[Open Eyes]

I am new to this forum and I have been reading many of your messages and questions.

I want to reach out to all of you and maybe this will help.

Post Traumatic Stress disorder is an injury to your brain.

When you have this brain injury you know that something is wrong and you have many emotions about it.

When your brain injury hurts so bad that you can't seem to get thru a day without crying about it and feeling frustrated and confused etc. You seek a Therapist to help you.

But, you must understand something. First, the therapist's job is to listen to you and figure out what kind of brain injury you have. Sometimes they are not correct. So, you do need to read and research on your own. There is a lot of information out there.

Now, it important that you understand what you are looking for. There is a traumatic event that has happened to you that has injured your brain.
This injury can be from childhood, teens, and even adulthood. Or it can include all of the above.

All of you want the same thing. You want to be free and happy and you want to know who you are or how to fight your way thru it.

When you go to a Therepist you must remember that the Therapist can only help you find the injury. So you do have to talk about your past.

But before you do that you must interview the Therepist to make sure they will understand your injury. And most important, you must like your Therapist. You must also remember that the Therapist is not there to tell you what you are going to be in life. They are only there to help you see your injury and then help you realize that the injury has already been passed thru your brain.

I have been lucky because I started a business that put me around many children and many adults. And I worked around and with many different
personalities. I got to challenge them and interact with them and during the process learned that first, there is no perfect child or adult or teen.
Every single one of them had a weak spot. And, they protected it and even let it limit them.

But, as I worked with each one, I was able to hone in on the secret part and help them work it out, and kind of without them knowing it. Guess what, I opened a door that they thought they would never go thru and before they knew it they were on the other side. I have to say, it was very rewarding for me to watch them suddenly realize that I snuck in and fixed something they thought they had hidden.

I have done this with children too. For example, I can recall one child that was not athletic. Part of what I do is teach riding lessons. This child wanted a pony and yet she was not outgoing physically. So, I had to stop and let her rest and talk and try to get her going again and stop and rest. Then one day I said to her, "If you really want a pony, the only way you will get one is if you stop resting and ride" Well, she thought about it. And after she realized that I was right, she stopped resting and kept pushing. Now, there is another person in this picture, the Parent. The parent would say to me, "Well, shes not very athletic and I don't know how she will do." So here we are, the parent was facillitating the child's weak spot and this happens all the time.

Now, here is something very important for all of you to know. There are many people who have natural talents for all kinds of things, for example,
baseball, football,swimming,art,horse riding, school work, being popular,singing, and the list is endless. BUT, do you know who ends up being the best? It is the person who really wants to do it so bad that they keep pushing until they get it. It is all about desire.

The little girl that I taught may have been written off with another teacher. And she was and ended up coming back to me and then going out again. And, she is still riding and pushing forward. She may not be the best but she is letting herself enjoy it and do it.

I had a similar experience with an adult. This adult was athletic and a good mom and thought she was riding really good. But, she had developed some bad habits. I wanted to correct them and yet others advised me not to. I didn't listen and I did anyway. At first she was completely torn up and self defeating. But I kept telling her she could do it and to keep trying. So, she did and found out that she actually enjoyed learning more and accepting that she hadn't really mastered what she thought she mastered.

Here is one more thing this mother didn't know. She has two daughters and she thought that they were buddies. One day I was with her and her youngest daughter. I stated that the youngest daughter had a secret understanding with the older daughter. The youngest daughter knew that the older daughter was the boss and that as long as she gave in to this fact, they would get along. To the mother's surprise, the youngest daughter immediately responded with big open eyes and said YES, this is exactly how it is. The mother was so surprised that this secret order was in place and that she was not aware of it.

So, here is my point to all of you. Yes, you have been injured and it is hard. And no one is going to tell you who you are or who you will be.
The answer to that question is up to you.

All of you are here because you have a DESIRE to get better. BUT there is only one way to really get better. You are all stopping and resting, just like the little girl I worked with. Now, you need to ride if you are going to get the pony of your dreams, finding you, loving you, learning how to be you and that you don't have to be the best, you can just ride and enjoy.

The only way you are going to find you is to get up and ride life. Ok, I understand that up to this point no one validated you. So, you are very lost. Guess what, the most important person that has to validate you is YOU. Now, before you get angry or upset, think about the mother that I had the courage to tell she had some bad habits. She was mad, and was ready to throw her hat in and stop riding. BUT, she came back and at first was negetively trying. She did get past it. So can you.

For all of you, this is where you start. You have to be willing to hug your own injured brain and get up and ride. It is about seeing where your brain is hurt and where your personal triggers are so that every time a trigger touches an old injury YOU have to do what this ICON is doing.
Everytime it hurts you have to love yourself and tell yourself that it has passed and you will never forget it but you are still going to ride and live life.

YOU CAN DO IT! NO, you are not perfect, but NO ONE IS. AND, everyone has been hurt by someone else or even themselves. DESIRE to get better, RIDE!

[Hunny]

Your overcoming many obstacles and encouragement is a good example for people. You will find many animal lovers here too and some people who are quite artistic, as well.

[shezbut]

Thank you for sharing the positive stories in people overcoming obstacles, Open Eyes.

It isn't easy. We all know that to be true. But it is important to hold out hope that things will get better for us someday.

My grip on that hope may be awfully light some days, feeling as through it's falling away from me. Thankfully, those days are followed by stronger ones! hew:

And, yes as Hunny said, there are some very artistic members here. I suppose that we all do have some wonderful quality. Maybe mine is simple empathy.

[DancingAlone]

not only am i learning patience and perseverence on this long journey to healing, but i am finding that those who reach out and care are lifting me up with their encouragement.

they each, by their efforts to help, to extend a hand to help me up when i fall, until i am able to stand by myself without becoming discouraged, or resting and maybe giving up, give me hope to continue to learn how to heal that part of my brain that got injured.

[(JD)]

Thanks for your words of encouragement.... please share a clearer definition when you talk about PTSD being a brain injury, as surely it is not in that category. It is a beast of a disorder though.

Study: PTSD, not brain injury, may cause vets' symptoms

"Soldiers should not be led to believe that they have a brain injury that will result in permanent change."
advertisement

He said the study also highlights the need for a clear definition of mild traumatic brain injury.

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/0...ury/index.html

[DancingAlone]

IMHO, i read it as her telling a story of people who had been damaged by abuse, and this caused an injury to the psych. no, it's not a physical injury, but one of greater proportions that has "injured" the thinking and self-esteem of the person who suffers from it. sort of written in a "symbolic" way. just my take on it.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Open Eyes

I am new to this forum and I have been reading many of your messages and questions.

I want to reach out to all of you and maybe this will help.

Post Traumatic Stress disorder is an injury to your brain.

When you have this brain injury you know that something is wrong and you have many emotions about it.

When your brain injury hurts so bad that you can't seem to get thru a day without crying about it and feeling frustrated and confused etc. You seek a Therapist to help you.

But, you must understand something. First, the therapist's job is to listen to you and figure out what kind of brain injury you have. Sometimes they are not correct. So, you do need to read and research on your own. There is a lot of information out there.

Now, it important that you understand what you are looking for. There is a traumatic event that has happened to you that has injured your brain.
This injury can be from childhood, teens, and even adulthood. Or it can include all of the above.

All of you want the same thing. You want to be free and happy and you want to know who you are or how to fight your way thru it.

When you go to a Therepist you must remember that the Therapist can only help you find the injury. So you do have to talk about your past.

But before you do that you must interview the Therepist to make sure they will understand your injury. And most important, you must like your Therapist. You must also remember that the Therapist is not there to tell you what you are going to be in life. They are only there to help you see your injury and then help you realize that the injury has already been passed thru your brain.

I have been lucky because I started a business that put me around many children and many adults. And I worked around and with many different
personalities. I got to challenge them and interact with them and during the process learned that first, there is no perfect child or adult or teen.
Every single one of them had a weak spot. And, they protected it and even let it limit them.

But, as I worked with each one, I was able to hone in on the secret part and help them work it out, and kind of without them knowing it. Guess what, I opened a door that they thought they would never go thru and before they knew it they were on the other side. I have to say, it was very rewarding for me to watch them suddenly realize that I snuck in and fixed something they thought they had hidden.

I have done this with children too. For example, I can recall one child that was not athletic. Part of what I do is teach riding lessons. This child wanted a pony and yet she was not outgoing physically. So, I had to stop and let her rest and talk and try to get her going again and stop and rest. Then one day I said to her, "If you really want a pony, the only way you will get one is if you stop resting and ride" Well, she thought about it. And after she realized that I was right, she stopped resting and kept pushing. Now, there is another person in this picture, the Parent. The parent would say to me, "Well, shes not very athletic and I don't know how she will do." So here we are, the parent was facillitating the child's weak spot and this happens all the time.

Now, here is something very important for all of you to know. There are many people who have natural talents for all kinds of things, for example,
baseball, football,swimming,art,horse riding, school work, being popular,singing, and the list is endless. BUT, do you know who ends up being the best? It is the person who really wants to do it so bad that they keep pushing until they get it. It is all about desire.

The little girl that I taught may have been written off with another teacher. And she was and ended up coming back to me and then going out again. And, she is still riding and pushing forward. She may not be the best but she is letting herself enjoy it and do it.

I had a similar experience with an adult. This adult was athletic and a good mom and thought she was riding really good. But, she had developed some bad habits. I wanted to correct them and yet others advised me not to. I didn't listen and I did anyway. At first she was completely torn up and self defeating. But I kept telling her she could do it and to keep trying. So, she did and found out that she actually enjoyed learning more and accepting that she hadn't really mastered what she thought she mastered.

Here is one more thing this mother didn't know. She has two daughters and she thought that they were buddies. One day I was with her and her youngest daughter. I stated that the youngest daughter had a secret understanding with the older daughter. The youngest daughter knew that the older daughter was the boss and that as long as she gave in to this fact, they would get along. To the mother's surprise, the youngest daughter immediately responded with big open eyes and said YES, this is exactly how it is. The mother was so surprised that this secret order was in place and that she was not aware of it.

So, here is my point to all of you. Yes, you have been injured and it is hard. And no one is going to tell you who you are or who you will be.
The answer to that question is up to you.

All of you are here because you have a DESIRE to get better. BUT there is only one way to really get better. You are all stopping and resting, just like the little girl I worked with. Now, you need to ride if you are going to get the pony of your dreams, finding you, loving you, learning how to be you and that you don't have to be the best, you can just ride and enjoy.

The only way you are going to find you is to get up and ride life. Ok, I understand that up to this point no one validated you. So, you are very lost. Guess what, the most important person that has to validate you is YOU. Now, before you get angry or upset, think about the mother that I had the courage to tell she had some bad habits. She was mad, and was ready to throw her hat in and stop riding. BUT, she came back and at first was negetively trying. She did get past it. So can you.

For all of you, this is where you start. You have to be willing to hug your own injured brain and get up and ride. It is about seeing where your brain is hurt and where your personal triggers are so that every time a trigger touches an old injury YOU have to do what this ICON is doing.
Everytime it hurts you have to love yourself and tell yourself that it has passed and you will never forget it but you are still going to ride and live life.

YOU CAN DO IT! NO, you are not perfect, but NO ONE IS. AND, everyone has been hurt by someone else or even themselves. DESIRE to get better, RIDE!

I agree with JD please could you be more clear about your use of the term brain injury. Sometimes terms like this mean many different things to different people depending on geographical location, treatment providers and each posters own cultural background.

example around here PTSD is not considered a brain injury.

the term brain injury around here literally means your brain has been injured (by way of a forceful blow to the head or lack of oxygen to the brain) to where there is a loss of cells, receptors, synapses... so that the brain can no longer physically function correctly and sometimes results in neurological / muscular disorders, coma and sometimes death.

Here the term PTSD means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a mental (not physical like brain injury) reaction to stress and trauma. in the case of PTSD here trauma does not always mean that of a physical nature that is required for brain injury. A person does not have to go through physical trauma to have PTSD.

around here PTSD can be caused my mental/emotional and stress related things such as

watching on the news about Japans problems related to the earthquake then seeing all that Japan is going through triggers panic attacks, nightmares phobias about ones own existence and the possibility of what happened to Japan happening to ones own country and self.

passing by a car accident and seeing the dead body of a victim of the crash can create ones own mind to enter PTSD symptoms.

we treat many people here that have PTSD symptoms because of the economy, they were evicted from their homes. that kind of stress can cause a person to have anxiety, nightmares and high stress levels.

sure PTSD is caused by physical traumas like crimes, wars but around here we believe people dont necessarily have to be physically assaulted and hit on the heads ensuring brain injury in order to have PTSD.

here we use the whole wrap around approach it can be caused by physical sexual, emotional and stress related things.

[insightunseen]

maybe you mean the brain is changed, especially by chronic childhood abuse, so that we respond differently in later life. survivors brains are overdosed with cortisol, have less GABA, and hyper-react to emotional stimuli. that's why the new neuroscience tools (mindfulness, meditation, brain based exercises) are aimed at helping us calm the brain, create new neural pathways, and increase our empathy and compassion thoughts toward ourselves.

and yes, that is all a great deal of work.

[DancingAlone]

jumping sideways here, wanted to add this to the mix.

this addresses new research about actual brain injury (affecting the immune system on a genetic level) as a result of PTSD.

i apologize for it's complexity, but it's the nature of the beast to understand what is happening to the immune systems of a lot of people with PTSD. a dear friend of mine suffers terribly with most of these physical symptoms, which prompted my research into it. the words in italic are not consecutive, they are excerpts from this site. (the study was done on soldiers who suffered from PTSD). it's very new research. the early results are showing it's more prevalent in women.

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/0...ystem_052010w/

This “suggests a biologic model of PTSD etiology in which an externally experienced traumatic event induces downstream alterations in immune function by reducing methylation levels of immune-related genes,” the study stated.....

The researchers said that may be because a person’s most necessary systems respond to danger, while everything else slows. Usually, when the danger is gone, everything goes back to normal. But some people stay at some level of that hyper-alert state.....

In addition to the lack of activation of immune system genes, the researchers looked at levels of antibodies to a normally latent herpes virus — cytomegalovirus — that usually remains symptom-less. But in those with a weakened immune system, it can cause anything from flu-like symptoms to visual impairment, inflammation of the brain, pneumonia, diarrhea and hepatitis.

i think you hit the nail on the head insightunseen:
"hyper-react to emotional stimuli. that's why the new neuroscience tools (mindfulness, meditation, brain based exercises) are aimed at helping us calm the brain, create new neural pathways, and increase our empathy and compassion thoughts toward ourselves."

[Troy]

Keep riding those ponies, Open Eyes. And for all of those who jumped on the topic of "brain injury" ... you might want to reread the first few lines of Open Eyes post - Looks like she said "an injury to your brain."

Research does show that PTSD involves a physical change in the brain/body that results in the symptoms we know as ptsd, all of those responses we see when triggered. InsightUnseen seems to capture this with the wording "the brain is changed." For sure PTSD is different from the physical damage done to the brain from a forceful blow, explosion, etc.

Thanks to all of you for exploring PTSD and ways to deal with it

[(JD)]

This was one of her first posts and indeed was curious to me. She is a good member to have at PC, though.

However, it's still important, imo, to not discuss it as a brain injury. Just as I quoted, if soldiers and others with PTSD think it's a brain injury, they automatically think brain damage.

While I also have brain damage (minimal) from the accident that caused my PTSD, it isn't the same.

It is ironic though, in the quote I posted how they say it's important to not let soldiers think it's a brain injury that will result in a permanent change... ? are we then to quietly speak about the PTSD that is (permanent)?

Hugs to all who suffer here. I don't think I can live with this stuff much longer myself.

[PTSDlovemycats]

Thanks so much for posting this.

[DancingAlone]

Would please, like to post another treatment (Stellate Ganglion Block) for PTSD. but also including, at the end, the more conventional ones. Maybe by working with each of these in each particular instance as appropriate, the trauma of PTSD can be reversed, or at least lessened. It‘s a devastating condition.

http://www.psychological.com/forums/showthread.php?649-Stellate-Ganglion-Blocks-for-PTSD
Case reports of immediate, durable, and significant reductions in symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are now appearing in the literature following the use of stellate ganglion block (SGB) in severe PTSD unresponsive to medical intervention.

SGB decreases nerve growth factor and helps reverse PTSD symptoms. These MRI are telling us that the cause of PTSD is physical in nature and is not simply a psychological condition. -- Dr. Adams, Clinical Director -- Atlanta Medical Psychology

　

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/721079
Trauma … leads to an increase in nerve growth factor. This in turn leads to a sprouting of sympathetic nerves, he adds, which increases the production of a number of neurotransmitters. including adrenaline, which makes people anxious. SGB decreases nerve growth factor and helps reverse PTSD symptoms.

(but for the more conventional approaches to treatment of PTSD…)

http://fyiliving.com/mental-health/stress/ptsd/ptsd-impact-on-immune-system/
The journal article also mentions that excessive inflammation produced by the immune system may contribute to declining health in people with PTSD and that treating PTSD may reduce these health risks. Therefore, not only do psychotherapy and psychiatric medications help alleviate the signs and symptoms of PTSD, but they also contribute to the improvement and prevention of physical illness and could possibly increase the longevity of PTSD sufferers. Other methods of decreasing anxiety, including social support, meditation, and exercise have been found to decrease anxiety disorders and depression.

****************

having posted all this, would like to say i know personally someone who has developed the immune system disorders because of a lifetime of abuse and resulting PTSD. maybe a combination of treatments is in order to address each person's particular mental AND resulting physical sufferings. i've very hesitant now to refer to it as brain injury. having read all the posts, i think that the changes on a genetic level create the physical illnesses now known to be linked to PTSD. but PTSD can still be seen as the psychological result of abuse created by extreme trauma and suffering.

i guess it's like stress causing heart attacks. extreme anxiety can lead to all kinds of physiological conditions, even simple things like diarrhea, or headaches. and using electroshock for depression -- that still confuses me. but guess it's all interconnected.

anyway, IMHO, when i suffer from something "mental" i'll go to the ends of the earth to try anything and everything to try and make the suffering stop. with my bipolar disorder, hearing it's a chemical imbalance doesn't help when the nightmares wake me up in a cold sweat or the abyss makes me want to check out for good.

take care all. signing off for a while now. (did i hear somebody say "thank God!")?

anyway

[Korin]

I understood it too to be a metaphorical brain injury. I understand it to be in some sense a damaged psyche or the psyche struggling to process some very serious and damaging experiences.

I also see it as mind body and soul being put out of whack due to some terrible experience. And while working to recover, we are also working to have the mind body and soul working together again for the benefit of our whole being.

Thanks. Lovely thread.