Supporter Friend Is Ex Navy

[keira7]

Hello,
My name is Erica. I joined this group because one of my best friends was in the navy and experienced severe trauma there and has been trying to recover/heal from PTSD for the past 8 years. I want to learn more about PTSD and how to be a good friend to her (because I haven't always been). Although I now live a state away from her, we are still close. Anyway, I am into natural health and essential oils and would like to eventually help her find ways to support her with nutrition and aromatherapy. I do extensive research on essential oils for PTSD and emotional/mental support, but I want to learn more about the experiences one goes through while trying to recover.
Hope to get to know some of you all! Thank you.
Best wishes!

 

[KwanYingirl]

Just start reading posts and if you have a specific question, pose that. If you are interested in knowing what if any benefit can come from nutrition and aromatherapy, I wouldn't have a clue. Personally I cant tolerate any fragrances they in fact make me sick. I feel benefits from Reiki and yoga. Nutritionwise Id have to guess on that one, but maybe things to support the endocrine system. That is in overdrive when you have PTSD>

 

[StarChild]

Welcome to the forum keira7, is your friend in (trauma) therapy?

 

[Friday]

'Allo!

One of a lot of different sensory tricks is definitely to change your scent.

Scent isn't something a lot of people think of... But even if you can't smell your rage or fear, your brain can, and a lot of people can actually smell it smell it. Showering; using scent blockers (deodorant) in armpits, cleavage, groin; changing your clothes, and rescenting yourself can be hugely helpful for some people. Especially in stopping cascading panic attacks (the scent of your own fear can keep retriggering). Not for everyone, of course, nothing works for everyone.

I'm 15-20 years out... This is solidly one of my tricks... And I have something like 2 dozen different perfumes that I now associate with different moods. <grin>. They get kinda detailed. Like I have one that is "mildly rebellious" which is totally different from eff the rules, the rules are wrong, we're gonna do what's right aka "outright rebellion", which is also totally different from "stone cold killer". Although that one is frighteningly close to the scent I use before cranking up the music, ordering pizza, and field day-ing my house ;).

Since I tapped onto the scent thing fairly early on, I thought aroma therapy for vets was a brilliant idea when a friend of mine (nonmilitary who is also very into alt-med) suggested it a few years back.

Fair warning: a lot of aromatherapy doesn't work on vets the way it's "supposed" to. LOL. Whoopsies. One of the "calming" ones reminds me of JP5, which is a jet fuel I associate with the opposite of calming. Another is from an extremely rare bark or flower or something... That the air reeks of in certain parts in Columbia. That was a seriously bad trip. Bad bad bad. Holds true for non-vets as well (doesn't matter if lemon is supposed to ease depression if you were raped on a wooden floor smelling of lemon pine sol, your abuser used Lemon-Joy, or you were in the Peace Corps in Morrocco & preserved lemons were part of your memories there. If lemon is an olefactory trigger, it's an olefactory trigger. Regardless of what it invokes in "everyone" else.).

 

[WillyKat]

It's obvious you care for your friend very much, so with that as a foundation, its hard to go wrong. Proper nutrition and other natural stuff is awesome…but I would add just one word of caution. You need to make sure she's into it too. She's the one that needs to decide what, how, when about various approaches to healing. She's the one that needs to drive so to speak.

I don't know what the specifics of her trauma are (which is OK) but it's an important part of the healing process to be in charge of one's body. So its fine to maybe introduce aromatherapy or any number of other good things, but she's the one that needs to embrace it.

Welcome to the forum! You will learn much here. There are a number of books on the market about PTSD that should provide some other advice.

 

[keira7]

. I feel benefits from Reiki and yoga. Nutritionwise >

Thank you very much! That is good to know about Reiki and yoga. I will definitely explore more on these forums and see what I can find. :)[DOUBLEPOST=1403885655,1403885459][/DOUBLEPOST]

Welcome to the forum keira7, is your friend in (trauma) therapy?

She isn't specifically in a trauma therapy

 

[keira7]

Proper nutrition and other natural stuff is awesome…
There are a number of books on the market about PTSD that should provide some other advice.

Thank you so much! :) I am going to look around on here and read more to gain more knowledge about this. Oh and yes, she is willing and would love to try natural routes of healing. The only issue is that she doesn't currently have a job. Because I don't live near her, I can't give her immediate help, but I am thinking of buying her supplements/essential oils at some point. Years ago, I probably would never have talked to her about this, but our friendship has grown and been through lots of ups and downs. We've developed a vulnerability and trust with each other that I feel comfortable sharing with her about natural health stuff for her healing. After reading her autobiography on what she went through, it's really opened my eyes to the pain and loss she is walking through.

 

[keira7]

One of a lot of different sensory tricks is definitely to change your scent.

Scent isn't something a lot of people think of... But even if you can't smell your rage or fear, your brain can, and a lot of people can actually smell it smell it. Showering; using scent blockers (deodorant) in armpits, cleavage, groin; changing your clothes, and rescenting yourself can be hugely helpful for some people. Especially in stopping cascading panic attacks (the scent of your own fear can keep retriggering). Not for everyone, of course, nothing works for everyone.

Fair warning: a lot of aromatherapy doesn't work on vets the way it's "supposed" to. LOL. Whoopsies. One of the "calming" ones reminds me of JP5, which is a jet fuel I associate with the opposite of calming. Another is from an extremely rare bark or flower or something... That the air reeks of in certain parts in Columbia. That was a seriously bad trip. Bad bad bad. Holds true for non-vets as well (doesn't matter if lemon is supposed to ease depression if you were raped on a wooden floor smelling of lemon pine sol, your abuser used Lemon-Joy, or you were in the Peace Corps in Morrocco & preserved lemons were part of your memories there. If lemon is an olefactory trigger, it's an olefactory trigge.

That is fascinating! Wow, thank you for sharing this. That is really, really good to know about different "calming" scents that actually might trigger a bad memory or experience. I will have to remember to make my friend aware of this and ask her which ones are okay.

I am pretty picky when it comes to essential oils. A lot of the EOs on the market today are mixed with solvents and diluted. And many of the companies do not actually produce their own essential oils, but rather they get them from broker companies. I have experienced a lot of different essential oils that haven't "worked" like people told me they would. So, right now, I am just using Young Living Essential Oils because they actually own their own farms, distilleries, and labs and have control over the whole process. I've read lots of great testimonies with these oils and am very interested in seeing them help support my friend.

 

[intothelight]

@keira7 Welcome to the forum!

Here is a thread you may find of interest:

https://www.myptsd.com/threads/aromatherapy-that-may-help-relieve-some-ptsd-symptoms.13571/

Also take a look at some of the natural and alternative medicine threads. I hope you find some things to discuss with your freind that she may find helpful.