We are only beginning to discover the magnitude and many tentacled, multiple symptoms of this dis-ease. A dis-ease in the true sense of what dis ease is. An uneasiness of/within your being. Can you imagine being uncomfortable in your own skin? Can you imagine wanting to break out of it you are so uncomfortable in it? Now, imagine being uncomfortable in your mind. Uncomfortable within your own thoughts. Imagine wanting to get out of your own mind and thoughts. That's the immediate reaction within anyone who has experienced PTSD and I think we can all relate to these images. That's the disturbing thing about PTSD. We all seem to be able to relate to it in one form or another-at some point in our lives or another. I believe it is almost impossible to live in this century and not be affected at some point by a psychic trauma so intense it fosters the growth of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Some of us weather these traumas better than others.
In my book, PREHAB, I describe a chilling single incident psychic trauma that nearly paralyzed me for a decade. This incident eventually helped lead me to create the principles behind PREHAB and the central idea of "stay here now" when confronting the nightmares that often accompany PTSD. But, PTSD can manifest itself in numerous ways. From depression and societal withdrawal to violent physical outbursts. PTSD is a family killer and a scourge of our society that we are only just now starting to understand.
Soon, as promised, our military personnel will come home from their posts in the middle east. Many, many of our returning military personnel will suffer profoundly from the intense trauma they faced on the battlefield. Some of these returning soldiers and sailors will be readily identified by their field commanders and will be offered military services to help alleviate the pain and trauma of PTSD. However, all too often those soldiers who need it the most will not come forward with their personal anguish and their commanders will not be able to easily identify them for assistance. Most of these returnees will simply slip through the cracks in the system and be discharged without ever being identified as a PTSD sufferer. For those of you who know a returnee or who expect a returnee home from Iraq or Afghanistan soon, to please watch for signs of PTSD. Social withdrawal, extreme moodiness, persistent nightmares or night terrors, sudden anger, increased alcohol or drug use or any increase in addictive activities. There are also certain "triggers" that can cause a panic response that often trips into a full blown PTSD episode. Sirens are my big trigger. Everyone has different triggers. Try to help identify these within those you know who suffer from PTSD. Encourage these brave men and women who are our unseen wounded veterans to seek counseling and assistance from their local VA hospitals. There are new therapies being introduced all the time. One of the newest remedies for PTSD is a high dosage of morphine as close to the incidents cause as can be administered. I'm not sure what the thinking behind this is, perhaps to jolt the brain into some aggressive rejection of the damaging event, perhaps flavoring it and making it more palatable to the mind? It's an interesting approach and very typical of military medical personnel. I wonder how they discovered this possibility? In my experience PTSD is best dealt with through talk therapy and, if necessary, dream repression (so night terrors are reduced). Time, in all its manifestations, plays an immense role in recovery from - or coping with - PTSD. The patient who suffers from PTSD will soon find time an ally or foe depending on what one does with it? I am a big adherent to letting go of the past. This is the best way to defend oneself from PTSD, but it takes the ability to Stay Here Now and that takes practice. So, letting go of the past traumas that become PTSD, or the single event, can be daunting. Try to place the memory of these events into a "therapy file" that you examine when you are with your therapist. Therapy is the proper place for these examinations. Open that file there and then and pull from it whatever images you want to discuss from your past, then after your session is over, replace or discard those images and close the file until your next session. During your daily activities remind yourself that the past is just that, the past. By staying in the here and now we pull our feet from the muck of our past and stand firmly in the moment. From the moment it is easy to step forward and move toward a healthy future. Moving forward thwarts PTSD as it has no place in a healthy future. Now, bring your healthy dreams to a fore and have then envelop your life. Soon you'll leave the nightmarish past behind and you'll be able to move toward your healthy dreams with purpose, passion, and perseverance. Focusing on the moment relieves us of our PTSD and allows us to stay true to our intent of becoming fulfilled and forward moving individuals.

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PREHAB: The Essentials for Successful Change
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