Explaining Stuck

I keep doing research and reading what others write about the challenges of PTSD.  One of the more perplexing terms used by counselors is the explanation that I am ‘Stuck.’  Well great, what does it mean and how do I get unstuck?  I imagined myself ‘stuck’ in quicksand, the more I struggled the more ‘stuck’…

Bleeding

This may be highly triggering for some people.  Proceed with caution. I wrote this early in my counseling. I was attempting to get across to my counselor the struggles I was having with emotional distress. I’m bleeding I go to my parents – I’m bleeding. Oh honey I’m sorry to hear that, here’s a little…

PTSD Resource

Many links, lots of information.  Post 9/11, PTSD became a part of a larger culture as people were traumatized watching the suffering of others.  A pivotal time that literally changed the views of everyone.  It rocked the world and opened discussion of how to treat those that suffer from witnessing traumatic events.  I haven’t explored…

Getting out of the hole

I’m not a soldier but this poem depicts why I write.  I was deep in a hole.  Fortunately, my counselor understood how to help me get out of my hole.  I want to pass on what I learned.  I still struggle with many things but I have a life now that 20 years ago I…

Logic loses

In the battle of the mind, logic loses. I am struggling with one of the techniques in Karate.  I know logically that it will work.  I successfully done it several times.  But every time I step up to the mat, I battle the terror again.  In my mind, I’m lying on the ground unable to…

Care givers

One of the interesting things about PTSD is how many similarities it has to traumatic brain injury.  My daughter had a large brain tumor removed last May.  She shared this link to Caregiver tips for caregivers of those that are recovering from brain tumor surgery.  As I read, I recognized many of the same challenge…

Anxiety

Anxiety is one of the leading and aggravating symptoms of PTSD.  My daughter-in-law posted a link to an awesome article on anxiety.  Not everyone with PTSD experiences anxiety.  Not everyone with anxiety has PTSD.  However, I believe this article can help people understand what she experiences with anxiety.  She did label it with trigger warnings. …

Who decides hurt?

I enjoy Facebook pages that post stuff that encourages, makes me think, and agrees with me.     The reverse is also true.  If I tell someone they hurt me, they don’t get to decide that they didn’t. One of the important things that I learned in counseling was I decide what hurts me.  As…