40 Years Ago, therapists knew how to talk to PTSD sufferers.

[Odd Socks]

I'm a combat vet who retired from service in the 1980's and went humanitarian.
Hearts and minds, helping unbelievably nice but destitute level people to survive.
Until a false war struck and ethnic cleansing started.
It was brutal, and our team worked 24/7 for 6 months picking up the pieces.
Eventually I fell and couldn't get back up.

Treatment followed, an early version of PET, and IT WORKED!
Fast forward to 3 years ago. Social media plastered a new war onto my screen relighting old fires and broke me again. Help! I asked, I got something, but not what I needed.

The treatment on offer was about coping in the day but NOTHING to stop the nightmares. Then I discovered why. The professional standards weenies say PET doesn't work.

So I tried their solutions, their tick list treatments, all by remote link as face to face is a zip (post) code lottery, and I got worse. Worse enough for them to say, "We can't help you". Now I'm at a loss to what to do next as I'm still reactive, hyper-aware, and definitely not very nice if triggered. Any ideas???

 

[Friday]

Pfft. PET is one of the gold standards… hell… EMDR is a TYPE OF Exposure Therapy. (Although only a teeny tiny narrow edge of EMDR is “for” the complex trauma combat etc. is, and almost no one is trained in it.). You were dealing with an eedjit, or box of em.

Any ideas???

Back to basics.

1. The whole eat, sleep, bathe, exercise baseline thing… even if it’s shitty… done in 20min catnaps & waking doze, three bites of cereal, and glaring at the shoes, the door, the heavy bag. It’s a start. Then do more. Better. Stronger. Faster. Compete with yourself. Make it fun. Or at least funny.

Check this shit out >>> The ptsd cup explanation <<< You were probably doing it as easy as breathing, just built into your life for the last however long, until shit went sideways. If you’re anything like me? You stopped for what you thought were good/right/responsible reasons… and didn’t know how stopping is like working without a net.

2. You KNOW PET works, because you did it before, and you can do it again. Word to the wise? Start chipping away at those triggers and stressors that are f*cking you over, first, then go after trauma. Get your life better, & more in hand, before tackling the hard shit. Besides. You’re already dealing with triggers and stressors, so? Make them your bitch, & put ‘em to work for you. Recover faster, hits lighter, the more we chip away at them.

Former USMC
Former (current? Get back to me on that one) NGO
Former things they use cute little acronyms for, these days. That I just… can’t.

 

[Ecdysis]

What's PET?

 

[Friday]

What's PET?

Prolonged Exposure Therapy.

It’s usually/often paired with EMDR, eye movement desensitisation; SIT, stress inoculation therapy; TF-CBT, trauma focused cognitive behavioural therapy; & a few others.

This is a basic outline of ONE (of many ways, written is just one) to come at PET >>> Guidance for using a trauma diary for exposure therapy (cbt)

PET sounds like throwing the baby in the river to see if it can swim, just by its name, but because you’re constantly monitoring your SUDS & physiological reactions? It’s actually quite boring. Flicker of response, and step back. Flirt along the edges, though, and the edges actually MOVE. You can chip away at a thing with exposure therapy until it’s marble freaking smooth & completely non-reactive. Instead of a razor clawed vice with spring loaded spikes.

 

[Evie loves Sam]

I'm a combat vet who retired from service in the 1980's and went humanitarian.
Hearts and minds, helping unbelievably nice but destitute level people to survive.
Until a false war struck and ethnic cleansing started.
It was brutal, and our team worked 24/7 for 6 months picking up the pieces.
Eventually I fell and couldn't get back up.

Treatment followed, an early version of PET, and IT WORKED!
Fast forward to 3 years ago. Social media plastered a new war onto my screen relighting old fires and broke me again. Help! I asked, I got something, but not what I needed.

The treatment on offer was about coping in the day but NOTHING to stop the nightmares. Then I discovered why. The professional standards weenies say PET doesn't work.

So I tried their solutions, their tick list treatments, all by remote link as face to face is a zip (post) code lottery, and I got worse. Worse enough for them to say, "We can't help you". Now I'm at a loss to what to do next as I'm still reactive, hyper-aware, and definitely not very nice if triggered. Any ideas???

I was going to say EMDR? And maybe DBT which is used for other conditions but may help with dysregulation.

For nightmares, I apply my own exposure-esk directly after. Directly in waking, I go back to the nightmare and imagine different endings that are better than the one I had.

Like magyver, what could change to make that nightmare have less weight. It can get away from me a little. It's never been taught to me in therapy, and I cant get therapy now to check if its suitable. But its the only way, I can go back to sleep the next night. Whatever guve comfort I guess is what I am saying..

Just had a nighmare now. That was three hours sleep...and I'm here