Is There Really No Way Out?

[joshua_]

I'd suggest reading "Waking the Tiger" by Peter Levine.

I've heard of that. Isn't that about somatic experiencing? I've heard good things about SE.

Thank you everyone for replying. I agree JarHed, time is probably what has helped me the most.

 

[Hashi]

It's about somatic experiencing but actually I didn't do somatic experiencing after reading it. I did a different somatic therapy.

It's also about what happens with trauma and healing, generally. About why it's possible to heal.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

What about a one-time trauma of a torturous murder from a stranger done to a stranger? Do you think I can completely recover from that?

I'm not an expert, but I think that even though it was horrific, that since it was a one time incident, then you have a good chance of recovering. I can't say "complete recovery" because I think that means different things to different people. I will say this though. Trauma changes us forever. You will never be the same person that you were before the trauma. I remember one of my past therapists saying this to me, with the adage that I am lucky to not need to mourn the past "me" and I can bypass the part where I need to reconcile the past me with the present me. (My trauma was when I was only 4.) This therapist treated veterans as well, and she said that was a major part of their recovery.

But, that's not to say that you can't be happy and symptom free for extended periods of time. As you work on your healing, you'll notice that your symptoms may lessen in intensity over time. You may have periods of no symptoms at all. But, when you get stressed or triggered, you may see a return in symptoms. This is actually my goal....to have extended periods of time where I am either symptom free, or with very minimal symptoms that don't wipe me out for days at a time. I know that I'll have to take extra steps to minimize stress in my life, and I know that this will be in excess of what most other people do. I am ok with that. I guess this is what I mean by there being no "cure". Yes, we can heal, and be symptom free for long periods of time. But, I will always be aware that I need to take extra care to keep my stress low as to not risk a spike in symptoms. I guess my view on there being no "cure" is simply that if I was cured, I wouldn't have to worry about my stress spiking and becoming symptomatic again, but in my own case, I know this won't happen.