Are There Tools To Help Manage Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome?

Are There Tools To Help Manage Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome?

Having trouble coping with the stress in your life?

Do you feel on edge?

Have you been over-reacting to small irritants?

It’s not a good feeling to see yourself reacting and be unable to stop yourself.

After all, you want to choose your response to life, rather than reacting unconsciously.

Don’t you?

Over the weekend, I was headed home on the highway when a bad car accident happened just ahead of me.

When I arrived at the scene I got out to see if anyone was needing help.  The accident involved a very large truck and a very small car.

The passengers of the car were really lucky, it could have been so much worse.  They really didn’t seem to need any help I could offer so I stood back to wait for the paramedics.

I noticed that a teenage passenger from the car was getting really intense and freaking out with the most injured passenger who was still in the back of the car.

He was screaming, asking her not to die and begging her not to go to sleep.  I was concerned that he was going to hurt her worse than she already was, so I approached him and tried to calm him down.

I told him that she was ok, and to leave her alone and let her close her eyes and wait for the paramedics.

He desperately grabbed my arm and asked me how I knew that she would be ok.  I let him know that I have worked in emergency rooms for many years, and that I was encouraged that she was conscious and clear and that she wasn’t bleeding badly.

“That isn’t bleeding badly?” he screamed.

I assured him that it really wasn’t as bad as it looked.  He grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the floor board of the car and began to pace.

I figured the best thing I could do for her was to comfort her, so I got a first aid kit and put light pressure over the worst of her bleeding head.

She said, “ouch, that hurts.”

The rough part would come when the swelling set in.  But here on the scene, the best I could do was keep her calm, and talk her son out of pulling her from the car.

When the paramedics came, I surrendered my post and headed back to my vehicle and up the mountain toward home.

It really wasn’t all that traumatic compared to the things I saw during those many years in the ER, but I felt really shaken.

I wondered why I felt numb.  Then the memories started coming.  Memories I hadn’t thought of in years came to me so vividly I could even smell the experience all these years later!

By the time I got home, I felt like I was on the verge of tears but I didn’t know why.  Boy was I ever grateful for my knowledge of EFT (emotional freedom technique), and I used it frequently throughout the evening.

I almost made it to bedtime when I lost it.

It freaked me out.  It was a total over-reaction and I scared the heck out of my three kids.  It took me a few minutes to be able to pull back and take a breath.

Right away, I was ashamed of myself.  I thought, “what is wrong with me.”

I apologized to the kids and excused myself to go to my bedroom and spend some time doing Emotional Freedom Technique, and then I meditated.

Once I got my 5 year old to bed I collapsed into a restless sleep.

Just before dawn, I woke in a cold sweat!  I have never had such a terrifying dream in my life.  It was so clear, I had to keep telling myself it was just a dream.

It was so horrible, I refuse to even repeat the details.  I WON’T give it words!  Have you ever had a dream that was that upsetting?

When I got out of bed, I went straight to the computer and started researching Post Traumatic Stress.  That is another blog post for sure, but suffice to say that what I read made it crystal clear that I had experienced a trigger that caused a PTS response.

It helped a lot to at least understand what was going on with me.  Though the emotions kept coming, so I just kept processing them with Emotional Freedom Technique.

My emotions didn’t harm me, but they felt like they would kill me!  Without the ability to get those intense emotions out of my body with Emotional Freedom Technique, I could see how they just might become harmful to myself as well as my family.

You might associate PTS to war veterans, but did you know that the lifetime prevalence of PTSD in emergency personnel is 15–20%?

(Look for my blog post on Post Tramatic Stress Syndrome later this week.)

You don’t have to have Post Tramatic Stess Syndrome to experience over whelming emotions.

How Do You Cope With Intense Emotion?

• Remember that your emotions only cause you harm when you resist feeling them.
• If you resist your emotions, they will become trapped within your body and make you sick.
• Anger must be expressed in order to release it, but you can do that responsibly so that no one is hurt.
• There is no proper way to grieve, and everyone grieves differently.  Just allow your feelings and try to express them to those you care about.
• When you are traumatized, you often resist your emotions because you are unable to cope with them in the moment.  These emotions will have to be released eventually, and it may be as painful and uncomfortable as it was when you resisted them.
• When you find yourself resisting emotions, you can use a simple technique that utilizes tapping on pressure points to release them.

Emotional Freedom Technique is a very powerful tool.

This simple tapping technique has saved my sanity in my darkest hours, and it will see you through yours too.

Click on the link and learn more about it!

Your Simple Tapping Solution->Emotional Freedom Technique

Many blessings,

Carrie Tucker, RCP

The Life Breath Coach

Heart Failure Solutions

PS- If you are a caregiver you should be aware of Compassion Fatigue, which is similar in many ways and may accompany PTS.

PPS– Remember everyday:

• Relax and Release tension
• Exhale Slowly
• Be active in a way that adds joy to your life

Plus pure water ~whole foods~sunshine~and laughter