C-ptsd Information.

[jimmy-joe]

PTSD is an anxiety disorder, it doesn't deal with if you are a narcissist, or borderline, or histrionic, schizoid affective? It's all about the anxiety related to and continuing after the event(s). (nightmares wouldn't bother you if they didn't cause anxiety)

 

[Truckinjoan]

Alot of spiritual books I read say every human emotion/feeling/action/reaction is rooted in love or fear. In After the Ecstacy, the Laundry, Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield talks about how each Buddhist tradition - indeed, every spiritual tradition and each unique path - has its own views on emotions. Some people try to transcend emotion altogether and remain in a totally calm, remote state of existence, but the Middle Way involves honoring different emotional states and allowing them to be, going as fully into them with one's awareness as one is able, and letting them arise and pass as they will.

 

[anthony]

I completely agree with you Joan about emotional depth. Our lives in essence all come down to our emotional experience and well-being.

As I've always stated here, the solution to the root of trauma lay within the depth of emotion. When you go digging and find that painful emotion, process it and then work towards resolving it, the person then shifts from past emotion and focuses on present, thus they tend to let go of traumatic memories as a result. You never forget... but for a better term, a person can forgive themselves emotionally to shift into their next life phase without such burdens.

PTSD is another kettle of fish... but without as much negative emotion, then PTSD is no longer fed as much, hence symptom reduction.

 

[Phoenix_Rising]

PTSD is another kettle of fish... but without as much negative emotion, then PTSD is no longer fed as much, hence symptom reduction.

That reminds me of this old Cherokee Legend:

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. One evening he told his grandson about the battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is evil -- it is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good -- it is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it a moment and then asked, "Which one wins?"

The old cherokee replied, "The one you feed."

Never thought about it that way before, but PTSD is kind of like that, except, you don't have as much control over what it is being "fed" as you would in normal circumstances. It is kind of self-feeding, and a person has to find a way to release the emotions that are feeding it, in order to heal.

The more you heal, the less (I don't think evil is really appropriate, lol) the negative, or less life enhancing one is being fed. It also feeds at the expense of the energy of the person who has it, because so much energy is being expended due to the PTSD, it's effects, coping with it, holding the unresolved emotional energy etc., that you do not have as much "good" life enhancing energy to use in the present.

 

[Phoenix_Rising]

Just continuing on with a new thought I just had reading this over... PTSD is very paradoxical, because having it actually INSTILLS the characteristics of the "good wolf" in a person. What do you gain from recovery that "regular" people don't have? Empathy, compassion, kindness, truth, and faith, at a minimum. But many of those characteristics come about from resolving trauma.

 

[maddog]

I thoroughly agree with this sentiment, and try hard to hang onto it when I need reminding of the fact that some good can somehow come from all of this pain and trauma.

There are many cliches to this effect, things such as "you can't appreciate the sunrise until you've lived through the night..." etc, and I do believe they are true.

Not that every trauma sufferer emerges as a pillar of enlightened humanity or anything like that, we're just people afterall, but I do believe that the level of self analysis, reflection and psychological and emotional enlightenment required to confront trauma, take us further along the path to empathy and healthy perspective than many others get the opportunity to travel.

And wow, I loved the wolf story by the way, I'll keep it and add it to my list of lessons to live by - it's a long list, but a select one!

Maddog

 

[Truckinjoan]

I love the wolf story too Phoenix!!!