Pavelka’s Toolbox includes the question “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer of course is cut it up.

With PTSD, I was overwhelmed by a massive blue whale…..

Weight:  up to 330,000 pounds or 150,000 kg  Length 110 feet or 33 m

An Elephant is a measly…..

Weight: up to 15,000 pounds or 7000kg  Height 13 ft or 4 meters.

Kind of like 22 elephants = One blue whale.

How do you tackle a whale?  Call in professionals.  Really.  Too often we are expected to handle massive problems alone.  When you have a whale of a problem, call professionals.  Get help.  Don’t beat yourself up because you can’t do it alone.  I tackled working through PTSD one counseling session at a time.  I went to counseling for 10 years, worked my way through 4 different counselors.  Fortunately, my first one understood PTSD and knew how to help me develop my toolkit of tools.  I am a work in progress.  I learned about team building from Froglogic.  https://ptsd-acceptingcopingthriving.com/2015/11/19/building-a-team/ If you look up whaling, you will see it takes a crew to bring in a whale.  Build a team of helpers, consultants, trusted friends and family that understand.  Reminder, just because they are family does not mean they will understand.  In the case of childhood abuse, family is why you have problems in the first place.  Select team members that got your back, willing to call you on your crap, and encourage you to be your own best self.  Self-reliance is important learning to work as a team of self-reliant people can bring in a whale.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pjI2XkmoL0