Who Am I?

[anthony]

For those who have never read about me, or have specific questions, then you can read all about me on my [DLMURL="http://www.ptsdforum.org/blogs/anthony/1-who-am-i-reigning-question-prevails.html"]about page[/DLMURL] in my blog... quite detailed, very specific points about my life to a point. If you read recent bouts from people whingeing and telling me how their therapists said this forum is so bad for them and PTSD sufferers in general, then don't feel as though your alone, because I was told the exact same thing by mine which is quoted in my about page, being:

Whilst in Townsville I attended a PTSD course in 2005. That course put me on the road to this forum. It was what I learnt about myself at that stage that had me thinking, "if others in the world feel what I feel with PTSD, then this type of learning can help them too." And that was how the forum was born. The therapists and specialists who ran that course tried to talk me out of this forum, as they said it was not beneficial for sufferers. At the end of the day, I am a sufferer which means I have more an idea than they do of what is and is not good for what I felt. If I felt it, then others would, and so I proceeded.

As stated in that open, honest about me story, I was told specifically by the very people who helped me on my way that it would serve no purpose... yet I knew they where wrong as none of them had PTSD nor felt what I felt, nor could give me all the missing pieces I needed to get back into life. I needed knowledge and experience from those who felt what I felt, and got it from those around me at the time, not online. I put that experience to good use, it worked, and so I developed the forum so others would put the same knowledge and technique to good use with the understanding of a few things:

• You must come out of denial of all aspects,
• You must be totally honest with yourself and those who can help you,
• You must be willing to feel worse facing your fears than living them,
• You must be prepared to go down before coming up,
• You must be prepared to push yourself to obtain defined results,
• You must remove all self medication from abusive levels.

If you fail any one off those basic principles, this forum is nothing more than a place for you to hang out and be noticed.... but your certainly not here to get better. You must meet these principles if you want to get better for yourself.

Nothing I say, a therapist, doctor or anyone else on this planet will make a difference in your life with PTSD if you are not willing to be honest with yourself, those you choose to help you and most importantly be willing to push yourself past your greatest fears.

If you put up your hand and say you can't meet them, then atleast you know your not ready to heal just yet. Not everyone is... don't feel bad, just be honest with yourself. Some people it can take 20 years, some it can take two years. I am not the type of person who sits around thinking about things, I am a doer... so I got better quite quickly as I pushed myself extremely hard which I am used to doing due to my military training.

You don't have to be a soldier to heal, you just have to willing to remove yourself from your comfort zone and push hard to achieve success. There are thinkers and doers.... with PTSD only one achieves end results, and its not the thinkers!

 

[Cindy]

My therapist was ecstatic I found the forum!

I just want to share with you my therapist was excited, actually encouraged participation in the forum. He recognizes the need to relate with people who are experiencing the same symptoms and coping skills we all must deal with daily.

I have looked all over for support groups, but other than the VA, noone seems to run them on a consistent basis or they focus on one aspect of PTSD, mostly either depression or anxiety. It's very lonely out here.

I've shared with my therapist some of the discussions I have participated in and the insights they have given me.

Anthony, I respect you for sticking to your guns on this one. You were (are) so right about the benefits of this forum. I respect your bottom line approach even if sometimes it seems harsh, because you have clear expectations and consequences. Bottom line, its your game based on your ideals. If the shoe fits - wear it, if not get another shoe!

I appreciate your frankness.

I agree 100% with your list of criteria to grow and heal. The hardest on the list is personal honesty. Sometimes we don't even know initially we are not hearing our own truths.

Thank you for sharing your dream and making it a reality.

 

[anthony]

Your welcome Cindy, must appreciated for the feedback.

What some never think about, is that the content here is actually the content written by professionals within the industry, nothing new or exciting. What I and others have done here though, is removed the bullshit, removed the majority of nonesense that just doesn't work, applied a harder approach because that is what PTSD requires, and then laid it all out on the table for anyone who is sick of attending therapy year on year to take hold and use for themselves.

It makes me laugh how some people call think the content here is mine or just made up... very very wrong. The content and methods are those that have been used time and time again, the approach is the only thing that has changed here. I discuss certain things with physicians behind the scenes of the forum, and as a result of that you now have the mental health profession testing the very things which I use here in my approach, such as; how facing all your fears through exposure actually produces a near optimal outcome for a severe PTSD sufferer to actually re-engage society, social aspects and even part-time employment. All achieved in a specific way, specific time of healing, using my approach that has worked time and time again.

This forum is helping not only those who come here, but professionals are taking the methods applied here through approach to PTSD sufferers and studies to not redevelop the techniques that already exist and work, but simply re-engage the approach and application to a PTSD sufferer. The techniques and methods of CBT for example, they work great on someone who is being counselled for normal trauma, death of a loved one, etc etc.... works well with a person who actually does the techniques and pushes themselves hard in immediate therapy after an abnormal trauma, however; they don't work when used these ways with someone who has developed PTSD. Application needs amending which is what this forum implements and I did develop and publish here in all my posts and the information sections of the forum. There is a specific way in which you must approach healing PTSD, and therapists are picking it up from here and other places that use it because it works.

Again, all the knowledge is not new, just the approach and application of known knowledge and techniques.

People really do have to think about how they approach healing their PTSD. How many times have you read here that someone did EMDR for one or two sessions, then stopped going because it made them ill? Lots.... It is supposed to make you ill because that means its working. Its not supposed to give you brain damage which is a danger of EMDR on "some" trauma sufferers, though if experienced and done correctly, any such technique or method WILL make you ill when done right and applied correctly. If it didn't make you ill, then its not working. This is why people are in therapy for 10 years with little resolve, because they are not getting ill enough from being pushed hard enough. That sounds bad, but its a fact that you will get violently ill, on the edge of suicide even, your absolute worst ever, if you are pushed hard enough at your trauma. Then.... suddenly you come up and feel a huge relief. You will go up and down for usually the first month when pulling apart your biggest trauma, it will shake your world more than living it in the first place. But it works.... the long term results are proven here, they are now finding the same results from studies that are using the technique I found works.... it worked on me, it worked on mates of mine that I used it upon, it has worked on so many here who have used it and applied it correctly.

It will never work though on someone who really just wants to run away from their trauma when it all gets too hard. It will never work on a person who wants sympathy because they are ill or its too hard. It will never work on someone who denies there is an issue in general, their application of medication, self medicating, etc. It has a process..... if not done in order then it doesn't work.

 

[linasmom]

Anthony,

I told my therapist about the forum also, and he was supportive of me being here.

Every forum owner/administrator has a vision, which is why forums are created. I created a poetry forum 4 years ago with a vision and it is still going strong. If I didn't stick to my convictions about my own vision, my forum would have fallen apart by now. Some people will share your vision and some will not, and I appreciate your strength in standing by what you believe in. We all choose to be here or not. We choose to share in this vision or look for something else.

Best,
Rachel

 

[monkee]

Thank you for starting this forum Anthony.

I tried therapy and I was not ready for the things that the therapist wanted me to face. He was dead on right about what I was in denial about, but I just wasn't ready. I wanted to blame it all on the one trauma instead of visiting the others.

I have been reading this forum with avid interest. I am moving away to graduate school in a few months. I have to work and get ready for the move, etc. I just do not have the emotional wherewithall to invest in developing a therapeutic relationship at this point. I considered doing that when I move because they have free counseling at the university. I think this forum will be extraordinarily helpful to me with the information at hand. I am understanding more about what I can expect as I move toward healing.

These days when I find myself feeling anxious, really anxious, and thoughts course through my head.... I examine those thoughts instead of attempting to avoid them. I usually end up crying my eyes out, feeling depressed and sad. Here is the thing, at least I do not feel anxious anymore once I cry it out. So I cry and I feel better, at least I feel relaxed.

 

[pandora]

My therapist told me 6 months ago that I accomplished more here than I had with all the cbt I have had with her........I think that helping ourselves while helping others is a gift.

 

[Shoshin]

Anthony,
My T is really impressed sometimes with the insights I have picked up thanks to this forum, and I know this has been both a refuge and a kick in the a$$ to me at critical times. I am so freakin' lucky to have found this resource, and I look forward to graduating from it. In the mean time, I appreciate your tough love and diligent management. :clap: