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General Book Suggestions

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superd

Learning
I am sure this has been covered, but can anyone recommend any good books on PTSD, especially ones written for spouses/loved ones? Thanks everyone in advance.
 
Hi Superd

Not sure if it's going to be any good or not but I'm off to the library tomorrow to get a copy of Anxiety Disorders:The caregivers by Ken Strong. The library has just found me a copy of it. Will let you know if it's worth a look (I hope it will be!)
Hope your having a good day.
 
SuperD,

I have read one from an American author and his wife but can't for the life of me remember what the name was. It was geared towards the military veteran anyway, as he was a vietnam vet. Having said that, his wife gave a really good account of dealing with PTSD from the spouses' perspective. It really doesn't differ that much because your dealing with PTSD either way. Paige Mason or something like that I think.

Anyhow, Anthony has just recently purchased a number of books. I will see if any of those have any relevance.
 
I discovered this site and am considering ordering the back issues for my partner. Also you can read some samples of what is in it. Although this is written by a vet's spouse, it still applies...

http://www.patiencepress.com/

Hope that helps some.

Bec
 
Superd, I would recommend you go to your local online / state bookshop, do a search for PTSD, then review all the books that are returned, then even venture to larger online shops, do the same search, and see what else is in the world and order them in if you want them.

I would also actually take an opposite route in regard to books for spouses, and instead read books from sufferers, because those books are going to open your eyes to the actual reality of PTSD, what a sufferer endures and then give you the analytic skills to pull experience from those book types and use in conjunction with your spouse, kinda like having the knowledge to react to their reaction the right way.

I would also say the same to sufferers, in that they should be reading books written by spouses, because then they can get a more honest and appreciative level of understanding what they put partners through, learn from that and begin applying skills to help relationships because they are armed with the knowledge of how spouses feel, react, what they think, etc etc...

The better the understanding you have of the problem, the better the outcome you can develop to structure insightful and rewarding progress within relationships and life. For spouses, the problem is the sufferer, for sufferers, the problem is the spouse. Interesting ha...
 
Superd,

Bec has got the right link!! That is the book I was thinking of, close.......... not Paige....but close. Anthony is currently reading a book called 'Counselling for Post-traumatic Disorder' by Michael J Scott and Stephen G Stradling. Its not directed at spouses or those with PTSD but more those who counsel PTSD. As he has suggested, this might be a better strategy because spouse issues or how to handle them you can usually find out from asking here. When he is finished with it I plan to have a look....who knows what I might find.
 
Bec,

I couldn't believe it either when I read your post..........the light went on!! I'm glad you got a laugh - we all need that every now and then.
 
Yep... you don't want to read books about how other spouses have lived with PTSD, because the only outcome is that you know what you already know, others do it and put up with the same shit.

What you want to know, is how counsellors and therapists pull information from clients, which means, you then find strategies and ways to unintrusively pull emotional feelings from your spouses, instead of standard logic responses which just piss a PTSD sufferer off even more. You need to understand why they do things because of PTSD, not just why do they things in general. You need to know what is PTSD, and what is relationship issues, because the two often get very confused into the PTSD wrapping.

You need to learn about PTSD itself, not what spouses of PTSD have done or how they cope. Learning about PTSD itself will teach you far better than a book from a spouse on how to handle a partner with PTSD, how to even begin getting within their mind and making them open up to you, which is the end aim.

Much of talking with a sufferer on an emotional level is about time and place. If a sufferer is doing something, you will only ever upset the balance and get an aggresive response, opposed to if the sufferer and you are lets say... lieing in bed together before going to sleep... you may actually get a very different response, because the person is now concentrated on one thing, not doing and answering a question, just now answering a question. Time and place is a big thing... which slowly as partners and sufferers work through issues, open up to more broader spectrums and then eventually just become a part of daily life and discussion occur everywhere and anywhere. Start small... work your way up over the years.
 
I'm delighted to have discovered this thread. I was going to start a new one, asking about books especially for carers. I have read much of Patience Mason's writings, and also Aphrodite Matsakis' book Vietnam Wives. Obviously I'm not a Vietnam wife, but there was much helpful information contained in it regardless. Jods, what did you think of Anxiety Disorders: The Caregivers? Any good? Perhaps I will search for it myself, thanks.
 
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