Discussion on PTSD

[openozy]

22 hours ago, Jujo-jo said:

I dont categorize myself as being mentally ill, is that wrong?

Most mentally ill people don't, what you say you have been through gives you a reason to have PTSD,anyone would,so you should come through it ok.

[Jujo-jo]

58 minutes ago, simplybill said:

No, it’s not wrong at all. 

To me, it’s an indication that you’re on the path to recovery. In that statement, you declared war on the malignant thoughts and emotions that have been beating up on you. 

“I don’t categorize myself as mentally ill.” That thought will be an anchor for you, to keep you grounded when the negative thoughts attack. You’ve found hope for the future. 

Well that makes me feel better, thank you! It stands to reason as well.

[simplybill]

On 1/5/2020 at 9:39 PM, Jujo-jo said:

It made me concerned and I am now wondering if they're going to get worse as I age?

I don’t know why I think that but I just do and I guess if that is the case than I might want to talk to the doc and see about a different medication plan.

I was looking back at your posts and noticed this (the bolded part). It looks to me like another sign of healing. In the situation you were in, did your abuser make you feel that your thinking was all wrong, or that you were incapable of making a rational decision? 

[Jujo-jo]

2 minutes ago, simplybill said:

I was looking back at your posts and noticed this (the bolded part). It looks to me like another sign of healing. In the situation you were in, did your abuser make you feel that your thinking was all wrong, or that you were incapable of making a rational decision? 

Yes in both cases, severely.

[Jujo-jo]

23 minutes ago, simplybill said:

I was looking back at your posts and noticed this (the bolded part). It looks to me like another sign of healing. In the situation you were in, did your abuser make you feel that your thinking was all wrong, or that you were incapable of making a rational decision? 

Thank you, makes sense & I hope so. I guess its difficult to see when progress is being made sometimes.

[simplybill]

1 hour ago, Jujo-jo said:

Yes in both cases, severely.

Ah. I think I see what’s happening. You said: “It made me concerned and I am now wondering if they’re going to get worse as I age?” You asked yourself a question that paints a negative picture of your future, and then you immediately confronted the fallacy of that picture: “I don’t know why I think that”. Your ability to discern the truth about yourself is returning. Your mind is confronting the lie.

I want to point out something very important:  three times now, I’ve repeated back to you your own words, and your own answers that you already know to be true but were hidden in the background noise. The years of abuse are losing their control over you. Your mind and your personality are taking back what was stolen. You’re healing.

Edited January 9, 2020 by simplybill

[Jujo-jo]

3 minutes ago, simplybill said:

Ah. I think I see what’s happening. You said: “It made me concerned and I am now wondering if they’re going to get worse as I age?” You asked yourself a question that paints a negative picture of your future, and then you immediately confronted the fallacy of that picture: “I don’t know why I think that”. Your ability to discern the truth about yourself is returning. Your mind is confronting the lie.

I want to point out something very important:  three times now, I’ve repeated back to you the answers you already know to be true, but were hidden in the background noise. The years of abuse are losing their control over you. Your mind and your personality are taking back what was stolen. You’re healing.

That comforts me, I should pay you instead of my therapists wow this all is very true, I am so glad you pointed this all out to me. I am lost for words and actually it's a lot to process but I feel enlightened! I think I am going to sleep very well tonight.

Thank you!

[Jujo-jo]

On 1/8/2020 at 12:02 AM, simplybill said:

I’d be interested to know what your therapist’s opinion is on REM therapy. I’ve never known anyone who’s been through the therapy other than the pilot who talked to our class.

She thinks it is a good idea, thinks it would be helpful. She is not licensed but another women in the building is, she'll be looking into this with her to possibly set something up.

[Jujo-jo]

Has anyone consented to exposure therapy? My therapist would like to start this next week! I do not know anything about this and will be doing some research on it here within the next few minutes, but if anyone has any personal stories, knows anything about this or know any good links please share them, it will be very helpful.

[Jujo-jo]

My therapist seemed to do much better today and instead of a one hour sessions or was two hours. They will be two hours from now on : ) I am going to stick with her, after today i feel she's finally on the right track.

[spartan max2]

32 minutes ago, Jujo-jo said:

Has anyone consented to exposure therapy? My therapist would like to start this next week! I do not know anything about this and will be doing some research on it here within the next few minutes, but if anyone has any personal stories, knows anything about this or know any good links please share them, it will be very helpful.

No experiences with it myself. 

Let us know how it goes .

[Jujo-jo]

Exposure therapy has been found to effectively address the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as symptoms of other anxiety disorders. With this roundup of different forms of exposure therapy, find out which treatment is right for you.

How PTSD Is Treated

 

..............

 

 

In addition, avoidance can make PTSD symptoms stick around longer or even intensify. That is because a person is avoiding certain situations, thoughts, or emotions, he doesn't have the opportunity to learn that these situations may not be quite as threatening as they seem. In addition, by avoiding thoughts, memories, and emotions, a person doesn't let himself fully process those experiences.

[Alchopwn]

10 hours ago, Jujo-jo said:

Has anyone consented to exposure therapy? My therapist would like to start this next week! I do not know anything about this and will be doing some research on it here within the next few minutes, but if anyone has any personal stories, knows anything about this or know any good links please share them, it will be very helpful.

It might surprise you to know that PTSD can be treated with LSD: link   It is pretty much what LSD was designed to do, before people started using it as a recreational drug.  The treatment generally involves getting the patient triggered in a safe environment while under the influence of a moderate to high dose.  This then strips the event of its emotional power and resolves the neural knot, taking it from being a focus of all attention resources, to an unpleasant memory.   Of course LSD is illegal, so it might be hard to find a therapist who will have the legal ability to endorse such a treatment.

[Jujo-jo]

Things are coming along well, met with her again since my last post and this week she didn't give me any homework : ) 

[spartan max2]

14 minutes ago, Jujo-jo said:

Things are coming along well, met with her again since my last post and this week she didn't give me any homework : ) 

Is she the one trying exsposure therapy?

How has it started? If you don't mind sharing.

[Jujo-jo]

35 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

Is she the one trying exsposure therapy?

How has it started? If you don't mind sharing.

Yes she is. It started with me making a list of triggers last week that we will work on over the next few weeks and she had me gather some photos. Most of them we got through today, it was intetesting.

And I wasn't aware of this but I actually have been doing exposure therapy own my own. For example last year I drove to the house where it all happened, it is abandoned now so I was able to walk around the yard, believe it or not, I'm not sure where the guts or strength came from, for me to be able to do that but I did. I think it helped because, for years I had been telling my husband that I needed to confront the things that haunt and taunt my memories. When I was standing in the yard I realized it wasn't the house that needed to be confronted and at that point also realized I didnt need to confront him either, not only because he is dead but because just being there lifted a lot of fear that I carried around, but what it tought me was, that what I really needed to confront was the things that were/are cought up in my mind. 

Edited - jumbled that last bit there all fixed now.

Edited January 16, 2020 by Jujo-jo

[Jilliman]

Hello, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have Complex PTSD myself. I read some of your replies and it's possible that you, too, have complex PTSD and it would be best for you to be re-evaluates. CPTSD is relatively new and the treatment for it is different from PTSD. There are also several other mental illnesses that can run alongside PTSD so a detailed psych evaluation would definitely help in figuring out a treatment plan. 
 

What helped me was talk therapy and anti-depressants and honestly, just time. A lot of my trauma stems from over 20 years ago and I'm still recovering. You'll never be completely "cured" but you can learn coping mechanisms. The biggest part is acknowledging what happened to you and that it wasn't your fault and that it DOES NOT define you. You aren't your PTSD. Recognize what you went through and appreciate yourself for being strong and brave. We are survivors. I hope you can recover soon! Best wishes!

[Grim Reaper 6]

39 minutes ago, Jilliman said:

Hello, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have Complex PTSD myself. I read some of your replies and it's possible that you, too, have complex PTSD and it would be best for you to be re-evaluates. CPTSD is relatively new and the treatment for it is different from PTSD. There are also several other mental illnesses that can run alongside PTSD so a detailed psych evaluation would definitely help in figuring out a treatment plan. 
 

What helped me was talk therapy and anti-depressants and honestly, just time. A lot of my trauma stems from over 20 years ago and I'm still recovering. You'll never be completely "cured" but you can learn coping mechanisms. The biggest part is acknowledging what happened to you and that it wasn't your fault and that it DOES NOT define you. You aren't your PTSD. Recognize what you went through and appreciate yourself for being strong and brave. We are survivors. I hope you can recover soon! Best wishes!

Very very good post, well said.

Peace

[Karl05301]

What helps me was to develop coping mechanisms. It may sound silly, but I formed mental pictures to associate the weakness created by trauma. Then it was easier for me to navigate through the mine field of negative emotions attached to particular events. The pictures had nothing to do with the traumatic events, they were replacements.

For instances, one is a mean dog on a chain. Another is a house on fire and one is quicksand with a warning sign. This works for me because I’m a highly visual person mentally. That way I don’t feel my way through and spiral out of control. I visualize my way through and avoid the pitfalls and triggers.

[Jujo-jo]

11 hours ago, Jilliman said:

Hello, I'm so sorry you're going through this. I have Complex PTSD myself. I read some of your replies and it's possible that you, too, have complex PTSD and it would be best for you to be re-evaluates. CPTSD is relatively new and the treatment for it is different from PTSD. There are also several other mental illnesses that can run alongside PTSD so a detailed psych evaluation would definitely help in figuring out a treatment plan. 
 

What helped me was talk therapy and anti-depressants and honestly, just time. A lot of my trauma stems from over 20 years ago and I'm still recovering. You'll never be completely "cured" but you can learn coping mechanisms. The biggest part is acknowledging what happened to you and that it wasn't your fault and that it DOES NOT define you. You aren't your PTSD. Recognize what you went through and appreciate yourself for being strong and brave. We are survivors. I hope you can recover soon! Best wishes!

Most of the time I am not lost for words, but you kind of had me here for a bit. lol No need to be sorry, the events have made me stronger and tougher when I'm on the up side of it all but also grateful for life. Yes it is complexed and thanks for your reply and sharing what you have.

I now think I've been quick to end past therapy and at times, things happened that were out of my control such as theriptis retirement, so it seems as though I am having to start all over again but it has been interesting to see how each therapist has treated me that I have seen. There's only been two that I walked out on and never went back to out of probably a close to a half a doxen or so.

The one good thing I can say about it all now is that I think this therapist that I have now, I will stick with for a longer period, I wasn't so sure about her a week or two ago but that has turned around and she is much younger so I dont think she'll be quitting or retiring any time soon this alone should help a great deal.

I have been feeling much better thanks to her and this forum.

[Jujo-jo]

25 minutes ago, Karl05301 said:

What helps me was to develop coping mechanisms. It may sound silly, but I formed mental pictures to associate the weakness created by trauma. Then it was easier for me to navigate through the mine field of negative emotions attached to particular events. The pictures had nothing to do with the traumatic events, they were replacements.

For instances, one is a mean dog on a chain. Another is a house on fire and one is quicksand with a warning sign. This works for me because I’m a highly visual person mentally. That way I don’t feel my way through and spiral out of control. I visualize my way through and avoid the pitfalls and triggers.

This sounds like something I will try. I can see how this could be helpful. I actually use a simular method for my business, when things get rough or hard I have sayings with pictures thst are posted on my office wall that I read. They help me to keep focused and they also help me to have less work stress. So this makes much sense to use photos in the same fashion. Thank you!

 

[Kittens Are Jerks]

@Jujo-jo You mentioned Reiki earlier in the discussion, and you were right to question its validity. It works as a placebo, but in no other meaningful way. I don't have personal (or other) experience with PTSD so I won't even try to make any medical or psychotherapeutic recommendations, but do think you might want to consider yoga, or perhaps even Tai chi. Another idea would be to take up kick boxing (or other martial arts training). I've been taking lessons on and off and it's not only an amazing stress reliever, it's also extremely empowering. The best way to get into a stress-free zone, in my opinion, is to punch and kick your way into it. 

[Grim Reaper 6]

On 1/11/2020 at 7:26 PM, Alchopwn said:

It might surprise you to know that PTSD can be treated with LSD: link   It is pretty much what LSD was designed to do, before people started using it as a recreational drug.  The treatment generally involves getting the patient triggered in a safe environment while under the influence of a moderate to high dose.  This then strips the event of its emotional power and resolves the neural knot, taking it from being a focus of all attention resources, to an unpleasant memory.   Of course LSD is illegal, so it might be hard to find a therapist who will have the legal ability to endorse such a treatment.

It was also experimented with by the by the US Military as a Chemical Weapon. By changing some of its properties they gave it the ability to turn into a Gas when exposed to Air. they also made an aerosol version, that was designed to be sprayed. During the 1950s they tested it by deploying it on US Soldiers in the field, they found that both methods of employment were very effective and certainly had the desired results. Which was to make a combat force ineffective, so first they would deploy LSD and allow it to take effect, then hit the position with bombs or Artillery, to finish the job. For some reason by the early 1960s they put it aside and never actually used it as a weapon. 

As far as using it for medical purposes today, it isn't used any longer. If you do a little more research you will see that it's effects were not always good. In fact in some patients it caused phycosis that was very counter productive to treatment. In fact there was never an proof that it had any long term positive results. From my personal experience I don't think this would be a positive treatment for PTSD. When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I experimented with it on two occasions, one thing I learn from that is that it will take your emotional state and amplify it, so if you were in a good mood, it would enhance it, if you were in a bad mood it would enhance that too.

In addition depending upon the person, it would also amplify any subconscious fears or beliefs a person may have. That's why during that time frame people were jumping off buildings trying to fly, or because they thought they being attacked by something. So no matter what some of these articles say, I certainly wouldn't recommend to treat PTSD. In my opinion it could cause some one to loose it and start killing people, it all depends on the person and the situation they had been exposed too.

peace

[Jujo-jo]

34 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said:

@Jujo-jo You mentioned Reiki earlier in the discussion, and you were right to question its validity. It works as a placebo, but in no other meaningful way. I don't have personal (or other) experience with PTSD so I won't even try to make any medical or psychotherapeutic recommendations, but do think you might want to consider yoga, or perhaps even Tai chi. Another idea would be to take up kick boxing (or other martial arts training). I've been taking lessons on and off and it's not only an amazing stress reliever, it's also extremely empowering. The best way to get into a stress-free zone, in my opinion, is to punch and kick your way into it. 

I like how you worded that : )  I like those ideas and actually tried both but I didn't stick with it. I really liked the mind discipline, energy directing and meditation part of it though and sometimes, refer back to what I did learn with that. (I am limited and my balance is not good due to injuries I think this was the main reason I didnt continue with either. Then I tried Zuma (- from one extreme to the other lol) but the medical dr. put a stop to that, it is too aggressive for my condition. I did keep the dvd using a chair but havent tried, the dr. scared me too bad, dont want to cause more damage.) 

Between my 1st trauma and my second one, before my physical damage and 2nd trauma. I did take a defense class, I really enjoyed that and actually wish it had been a longer class, 96 lds is no match for 250+ lbs.

kayaking is really my go to method but I am limited there too, if I dont have help the days I need it or if I am having a bad body day this is not an option and winter months shut this down but it is my 1st choice.

Kayaking can bounce me back the quickest than anything else. I do also like to go to the gun range and practice my aim, I find it extremely relaxing but again winter limits this and I won't go to an indoor range.

I also paint leaves, branched, birds and berries on large plastic trash cans and give them away but this can set off a series of painful ailments... 

I use movies and music as tools too when I cant do the others.

It's an condition that for me needs constant maintenance, hmm never thought about it like that till now ; ) Thanks!

[Kittens Are Jerks]

4 minutes ago, Jujo-jo said:

kayaking is really my go to method but I am limited there too, if I dont have help the days I need it or if I am having a bad body day this is not an option and winter months shut this down but it is my 1st choice.

I too love kayaking and was going to mention it, as well as rowing, but did not think you would be into something like that. Boy was I wrong! 

I'm really impressed at how intelligently and thoughtfully you're managing your situation. I also admire your dedication to taking care of yourself (and others). And yes, it does seem like a condition that requires constant maintenance, but hopefully one day you won't be haunted as much by it.