I Believe PTSD Is Curable - An Anonymous Source

[James B.]

Some info from Dr. Norman Doidge's web site:

"The new treatment for PTSD illustrated in the film, Changing Your Mind, which shows patients writing out narratives of their trauma and taking the medication propranolol, has been developed by Canadian psychologist Alain Brunet, Ph.D., associated with the Douglas Hospital and McGill University, Montreal Canada. The Brain That Changes Itself describes how the process of re-consolidation of memories puts memories into a plastic, malleable state."

Thanks for the tip CM. Interesting information.

 

[Dougal]

This research was recently showcased on David Suzuki's The Nature of Things (CBC.ca / documentaries / the nature of things). It isn't clear whether this treatment is effective for a single trauma, multiple trauma/s, etc. Interesting for sure and I suspect within the next two years we shall see some major changes regards how PTSD is treated. All good stuff.

CM

 

[Tinyflame]

Propranolol- to reduce blood pressure, I believe? Haven't googled it but off the top of my head,- irregardless that part of it would certainly make sense.

 

[ikop]

About the left/right hands use theory.
I still did not understand what is need to be done exactly .
Do you have to do some technical activities with your left hand , or take a very known to you activity that involve both hands and replace the hands so the left hand will do what the right did before and the right what the left ?

 

[James B.]

Do you have to do some technical activities with your left hand , or take a very known to you activity that involve both hands and replace the hands so the left hand will do what the right did before and the right what the left ?

This is a really good question.

My hunch is that the less intuitive the left hand operation is, or would be, perhaps the more effective it could be. I sketch, so left hand sketching is ideal. Also put my mouse on the left, and switched the functions to 'left hand'. However, re-learning to play an instrument left handed is a major task, and that's what worked for the guy.

To do the left hand sketching, I have to be ready to feel awkward, or childlike doing a highly developed right-hand skill. My plan is to take it in stages, tracing old sketches with the left, then re-drawing with out tracing, then create originals. Probably still life's - just a table, chairs, things like that. Others have mentioned simply learning to cook and eat left handed.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[ikop]

Jemes b
you can't forget that sometimes people recover from ptsd , without any reason.
A type of spontaneous recovery. we cannot know for sure, that the left handed banjo was the reason for lrs recovery.

 

[James B.]

Hey, I'm cool with that! Here's to recovery, be it from banjo, bad art, base-riff or brew-haha - bring it on!

 

[ikop]

Any suggestions about activities that can be done other than writing left hand.
I thought about taking a keyboard (comp keyboard) and replacing all the letters. what i mean ? for example the p goes to the left side where the q is, the q goes to the p place . O goes in place of w and w in place of o. and so on.
After you do it, you learn how to use the keyboard with left hand pressing the right hand buttons and the right hand the left one's .
It is extremely difficult to lean that .

 

[Dougal]

Hello ikop,

There are some things you can try that are a bit simpler than re-jigging your computer keyboard, though what a challenge. Perhaps something to work up to?

Google Stroop test and follow the directions. I have this copied and taped to the wall in various spots in my home / practice whenever I can.

Google Brain Gym. There are some free exercises on-line. There are also some videos you can watch / it comes up with the menu when you google. You can also buy the book.

Brain games are good too. I am thinking sites like Luminosity where you can play on-line.

A simple exercise is to stretch your non dominant arm forward and with your pointing finger draw the number 8 in the air (horizontally). Do this 10-12 times then repeat with your dominant hand. Then repeat with your non-dominant hand. Make sure the 8 crosses at your mid line as follows:

If you start with your left hand the first circle of the 8 is drawn on the right side clockwise, cross at mid-line, and the second circle is drawn counter clockwise, cross at mid line and so on. It is the reverse with your dominant hand (if you are right handed) and the first circle is counter clockwise on the left, crosses midline, clockwise on the right. All the 8's are done with one movement / no stopping and starting other than to change hands.

Another exercise is to march on the spot bringing your left knee up to your right elbow and right knee up to your left elbow. Do this for one minute / rest for one minute and repeat.

A great way to increase attention (I do this at training events) is to doodle a horizontal 8 over and over. It really works. Not sure why but when I do this I retain more information.

I don't think you can over-do any of this stuff / practice when you can.

CM

 

[ikop]

I want these thread to be alive!

Does someone here tried a similar activity to what LRS did ? i searched the thread and the all the forum for potential info and found only some people tried to patch an eye , to sketch a little , someone told she is an Ambidexterity all life and it didn't help her, and someonle learned some martial art using left hand.
The question is if someone who know to play a musical instrument tried to do it lefty for months.. ?.

Lrs claims that it must be an diffiсult activity that ones know to do it with dominant hand , so i am afraid things like using your Toothbrush with left hand or the computer mouse, is not сomlicated enough for this process to happen , even writing may be not complicated enough compered to playing musical instrument lefty.

If this theory has some basis , and if indeed that what made LRS be symptoms free fro 6 (?) years , including no physiological symptoms like "startle response" that must be tried, investigated , preferable to copy what LRS did ,not banjo but any musical instrument.

I cannot play any musical instrument at all and i don't know if learning to play but with left hand will trigger for me that neurological "buttons" that were triggered in the original LRS's story. the most hardest activity i can think of for me is writing, but again not sure if it is good .

so please someone who know to play , try it! just try it.

people are trying things that have not much scientific basis like eft , acupuncture , and even EMDR .
people going to therapy for years and years , trying to cope with hard emotional memories , years and years of hard battle.

Here we have a very simple procedure that one person that had ptsd for at least 30 years as i understand and some day he found himself free of ptsd or cured like he said, in a very short period of time.

we must try it! please somebody.

I will be happy for idias for me to try something like that , but not writing.

thank you.

please comment ! ( sorry for mistakes in grammar)

 

[AdamAnt]

I agree with you ikop! If something is proven to work it should be exhaustively reseached until every aspect is tried!

 

[Deleted member 5760]

When I dance (which I do absolutely 9/10 days - because I love to do it) I make sure I do spins in both directions.