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Open Eyes · Mar 12, 2013, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDragon

What I'd love to see is for there to be more focus on post traumatic growth, instead of the focus and energy that's put into confirming a disorder/illness. It's not just PTSD, but the view of looking and moving forward instead of back.

Growth has to come from "self awareness" first. And for self awareness to happen, a person needs to look back and learn how their "subconsious mind" developed. We are all born with pretty much a clean slate when it comes to the subconscious, and as we grow and are exposed to our world and others around us, we begin to develope our subconscious minds.

While we can "clone" someone, it will not produce the exact same person. For example, if we found a way to "clone" Einstein, it will not mean that the clone of Einstien would necessarily become the Einstein we all know. Who we become, or are, depends on all the things we have experienced as well as what kind of societal messages we receive as to what is "good and bad" etc.

Earlier when you talked about "individual realities" and how someone can be "skewed" and not realize it, but can come to realize it through learning and being exposed to new messages etc. Yes, you are right and all we have to do is look at "human history" to see it.

The other strong "human and mammel" trait is "imprinting". And this is something I have seen many, many times in my dealings with countless children over 20+ years. I have even talked about an example of it with one of my students who's mother raised her dealing with breast cancer and treatment that made her tired alot. This child adapted that same behavior pattern where she was constantly taking breaks and saying she was tired. This child did not even realize that what she was doing and believing about herself, was simply due to growing up observing a mother's constant visual and verbal display of "lathargy and depressive states". The mother, was completely oblivious to this, and told me how her child is not very athletic and can be lazy. However, under my instruction (private instruction) which worked against this, I did find this child could be "quite athletic" and "very capable".

I have also talked about an unpleasant experience I had in what I call a "yuppie" neighborhood that I built a house in. Young couples late 20's early 30's, college grads, who felt they were "all that" because they were educatated, had jobs and built homes wanting to express their "successes". Wow, what an eye opener that was. All I can say is that I did move away from that "fish bowl" of "all that attitude" and later on got to see these people, divorced, confused, with very confused and troubled children with very mixed up priorities. And in that atmosphere one 14 year old boy commited suicide because he was crying for attention and was simply ignored. And one young mother of twins commited suicide. It is actually pretty creepy looking back at all of that.

When I talk to people who struggle as adults from neglect and abusive and disfunctional family environments, I encourage them to look "beyond the abusive person" to see what that person came from that contributed to their "lack".

A big part of gaining on PTSD that can stem from a childhood is not just seeing and feeling the trama itself. It is also working on finding a way to finally "answer the trama with a solution, or resolve". Our brains are designed to "want to problem solve" so that we feel we can "thrive". Many use the term "closure" to describe that moment where something very troubling is finally "addressed" and validated in some way to where we finally gain a sense of relief.

One of the new therapies used for our "veterans" is "operation proper exit" where veterans are brought back to where they were suddenly injured badly and quickly removed, so they can see what happened to the place, and the others they suddenly "left behind". It is also done so they might see that what they were fighting for, did happen in someway.

I am focusing on PTSD because that is what I have been battling myself. And in my journey to understand it and find my way to function better, part of that is about becoming more "self aware" first. And on that journey I am learning to see myself in a very different light. And yes Dragon, I do understand what you are saying about "individual realities" and how often the problem can be due to "skewed thinking or believing" and it doesn't have to stay that way.

However, it takes "time" to slowly understand that, and it also often needs to be "validated' by someone who can understand how a patient struggles and what they need to slowly learn to understand to make gains.

I actually understand what you and Venus are trying to express. There are lots of times where I do agree with both of you, yes I see it. But how "receptive" someone is going to be to what "you" are seeing and questioning, will depend on the severity of their challenge and what kind of help they are getting, as well as what kind of "disfunctional atmosphere" they are living in.

Personally, I don't agree with all these "medications" that are quickly prescibed to patients as "answers to help them cope somehow". And that too, can be seen as a kind of "imprinting", and we have a name for that, "placebo effect". And I really question if we know enough about the brain to even know if these medications "help" or "do they cause more imbalance". I am not very well "liked" because I have questioned that either, especially by psychiatrists who's job is all about prescribing "drug treatments" for patients. However, there are patients that swear by their medications and it is a godscent to them.
So, I reserve my opinions to myself and am waiting for "science and research" to finally get to a point where it is better known "if" drug treatment actually helps.

I do believe, however, that when people experience trama and abuse or neglect or bullying or constant "judgements that are negetive", it can cause them so much stress and duress to where they produce too many chemicals in their brains that can cause damage to the sensitive brain tissues that can lead to them experiencing very "real" challenges with mood, and capacity to think and function in healthy ways.

When I discribe "backwards thinking and healing" what I mean by that is "observing how I react to situations" where I may not be functioning with the same control I used to have, because I have recognized that, and so do many others who struggle with PTSD. My idea is that if I cannot do it "foward" because of possible cell damage due to experiencing too many chemicals from stress and anxiety etc in my brain. My thinking is that "if" I may be able to allow these areas to regenerate and heal by slowly learning how to "control" the volume of emotional chemicals I am unknowingly producing I can make "gains".

If someone considers "broken brain" as meaning they have no choice but to accept whatever they are struggling with as "final" or that "they are just doomed and broken", they can be doing themselves an injustice. I am considering that we "can" "learn" and develope ways in our brains that can help to "overcome" or "work around" our challenges. This is slowly being "recognized" and we now talk about the "plasticity" of the brain.