PTSD/ASD And Wikipedia

[becvan]

OneBraveGirl, going back and changing your original post and removing those extremely harsh and judging words does not change that fact that you wrote them. You did say that people simply do not work hard enough and don't want to. I know I read it. Backtrack all you want, it was already posted. I may not be able to quote it now, but I know what I read and so do many others.

You may have been in a hospital program but that is not a large sample of PTSD sufferers. There are so many different situations and so many people in different states of healing that there is no way anyone can stand there and say that someone is just not willing to do the work if they can not be cured.

People have their own journey's to take and it is not for any of us to say what that journey is or how long it can take.

Btw, I am one of those rare few that can not do exposure therapy due to the risk. I have worked my ass off in therapy for years. I am only able to work on coping and management. My idea of coping and management is many others worst symptoms. There are MANY others like me, both on and off this site. In NO WAY are we lazy, unwilling, or using any system. We simply do not have the choice. There are many with co-morbid disorders, which means they have double the work us straight PTSDers do and it will take them twice as long. They are not lazy, unwilling or using the system either.

I really suggest you read a bit more here first before posting anything similar again. One hospital program does not even come close to the reality of the rest of us.

bec

 

[onebravegirl]

I never said that everyone can recover from PTSD and if they do not that they have not worked hard enough. I said I have Recovered. Some people choose not to try and improve their given diagnosis. It was not ever intended to be a blanket statement of all who have PTSD being alike. It is an example of the extreme.
It may have been easier for me than it is for you. Does that make you feel better? You are the one trying to measure pain, not me. You need to ask yourself why you are all so afraid of the possibility that some people do recover. One would think that a person would wish well for all sufferers. One would think that fellow suffers would hope for some sort of new understanding of PTSD and how to treat it. To surrender to the fact that others will eternally suffer is heartbreaking. You may be comfortable with that fact But I refused to and that helped me in my Recovery. That is what I have wished for others. What are you so afraid of? Hope?
Perhaps you think that I am dangerous in offering hope when there is none. Civilization is full of visionaries who helped push traditional ideas. I do not preach that my way is the way of salvation. I have no idea what it is in me that makes me see things differently than you all. But what ever the case is, what ever Therapy strategy or influence it may have been, I am where I am. And until others like myself are acknowledged (even if it is the .1% of the PTSD population) you may not ever hear of our stories.
I am not your enemy. I in no way mean to Patronize people who are suffering. If I have done that I am genuinely sorry.
As far as my 'editing' goes you are completely wrong. In an upset state we all say things that could be re-phrased in a more accurate way. Given the emotional way things are read here I am learning that what I say is often taken as an attack and that is not what I intended. The editing I did was to elaberate on my original thought, not to remove it.
O

 

[TLight]

Geez, whatever guys.

Just do the best you can with what you have. Don't remain a victim and do seek extra assistance when you are struggling.

I truly don't know anyone who would use an actual accurately diagnosed illness as a crutch, but I"m sure they must be out there.

There are bad apples in every bunch. But if anyone 'uses' PTSD as a way of not dealing with their lives.........well, they need to take that road for some reason and they will suffer even more in my opinon.

I think most people truly work hard to recover and are not like this. Whether 'cure' can happen..........well a matter of symantics I guess.

I'm cured today. I have hope. Tomorrow I may struggle with some of the very same things I thought I'd conquered years ago. Isn't that just life?

Hope is always there for those who chose it. But stay away from denial of reality, because it is a killer of hope in this case. In my humble opinion.

 

[A-RON]

Geez, whatever guys.

Haha, that's what I'm saying. If you're healthy, does it matter what you call it? My life has completely turned around in the last nine months. 100% turn around. I've often wondered, "Maybe I never had PTSD?" or... "Maybe it'll come back in the future?" The bottom line is, if you figure out a way to be healthy in your life, take full advantage of that personal discovery. For me, I learned that serving others is the best coping mechanism, whether I have PTSD or not. Words only have the value that you assign them. But honestly, I believe that altruism has changed my brain chemistry. Then again, if I really had PTSD, would it even be possible for the connections to transmit through my brain in order to be "cured"? An analogy would be like a car that's missing its hoses. If the hose from the water pump to the engine is missing, you can't simply "will" the antifreeze to the engine. It's going to handicap the vehicle. Eventually, you're going to overheat. So to this day I have no idea if I have PTSD, but I've been feeling really good for the past six to nine months, and it's because I found a proactive way of coping with my problems, whether PTSD or not. I was in the worst rut of my life, so I decided to do everything exactly opposite. I couldn't help but feel selfish, so I decided to do something completely selfless. I was spending all my energy hiding from life, so I decided to do exactly opposite and put myself out there. I made myself completely vulnerable to all of my problems and decided it couldn't possibly cause more pain than I was already going through. Am I going to have issues in the future? I don't know. Do I have PTSD? I don't know, maybe, maybe not. Do I feel healthy? Yes! And if I get to a point where I no longer feel healthy, then I can address the situation at that point in time. I will know what had worked for me in the past. Now I don't have to worry about the future. I feel cured, whether that's a fact or not. I'll leave semantics to the professionals. To me, it's irrelevent because I found the answer for me. And the answer is: Opposite!

 

[onebravegirl]

Fantastic post!
O

 

[NarcSis]

I am who I am and I am damn proud of the work I have done

I think this is the most important message here. Who cares what your diagnosis is???? Its just a label to place you in a convenient treatment bottle.

I am who I am and I am damn proud of the work I have done.

Say it and believe it, in the end, what we believe is all that really matters.

 

[tryintobreathe]

Wikipedia's definition of cure:

A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cure

 

[Nicolette]

I interpreted Wikipedia as saying the 'end' rather than "effective treatment" for the word cure. It also clarified there were differences eg the cure of the common cold determined by the person no longer having symptoms versus diabetes mellitus where a person had no symptoms but had not been cured.

 

[anni]

A-Ron,

I just wanted to comment on something you said helped you hugely, and that is serving others. In a word, YES! I try to manage my PTSD everyday. The avoidance and shame are a constant struggle. If I can check out of my head, and direct energy and attention to doing something ( anything) to help someone else, the sense of satisfaction is amazing. If I can do it secretly, all the better. That is just me, however. My avoidance symptom precludes my ability to always be able to interact in the world. It's still possible for me to buy fuel oil for a poor family, arrange a job for someone unemployed, gather clothes and drop them off somewhere for someone I know needs them, etc. I personally call it 'getting my head out of my *ss', but whatever I call it, boy does it help!

Thanks for your great point! Take care!

Anni

 

[onebravegirl]

I just wanted to comment on something you said helped you hugely, and that is serving others. In a word, YES! I try to manage my PTSD everyday. The avoidance and shame are a constant struggle. If I can check out of my head, and direct energy and attention to doing something ( anything) to help someone else, the sense of satisfaction is amazing. If I can do it secretly, all the better. That is just me, however. My avoidance symptom precludes my ability to always be able to interact in the world. It's still possible for me to buy fuel oil for a poor family, arrange a job for someone unemployed, gather clothes and drop them off somewhere for someone I know needs them, etc. I personally call it 'getting my head out of my *ss', but whatever I call it, boy does it help!

Just wanted to second a thank you. It may not be what one would automatically think would help but I also feel that thinking about other people in need and reaching out to them is very soothing. I agree with you Anni too. The more anonymous the generosity the better the feeling. There really is more Happiness in Giving than Receiving!
O

 

[loqu]

Thanks to everyone for your comments but please keep this thread relevant to the heading namely changing the Wikipedia articles for the better. Even if you believe in a cure there is great room for improvement especially when it comes to correctly interpreting the DSM-IV which underlies much of the articles on PTSD/ASD.

 

[anni]

Loqu,

Please do keep posting information. I'm inclined towards the 'manage not cure' literature, but we will all benefit from hearing all the research. Informed decisions have to be informed, and Wikipedia needs to be accurate.

Although as a PTSD sufferer my first reaction was to be knocked a little off balance by being brought back to the thread, thanks for doing so. It is harder to follow the information if it is interrupted by off-topic comments.

Take care,

Anni