleven passes, and you can take it again as often as you like.

Why does the chapter say the mind cannot stabilise you during a disintegrative crisis?

Because the mind is permanently damaged by the crisis Because the mind is the very structure being reorganised Because thinking always makes anxiety measurably worse Because the mind is less intelligent than the body is
How does the chapter describe the nervous system's reading of identity dissolution?

It recognises dissolution as healthy growth and relaxes into it It largely ignores psychological change and carries on as before It treats the loss of identity as a minor external inconvenience It reads the loss of self-structure as a threat to survival itself
What misapplication of grounding does the chapter warn against in positive disintegration?

Using grounding to stop the experience rather than to sustain it Practising grounding only while standing rather than while sitting Grounding through the feet and legs instead of through the breath Grounding for longer than thirty seconds at any one time
Why is breath described as an autonomic bridge?

It is the only function controlled entirely by conscious will It connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain It is the only autonomic function that is both involuntary and voluntary It is regulated solely by the dorsal vagal branch of the autonomic nervous system
Someone in acute panic takes a normal inhale, a second short sip of air, then a long slow exhale, repeated two or three times. Which practice is this?

Coherent breathing Extended exhale breathing Vocal toning The physiological sigh
What is the longer-term benefit of daily coherent breathing at about 5.5 breaths per minute during extended disintegration?

It permanently eliminates all sympathetic activation in the body It gradually widens the window of tolerance by supporting HRV It speeds up the crisis so that the whole process ends sooner It replaces the need for grounding and other somatic practices
How does the chapter interpret involuntary trembling during disintegrative crisis?

As a symptom of anxiety that should be stopped as quickly as possible As clear proof that the person has entered traumatic fragmentation As the body discharging stored activation, like a gazelle after escape As a sign of an underlying weakness in the person's nervous system
According to the chapter, what distinguishes safe tremoring in positive disintegration from traumatic overwhelm?

Whether some witnessing awareness remains present throughout Whether the shaking occurs mainly in the legs or the upper body Whether the tremoring lasts more or less than about ten minutes Whether the episodes tend to happen during the day or at night
Why does the chapter recommend gentle, distributed pressure such as a weighted blanket?

It helps the brain map the body's boundaries while inner boundaries dissolve It prevents all trembling and spontaneous movement from occurring at all It raises the heart rate so that stored energy can be discharged faster It shuts down the senses so that no new sensory input can arrive
What does the chapter say about the temporal distortions people report during crisis?

They are cognitive errors that should be corrected with a calendar They show that the person is dissociating from an earlier, still unprocessed trauma They are somatic realities, as the old self's temporal signature dissolves with it They indicate that the crisis is almost over and will soon resolve
Which of these does the chapter list as a signal to seek help beyond self-directed somatic work?

Waves of trembling that come and go while the witnessing awareness stays intact Inability to meet basic needs such as eating, sleeping and hygiene Heightened sensitivity to sound and light Temporary changes in appetite during intense periods