Sleeping Dragon
Platinum Member
Based on a recommendation from Jimmy and Spock I'm reading a book titled Once A Warrior-Always A Warrior by Charles Hoge. It's an excellent read for anyone who's seen what we've seen.
There's nothing in the book that I haven't thought of or felt before. But, Dr. Hoge does an excellent job of explaining how and why reactions to combat effect us throughout our lives (he connects the dots).
I'd like to quote something from his book that points out what I've believed for a long time. "PTSD is an adaptive and beneficial response when there is a threat to your personal welfare or that of others, and the persistence of these reactions is the body's effort to ensure that you're immediately ready if the danger occurs again".
Dr. Hoge goes into detail about the limbic part of the brain and how it takes over when survival is threatened. He says. "The job of the limbic system is to ensure that you survive by not forgetting anything that happened during dangerous or threatening situations. These memories are not bound in time". He also says. "The limbic part of the brain does not give a damn how miserable you are as a result of being overwhelmed (flooded) with these memories".
Here's why this is such a comfort to me. It lets me know that what I feel is PERFECTLY NORMAL. I was built this way so that I could have a chance to survive. These animal instincts are a gift, not a curse. And, holding onto them is what my mind and body were designed to do.
Now, as well as these gifts served me in the mountains of Quang Nam Province, they create huge problems back home. That Dragon who lives in the limbic doesn't give a fat rat's ass about laws, rules, compassion or forgiveness. He's programmed to survive.
Learning how to control this part of me must be my number one priority. If I can't stay in control nothing in my life will work, NOTHING. So, I'll keep reading and practicing, every damned day.
SD
There's nothing in the book that I haven't thought of or felt before. But, Dr. Hoge does an excellent job of explaining how and why reactions to combat effect us throughout our lives (he connects the dots).
I'd like to quote something from his book that points out what I've believed for a long time. "PTSD is an adaptive and beneficial response when there is a threat to your personal welfare or that of others, and the persistence of these reactions is the body's effort to ensure that you're immediately ready if the danger occurs again".
Dr. Hoge goes into detail about the limbic part of the brain and how it takes over when survival is threatened. He says. "The job of the limbic system is to ensure that you survive by not forgetting anything that happened during dangerous or threatening situations. These memories are not bound in time". He also says. "The limbic part of the brain does not give a damn how miserable you are as a result of being overwhelmed (flooded) with these memories".
Here's why this is such a comfort to me. It lets me know that what I feel is PERFECTLY NORMAL. I was built this way so that I could have a chance to survive. These animal instincts are a gift, not a curse. And, holding onto them is what my mind and body were designed to do.
Now, as well as these gifts served me in the mountains of Quang Nam Province, they create huge problems back home. That Dragon who lives in the limbic doesn't give a fat rat's ass about laws, rules, compassion or forgiveness. He's programmed to survive.
Learning how to control this part of me must be my number one priority. If I can't stay in control nothing in my life will work, NOTHING. So, I'll keep reading and practicing, every damned day.
SD
