Non Violence And Ptsd

[SVR]

I recently was going through a research Report which suggests that practicing compassion exercises may lessen PTSD symptoms. This Left me wondering over the following Question : Would a PTSD Survivor (eg. combat veteran) be more inclined towards a non violent Resolution to a Problem? Especially, since that person has been through a violent phase of life. Can this make certain people despise violence altogether. How accepting of this idea would that person (again eg. War vet) be ??

By the way, the research Report I'm Talking of is Dr. Richard Davidson's Emotional Life of your brain.

 

[Venusian]

I am not a veteran but I know that I avoid conflict or aggression of any kind. I even avoided any sports that involved contact and rivalry. I know it is a direct result of the trauma as it involved a very angry person that inflicted a lot of pain. I am not much better even now that I know the source. I avoid conflict and arguments and I think the only time I involve myself is when someone else is getting hurt. I think I avoid it to the point that I isolate myself more than I should.

 

[Abstract]

I am like Venusian. I have done a lot of work on being able to tolerate anger in others as even when it wasn't aimed at me at all I found intolerable - even if it was a story. As a child I could not watch Tom and Jerry on television and was distraught for the mouse. Unfortunately conflict is part of life and being able to deal with it to some extent is necessary.

My sister on the other hand never reacted like I did and has a very different temperament.

 

[mamachick]

Im not combat vet, but I avoid violence at all costs. I also have trouble with others anger, especially yelling and any acting out. I can hardly stand it. It puts me in a really bad place when people display anger this way.

 

[nomedic1]

I am a combat vet , what I saw and what I did made me.cut anger from my existance or at least tried to. I try to do compassionate acts every day and in my job that is easy.

 

[Britt.f7]

I'm not a combat vet but I try to avoid violence on tv, movies, and in books.

 

[Orglethorp]

I'm not a combat veteran, like most of those who have replied, but as I said in chat, I don't think there's any one answer to this question. Every survivor is a different person to begin with, and every survivor's situation is different. Not to overgeneralize, but I think PTSD sufferers/survivors with combat training are more likely (even if it's only slightly) to be violent than those who haven't, simply because of the nature of combat training.

I grew up as the oldest child in an abusive family situation. I learned to hate violence, and I was always cast in the role of protector over my younger sister. Because of this, I do avoid violence whenever possible. I don't even like fights that aren't physically violent. I'm a peace keeper to a fault.

On a side note, have you read about the "PTSD Cup" explanation for PTSD and why we react the way we do? https://www.myptsd.com/threads/the-ptsd-cup-explanation.13737/

 

[franciemarnie]

I think practicing compassion towards self is vital. In a recent NYT article - a lack of compassion towards self is a key characteristic of those with PTSD.

If anything, I have too much compassion for others and spent a life with none for myself.

 

[StrongHeart]

Gosh, from talking to different combat vets who have ptsd (I live in a military town and have several vets in my family), the exact opposite seems to be the case. In the military they are taught to always fight when faced with the fight or flight decision, otherwise they wouldn't be able to rush into battle when the natural inclination is to back away. Think about it - in order to do a house raid, you have to be able to overcome your natural resistance. The main problem is that they are trained to always react to a conflict with confrontation. They may not like it, but it's a programmed response that they have to work very hard to overcome. My sufferer is a combat vet who is having a very very tough time with overcoming this after over two decades living like this, and several war deployments. That's why combat ptsd can be so different from regular ptsd in some ways.

 

[Nebulustrix]

Two very different examples:

My ex was raised in an abusive home - his mother went through one abusive boyfriend after another, his consummation was the result of a rape, and his mother gave him up to foster care when he was thirteen. He turned to violence because it was all he knew, and he chose a career as a professional wrestler, because it provided an acceptable outlet for all his pent up anger and aggression.

He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and, in retrospect, it is clear that he was also suffering from PTSD. He sought out conflict in everything, and he could not stand it if someone ran from a confrontation. He often "fed" his anger, allowing himself to become enraged over little things and insisting on resolving all issues with a fight.

--

Enter me - I have never liked conflict. I've always had a tendency to run from tense situations and preferred to resolve issues from a distance so I didn't have to face people while they were angry. As I entered my relationship with my ex, I had no idea about the depth of his issues, and found myself facing conflict with him again and again, getting worse and worse as his abuse of me reached a point where I became traumatized and fearful for my life.

I left this relationship, and was diagnosed with PTSD by the therapist a saw after. I have found that I am now even more wary of conflict than I was before, and tend to avoid situations that have even the slightest hint of possible tension. Before, I could stand my ground on things that I felt were worth facing a conflict, even though I didn't like it. Now, if I sense tension, I say or do whatever I can to get out of the situation quickly and avoid the conflict, filled with anxiety as I try to avoid a fight.

--

Based on these two personal examples and reading through the other posts, I think a person's inclination toward violence really has nothing at all to do with whether or not they have PTSD and more to do with their natural inclination to swing towards "fight" or "flight" when their instincts kick in. Everyone will have a personal tendency to choose one over the other based on nothing more than their personality - and I think those with PTSD just have that fight or flight response triggered more than normal.

It's like that instinct was tuned in to hyperactivity - responding to even the slightest hint of danger, where someone without PTSD would only have that instinct kick in for truly life threatening situations. I think people with PTSD that typically lash out more are leaning toward the "fight" end, and those who typically dissociate more are leaning toward the "flight" end.

 

[Abstract]

Its interesting as my sister and I identified with different parents. My father was the obviously aggressive one and it seems my sister barely remembers my mother growing up.

It seems to me that anger makes her feel powerful in the moment and it is hard for her to avoid that reflex reaction whereas for me anger is frightening and being out of control. I often think anger is when someone wants to control others more than self and lack of anger when someone wants to control self more than others. I see both as flip sides of exactly the same coin. They are both problems with anger. It's just a little like Russian roulette which way it swings and to do with many different factors.

My favourite article by Pete Walker is again relevant too.https://www.myptsd.com/threads/complex-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-cptsd.13764/

 

[franciemarnie]

It could be that the nature of the training and trauma contributes to later life tendency towards violence. I don't know. I don't like to stereotype but if a person is trained to fight by professionals, that will be a difficult training to undo.

I was never in combat. I was abused as a child and always turned the other cheek, hoping that loving them enuf would stop it.

It didn't work.

I was hurt so much I go out of my way not to hurt others if I can help it.

But combat or no, violent or no, the studies say that PTSD and C-PTSD sufferers have little to no compassion for themselves.

But if they drink, well...forget about any predictable rational behavior. The nicest people sober turn into Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde types. Alcohol is a drug that affects stress hormones big time, as in adrenalin, etc. Then all bets are off.

Excuse my rant. I guess I mined a vein.