Dec 20 2008
Hello, My Fellow PTSDers!
So, you’re here. You’ve taken the first step toward beating this thing — you’re looking for answers, seeking help, reaching out. BRAVO!
But that is not enough.
Just going through the motions will not bring the ultimate relief. How do I know this? Because I had a very extreme, chronic case of PTSD for 25 years. Take all of the classic symptoms of nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, emotional numbing, etc. — and then mulitply them by impaired organ function, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia and a host of other undiagnosable physical symptoms that kept me running back to doctors annd hospitals for emergencies and tests. Don’t let my positive, upbeat perspective fool you. I KNOW YOU. I know how you feel, what you think, what you believe and how you suffer.
I also know that you can be healed. PTSD is not a terminal illness. Nor is it an untreatable mental state. There are great organizations and people out there to help us, but they cannot do anything unless and until we help ourselves.
So the question becomes: how badly do you want to be healed? If the answer is VERY BADLY!! Then you’ve come to the right place. Beginning today you must make the determination that you will do everything in your power to get rid of PTSD. Can you do that? Can you say, “I want to be well”? Louder then! This needs to become your mantra for the next year. And then, follow me.
Some facts about this blog:
1. It will post 3-4 times a week.
2. It will contain a prescriptive healing method that combines research, professional therapeutic input and tools, experiments and assignments for you to utilize on your path to healing.
3. I will be guiding you through a method that focuses on constructing your post-trauma identity. Being able to see ourselves outside of our traumas is the crux of healing; developing that self takes us on a journey that heals trauma’s wounds delivers us into a brand new life. (How do I know this? I DID IT.)
4. This blog will be a sort of Healing PTSD Bootcamp. The posts will be short, to the point and often require your action.
5. Your personal trauma will be irrelevant. Regardless of what you’ve survived, we can all heal together. I will not be focusing on or indulging in self-pity or any woe-is-me attitude. I think we’ve all done enough of that and it’s easy enough to find. It happens to be the last thing we need.
6. In our traumas we are all individual; in our PTSD we are all united – anyone can participate here. Anyone can learn, grow, evolve and heal.
7. If you want it to be, this can be a forum for healing and uniting. Feel free to email me anytime with thoughts, ideas, questions, etc. that I can explore in a post, and also toss out to the rest of the crew for insight, sharing and input.
OK, your first assignment is to make a list of all the wonderful things PTSD brings into your life. Can’t think of any? Well then, make a list of the top 10 things you hate about PTSD, all of those things that make your life miserable. This is the beginning of seeing where we are; only from there can we decide where we want to go.
(For more daily in-depth coverage of and resources for coping, living with and healing PTSD, click here.)
