Ptsd Therapy - One Page, As Simple As It Gets

[anthony]

There is no right or wrong way... but you began the process and the appropriate reaction entailed, being it opened up a flood of events... you adapted what you know to you uniquely, so that your approach works for you. Same approach... just a different way to get there. Well done...

 

[PTSD sufferer]

Thanks for this Anthony, it is a helpful tool and has some really good ideas. I have applied most of them with my T, but it was a little too soon for me unfortunately.

focusing on putting the emotion into its proper perspective led to a flood of memories tied to that emotion.

In essence I find myself processing that emotion through many events, rather than multiple emotions associated with one event. Has anyone else experienced this?

I have experienced this intothelight. Thinking about the worst parts of my traumas, certainly creates a flood, which is very hard to control. I also have multiple memories associated with one emotion - usually presenting in reverse chronological order.

 

[intothelight]

Hi PTSD Sufferer,

That is kind of what happened to me, only the order was whatever my brain dictated. I found the process extremely helpful and it is working well. Just a little differently.

Debbie

 

[Tinyflame]

I am exactly the same Deb- same scenario (both of your posts).
-That is how my mind/ memory, or (and) 'processing', works also.

 

[Jacquie]

Anthony is there a section in there for 'flood control'?

I'm learning to notice the first signs of ramping up (or down) and fading out into that place where the flood begins, and I stop, take some breaths and have a drink. But if I dont stop it in that place, I've lost it. Then I cant think. Then I couldnt identify the side of a barn with a bullseye on it. Its just one huge rolling jumbled up mess flicking from one thing to another at light speed, as one thing associates with yet another then another until its huge, I'm overwhelmed and then become frozen in it. And it can take a week or more to get the adrenalin down.

 

[PTSD sufferer]

I'd also be interested in tools to manage 'flood control' - good suggestion Jacquie.

 

[Tabula-Rasa]

Anthony, I've read this over several times and brought it up to my therapist because I feel I'm "out of time" dealing with PTSD without losing everything.

Everything you say is a GOOD road map and what we should be aiming for. That said, you've written a document that sets people up for failure. Last Monday, I experienced the WORST flooding I have experienced in two months. After "Breathing and Grounding" I actually CALLED my therapist on her private cell for the first time... though, I've had her cell for months. I NEEDED to get "grounded" quickly and get through the stupid flooding, because I had to see my Psychiatrist in 2 1/2 hours.

She talked me down, over the phone, but it STILL took me 45 minutes to make the 5-minute walk to the psychiatrist: Every sound and EVERY open window was something that I had to check out. Every roof top. Every person walking by.

I could NOT stop. I could NOT stop Remembering. I could NOT stop hearing and smelling and seeing and scanning and... I could not get past a soda can (who DOES soda CANS, anymore?) on the road. I couldn't get past a soda can.

Your document is a good one and a road map that I aspire to achieve, but it's also a document saying that ANYONE can achieve this, "Self Help."

I KNOW that, without OUTSIDE help, I can't get through HALF of this.

I'm STRONG and I've been through BAD shit and I've gotten through it. I've been through complete amnesia, Homelessness, GOT work, GOT a weekly, GOT a sub-let, GOT a lease, Took over all the properties of my landlord for a monthly fee... Yet, the sound of a heavy helicopter brings me to my knees and no "self help" is going to take that away or make me feel empowered.

"Self Help" with PTSD just seems the same as a person that has themselves as an attorney.

 

[anthony]

Hi Tabula,

Firstly, the document is not a replacement for trauma therapy... it is a self help guide for those who want to help themselves further than just what therapy can deliver, OR, for those who don't have access to therapy. The document is also extremely clear about symptom spikes and severity...

I don't see how you having a bad episode and symptom spike is a correlation to this document.

From what you're saying, if using this document, then you mastered the first five points as that document outlined before looking at trauma? Is that correct?

If yes, then either #1 - you haven't mastered the first five points as you think you have, or #2 - the specific event you are triggered from requires a feedback loop from a therapist because you have not resolved the issue by yourself, or any feedback you've had thus far.

I have not seen you working on any specific questions here, so I am unsure why you have directed your scenario towards a self help document. Self help is just that, self help. If you use it or not is your choice, not mine, not another's, not your neighbours, but your choice based on knowing yourself. You know you best, nobody else.

 

[PhilipH]

A very helpful thread. Thank you!

 

[intothelight]

I just wanted to add a note that I have been doing this consistently for almost five months now. Tweaked it a bit to fit my own personal circumstances, but overall I have followed the steps in consecutive order. It has become more of a thought process rather than something I have to consciously "do".

The thing is, this really does work. I have noticed marked improvement and expect the results to continue. The thing is, it is not something I ever take a break from. I use this to confront, process, and control my symptoms and since I run into them multiple times during the day, I end up doing this several times a day. They are not gone, but they are manageable and improving.

One thing I have modified is the confronting of a major trauma. I deal with each emotion connected to the trauma in little bits and pieces. It keeps me from flooding and ending up with an overload or a shut down. Slow, but if I keep taking little bites out of it, it will be gone.

Great tool, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work right away. Make sure you are stable and then tweak to fit your needs and circumstances if you think it will help you.

 

[Tinyflame]

I don't want to speak too soon but I've definitely had a huge decrease in intrusive thoughts and severity of triggers- noticed only when it occurred to me of their 'absence'.

 

[silver_turquoise]

I have a question about this: you state that medication is a necessity before you do self-work. I have a family history of extreme side effects / anaphylaxis from many SSRIs/tricyclics and the meds I've tried so far have not worked (i.e. over months have had no effect and so I was advised to discontinue, which then improved my coping skills.) Obviously therefore am quite limited in what I can be prescribed, so I'm currently on no medication and am self-managing with coping techniques - mindfulness practice, grounding exercises, meditation, breathing exercises. I find these to be more useful in actually making a difference to how I feel. I was medicated when I was doing most of the initial and most difficult self-work, however I don't feel that being non-medicated is making an adverse difference to me now as I continue to work through things.

Is it your opinion, then, that regardless of the above, I should be medicated regardless, and that medicating is a necessity for PTSD recovery?

Apologies if I've misinterpreted, I find interpreting densely written documents like this quite difficult (hooray for impaired cognition symptoms).