Ptsd Is An Injury To The Nervous System

[heidi]

Talking can be beneficial if a person wants to talk for a bunch of reasons. But I think if you look at talk therapy as a way to break the spell of PTSD then I think it's going to be very disappointing. I'm not sure that psychology is realistic about their hopes for EMDR. I am very critical of it for that reason. It's not a sliver bullet. I think all this belief in going back to a memory and neutralizing it is nothing more then a magical hope.

I think CBT makes a lot more sense. I think finding practical ways of getting through this and finding more ways to have good days is probably the best we can do and the reality we are stuck with for now.

I still hold out hope that there will be a medical solution someday. I wouldn't say that about any other mental disorder, I just think for PTSD if you consider the brain chemistry it's possible.

 

[The Albatross]

I agree with Heidi, talk therapy is disappointing but it's better than nothing if that's all you've got access to. I did learn some CBT independently by workbooks and some self study.

I tend to think more of PTSD as a nervous system injury. A year or so ago my internal medical doctor branded me with an ambiguous ICD-9 code "COSA", "co-occurring stimulating activity". He retired before I could find out what that means. He did not know that I have PTSD as I have kept my issues "separate".

 

[Springer80]

There are things like yoga though I don't really like that, because as stupid as it sounds my mom does it and she is a bit narcissistic

The first rule about narcissistic yoga club is.....don't go! :giggle: Sorry InHell11, I couldn't resist, just too funny.
I go to yoga but sometimes I do feel like a bit of a twit with people trying to be the most mystical for the teacher or having a competition for who is most at one with themselves. Plus I'm working class so it does feel a bit 'Mummies gone to yoga!.

Swimming is good though, if you learn the controlled breathing it requires and the being in water takes the weight off you adrenaline fried muscles, which is nice.

I totally agree with nervous system work, I've had somatic body psychotherapy, I do think body and proxemics therapy needs to be more than complimentary medicine and as for talk based therapy, it has it's place,... people need to be able to testify/bare witness, often publicly so as to claim back their own history/narrative/identity from those who put them into shame.

However, the physical/physiological/neurological symptoms aren't, in my experience particularly aided by talk therapy. In fact the assumption that 'getting over' trauma was all to do with my intellect/cognition/mind meant that I lived in a confused, desperate, frustrated, more isolated and ashamed than I needed to be and with an extreme and ingrained level of self reproach. Also and quite heart-takingly, a lot of the experiences and chances of my youth (uni, boyfriends, jobs, travel etc) were re-traumaising or just not possible due to the continued and ever compounding symptoms which could have been alleviated so much sooner. This in turn just confirmed my desperation and self doubt, ad infinitum.

I do have time for CBT but in general it is used regard a specific use. I used some to stop smoking and I am about ready to tackle specific learned behavioral traits which are related to having the condition for a long time, I.e. isolation, conflicted sense of self esteem/belief, passivity...but these are the after affects. Using CBT to try and regulate you nervous system is just cruel, cos it implies that you can intellectualize your endocrine system back to normal!

PS good on you I Can Do This for starting training, we've chatted before about this and have similar views :) How long does it take? How much? Where are you doing it?

 

[Tinyflame]

I Can Do This, am not sure how it would impact (or rather not have an impact) on the emotional or cognitive part of past traumas, but still worth trying. Can I ask, is it possible to do it on one's own (if you are alone)? And exactly what are you supposed to 'do'? Thank you, :hug: .

 

[I Can Do This]

I still hold out hope that there will be a medical solution someday. I wouldn't say that about any other mental disorder, I just think for PTSD if you consider the brain chemistry it's possible.

Hi Heidi - there is a solution but it is not medical. We don't necessarily need medical intervention beyond anti depressants and the usual. You are correct that PTSD alters our chemistry throughout our nervous system, which the brain is a part of. Because of this, it can be worked with to get it back into normal functioning. But it has to be done with therapies that can access our subconscious mind where our trauma's are stored. CBT mostly works with the cerebral cortex and therefore has little affect on the subconscious.

All of the symptoms we feel are from the subconscious mind believing that it has found danger - and as in most cases, it has never "relaxed" back to its resting potential from the last trauma, so then little things become very big things to us. Like a cup that can't hold anymore water and just overflows even if you just put one drop in.

I think it is so important and empowering to learn about our brain and our nervous system so we can have a thorough understanding of what is happening to us. With out that knowledge we feel more helpless and bewildered by what is happening to us. It will still feel awful when it happens, but it doesn't knock us to the ground because we now understand what is happening inside of us. Taking away the mystery is incredibly helpful for anyone suffering from any disorder.

 

[InHell11]

I don't know I have looked into quite a bit of information on PTSD and how exactly it effects the brain and nervous system, and honestly it doesn't really make me feel any better about what's going on. It actually makes me more concerned about what physical effects its having and the long term damage that could do and the fact I can't just flip a switch and make it stop...if I could I probably would.

I guess maybe it depends on how you look at the knowledge and how it ties into your specific experience.

 

[heidi]

It almost feels like if I could just get in the brain I could get at it. I always think damaging the brain might be a part of a cure. Or maybe some kind of relief from the production of too much cortisone.