StellaBlu

Hello!
I'm interested in hearing about how people have treated their PTSD.

I've had many experiences throughout my life that has caused me to have this - both in my childhood and adulthood. Recent events have made me want to really address this.

Here's what I'm doing currently:
1. Not drinking.
2. Meditating a few times each week.
3. exercising (running 4 - 5 times per week).
4. Reading various publications.

I'm interested in hearing how others have treated/are treating their PTSD. I'm open to any and all suggestions.
Thank you!
-sb

zerothehero

Read The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. Essential. Also, Getting Past Your Past by Francine Sharipo, the developer of EMDR. I've done a couple of EMDR sessions, and would do more but I have to pay cash and therapy isn't cheap. Check out Inner World of EMDR on youtube.

You're on the right track with exercise and meditation. I find meditation a form of prolonged exposure therapy. The memories come up and I allow myself to be with them without judgement - not judging the memory, myself, or others. What happened happened. Anything that tamps down an overactive fight/flight/freeze response is helpful, bottom up and top down exercises to calm the sympathetic nervous system. Rick Hanson's HEAL practice in Hardwiring Happiness is good stuff. Take in the good. Gratitude work...

I also benefited from reading and practicing Feeding Your Demons (Tsultrim Allione), but it's not for the timid.

Distorted Me

I'm bipolar and was diagnosed very recently with PTSD. Though not the worst childhood I know, mine was no cakewalk either. I still get flashes of memories of things I'd long forgotten.

Thank you both for your great info. I've learned a lot about bipolar disorder but not so much about PTSD. I'm a military kid born in the early 70's so I tend to instinctively associate PTSD with Vietnam vets. I was just rethinking meditation last night actually so stumbling across this thread was timely. I'm going to start incorporating it into my life and I think it can be as or more beneficial than medications. Those of us with mental and emotional challenges need all the help we can get with being grounded emotionally. We're never going to find all of the answers in medications alone.

Quitting drinking for good and including pot and everything else save coffee was probably the single most helpful thing I could do given my condition. What I thought was just harmless temporary stress relief was more like pouring gasoline onto the fire. The more I drank, the worse it got. It'll take awhile to get back to somewhat normal and that's when the real healing can start.

BDTL

I'm a Vietnam vet and see a VA counselor for mental health issues related to PTSD. I'm also on three meds which help with depression. For me joining a gym and going 3 - 4 times per week has been the ticket. Exercise is key for me as it lifts my spirit, provides strength and flexibility for my body, and puts a happy smile on my face. I highly endorse a good exercise program. Another huge step for me is putting alcohol in my past. It's a downer and poison for us who are alcoholics. Good luck on your PTSD and like anything we face in life, it can be managed and in a lot of cases totally healed.

Distorted Me

As I recall, PTSD as a condition was very unknown to the general public prior to the Vietnam War. It was the experiences and suffering of Vietnam Veterans, like yourself BDTL, that brought it out of the fringes of mental health treatment. I think it was a known condition since at least post WW 2, but maybe was known by a different term. I seem to recall, with my alcohol damaged memory, that in the late 70's and early 80's there was a sort of awakening about PTSD but only after thousands of Vietnam vets suffered for years without proper treatment.

StellaBlu

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I appreciate it.

StellaBlu

Zero, I appreciate the reading suggestions. The Body Keeps Score was on my list of books to read. Your description of Feeding the Demons (ie not for the timid) sounds enticing as I've been known to bite off a bit more than I can handle sometimes. I think that is an ACOA character trait.

StellaBlu

Distorted, Thank you for all that good info. And yes, I agree, any kind of stimulant is seems to exacerbate the issues. And you are so right about what you said about those of us with emotional challenges needing all the help we can get. I am duly challenged! I hope you get to the healing part soon.
-sb

StellaBlu

BDTL, Thank you for your service on this Memorial Day weekend.

I'm sorry that you had to experience the effects of war. I have some familiarity with that as my grandfather was deeply affected by his time spent in combat.
Thank you for reinforcing the notion of exercising to address some of the affects of it.

Wishing you all a peaceful evening. And Thank you for sharing!

-sb