Is Healing Possible?

[Hope69]

So you believe healing is possible?
Do you believe that you will heal?
What would healing look like for you?

I do believe healing is possible, because I've met people who lead full, happy, symptom free lives after trauma. So its possible.
The next question, though is trickier. The nature of pain wears a person out. So holding hope can be a challenge, especially since the brain is so affected by PTSD, thoughts are like rascally foxes. Do I believe I will heal, not fully, no. I believe it is possible though, so I keep reading, trying things out, going to therapy. I am looking for ways that will lead me to a full, symptom free life.
What it would look like for me would include a feeling of peace and acceptance around the past. An emotional neutrality around events and people who were hurtful to me. A sense of gratitude for the life I have. A sense of possibility and excitement for things to come. A feeling that my body is strong. A trust in myself to make healthy choices and a knowing that I can get through the ups and downs of life as a whole person.
I truly wish we will al find our own healing

 

[Deleted member 541]

We never fully recover. But we can have times that things are relatively calm and as normal as they can be. It takes work and determination, but it can be achieved.....

I wish you well on your journey.

 

[Crow]

I want to believe. Hope is the only reason I'm alive. As I move through healing, often I think it isn't worth it. The more progress I make, seemingly the harder everything is. But then I have a few hours where I slip back to where I lived before in dissociation and numbness and when I come out I'm amazed at how beautiful my life is now. Full of feeling and color. Harder, yes. But gorgeous. Hoping the 'harder' eases up as I continue.

 

[Hope69]

We never fully recover. But we can have times that things are relatively calm and as normal as they can...

thank you She cat. I wish you well too!

 

[Hope69]

I want to believe. Hope is the only reason I'm alive. As I move through healing, often I think it i...

Yes, I recovered to a point where I felt really positive and managed a very stressful life without anxiety. Lack of boundaries and self care landed me back in PTSD land, but I do remember those moments of being awe at beauty and I'm so glad you have those!

 

[DharmaGirl]

I do know healing is possible because I have healed a lot. Am I cured? No. I also have chronic pain so it makes the PTSD worse sometimes. Right now my symptoms are bad, so I have found a new therapist for my pain, made a self-care plan, since I tend to let that fall to the wayside when I am doing well, and am keeping my diabetes in check. I don't like to eat when I am in bad pain, so I have very low blood sugars about 3 times a week. I started eating anyway today, since low blood sugars are scary to me. I passed out yesterday. Anyway, to get back on track, I do ok as long as I keep my world very small. For me, healing would consist of broadening my world to include activities that involve other people, and being able to get out in the world. I will get there.

 

[Ka-9]

Nice vision Hope- hope you find that (no pun intended)

I'm as certain as I could be via the time length and my own instincts I won't heal or recover.

So- I focus on adapting and accepting, creating new philosophies to live with, and trying to enjoy moments of time, as opposed to overall happiness.

I may not feel happy today, but I'll ride the horse...and enjoy that moment as best I can by using mindfullness, sensation, even music if I can. Then at days end, I re-live those 1 or 2 moments, and count that as the day proving valuable.

 

[Rani G2]

Hey Hope,

i personally strive not to over pathologise trauma, not to identify myself with PTSD or CPTSD. Nothing against Diagnosis, it helps one to find orientation. But I myself want to See my individual path.

Healing so far means to me self-empowerment, emancipation and understanding mechanisms and forces that run in our societies and to which extent I am going to participate in them.

Autonomy and self-eficacy gives me a feeling of power and control.

 

[Abstract]

Yes I believe in healing. I do a lot of radical acceptance so my belief fits alongside that. I don't believe in looking back and thinking in terms of undoing what has happened or occurred. I rather think of it in terms of growth and a better way forward. I believe there is no end to the amount of growth that we can achieve. I find it unhelpful for me to have a definite end point as an aim and rather like to leave the door open for things to progress organically. Any increase in understanding, awareness, identity growth, self growth, or symptom improvement qualifies as healing for me. Not just reduction in pain. Sometimes healing creates an increase in pain initially.

 

[Hope69]

wow, some wonderful feedback. Thanks! It seems that mindfulness, firmly planting my feet in the now, and acceptance are tools many of us use. It sounds as though allowing things to move organically without a specific end point fits well with acceptance in that life may never live up to our ideas of how it should be. I'm not in that space right now. I had a taste of connection with something that felt really right for myself, a vision that fit me. It slipped though my fingers as I went with a familiar pattern . So I am perhaps looking for a feeling more than a place, and from that feeling, I become creative with what ever I have . We shall see. It is funny though that success is so not about a car, a house, a well paying job or a relationship for me. Its all about feeling strong, centered, trusting and creative.

 

[Snowflake]

Do I believe healing is possible ?
----It depends on the person, their courage, strength, therapist and support system. Is healing ever possible -I don't think so, just make life more bearable.

Do I believe I can heal?
----some days I think I have a chance to get better, stronger. Other days I think I have a death sentence.

What does it look/feel like?
---I don't know. Hoping my body, mind and surroundings would be less tense, fearful, triggering. Hoping I could smile and laugh and mean it. Hoping to have friends, hoping my body can stop hurting.

 

[ladee]

Cured, no. Managable, yes. I have had PTSD my entire life So have no concept of what life would be without it. My identity is 'ladee', not PTSD.
I am still learning and hope that I never get to a place of not being open to try new things. Just recently was given the gift of things I can do to stop dissociation. Something that I can practice every day and allow myself to be exposed to the trigger so I can make progress.It will take commitment and practice. Have many years of healing practice and am reasonably happy. Living life on life's terms. A LOT of freedom in that.
Don't go so far back before I do what I have learned to do to stop a full on journey of symptoms from taking my hard earned healing to the crazy level.
I can honestly say I am worth the hard work.
So I keep on keepin' on. Living life.