Tag Archives: post traumatic stress syndrome

Is An Epidemic Of Heart Failure A Big Enough Reason To Overcome PTSD?

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Want to address your risk of heart failure?

If you have been around for long you know that I am pretty passionate about spreading the truth about heart disease.

The world is dying of an epidemic of heart failure and it just isn’t necessary!

Yet, I can’t seem to make the time to get more blog posts written and get all my programs offered in an easy online format so that it is available for the masses of people suffering and those that soon will be.  What is wrong with me?

That’s a good question.  I use to wonder that myself.

I have been plagued all my life with depression symptoms, but I learned a long time ago that depression meds made me paranoid so I made sure to use those symptoms as a red flag to get my butt busy and be more active.  To choose better foods when I shop so that my home only has wholesome food choices.  That’s what works for me.

Depression is not overwhelming to me.

I know that I can take the steps I need to take to face it and let it guide me to the next chapter of my life, or to heal a relationship that needs attention.

Depression can show me old emotion I suppressed until time could heal enough for me to allow my feelings.

Symptoms of depression make me hold myself accountable for what I’m eating and how inactive my life has become.

I consider early symptoms of depression to be my yellow flag and I don’t wait for the red flags to start showing up, I take action!

Once you’ve lived through clinical depression and come out the other side, you don’t want to go back.

A couple of years ago I started to notice that my depression symptoms were often triggered.

Sometimes the trigger for my depression symptoms didn’t make sense to me.  I would argue with myself.

“What’s the big deal?”  But the depression symptoms still came.  I couldn’t argue with the trigger.

One day a car accident happened directly in front of me.  I got out and helped until the paramedics arrived.

It wasn’t a fatal accident but there were some significant injuries.

As I walked back to my car after telling the paramedic what I’d observed on the scene, I noticed that my hands and feet were numb.

It made me curious, so I began doing some research.  I’m glad I did!

 

How can you have PTSD and not know it? Continue reading Is An Epidemic Of Heart Failure A Big Enough Reason To Overcome PTSD? →

Could You Be Living With PTSD Symptoms?

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Old grandmother

June is PTSD Awareness Month.

Are you aware of this devastating condition that can sink the brightest shining star?  Living with PTSD symptoms can feel like navigating life under 10 feet of water.

Every person on the planet is capable of feeling the feelings of another person.

It’s arguable that you could say that about animals as well, but for the sake of this discussion let’s keep it to 2 leggeds.

Have you ever played the game where the group tries to guess the emotion of the acting participant?

It’s not hard usually unless the emotion is complicated, like jealousy.

But within the complexities of living life and navigating relationships, surviving and pursuing happiness, things get a little harder to read.

It can be difficult to understand your own feelings in difficult situations.

For someone with post traumatic stress syndrome feeling your own feelings can be increasingly difficult. You simply have no access to what you are feeling … good or bad.

If you can’t feel pain, you can’t feel Joy.

(If you noticed, I just used the term “post traumatic stress SYNDROME” as opposed to “post traumatic  stress DISORDER”.  The reason I want to invite you to use the word “syndrome” instead of “disorder” is because this condition is a response in your nervous system that is certainly painful to live through, but it is not a “disorder” in that you CAN heal!)

If you are living with PTSS/PTSD symptoms you will notice that you have a much harder time understanding others and communicating clearly, because you aren’t receiving your own signals. 

You become numb.

Soldiers are certainly susceptible to this crippling condition, and so are survivors of traumatic events.

It’s easy to see this type of suffering in others.  But it’s a lot harder to see it in yourself. Continue reading Could You Be Living With PTSD Symptoms? →

Are You Too Proud To Heal From Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome?

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Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

When you think of “shell shock” what comes to mind?

During World War One Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome was a huge problem. Doctors believed that the tell tale “thousand yard stare” was a sign that the close proximity of exploding shells had caused trauma to the brain.

If you take that reasoning into consideration, it is troublesome to discover that it was common practice for Doctors to prescribe rest away from the front for Officers, while enlisted men were often accused of being cowards and sent right back out to the battlefield.

Some were shot for cowardice, or punished in a variety of creative ways.  Though enlisted men would be more likely to have been in close proximity of exploding shells than Officers, wouldn’t they?

If you are likely to be shot on the spot or court martialed you aren’t very likely to seek help when you need it most.

It seems that the history of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is one of shame and persecution.

With soldier suicides being such a huge issue in today’s world, you hear a lot about what they are doing to identify those who need help in an effort to control the climbing death toll.

The struggle today is to get soldiers to admit that they need help before it’s too late.  They aren’t facing a firing squad, but they feel like they are letting their unit down.  They aren’t keeping up their end.

Admitting that you need help with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome feels like admitting a weakness.

When you think of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome you might think of soldiers at war.  However, emergency response workers are on the front lines of daily life.

Identifying those who need help among emergency response workers can be very difficult as well.  Admitting you need help might endanger your job and your livelihood.

Family caregivers are at risk as well.  Continue reading Are You Too Proud To Heal From Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? →

Is There a Chance You Could Be Suffering From Compassion Fatigue?

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Is There a Chance You Could Be Suffering From Compassion Fatigue?
Is There a Chance You Could Be Suffering From Compassion Fatigue?

Whether your job requires that you struggle to function in a care giving environment that constantly presents heart-wrenching-emotional challenges, or you are a Sandwich generation caregiver torn between the needs of your young children and the needs of your dependent elders, Compassion Fatigue is something you should always be aware of.

Do you strongly identify with the pain of others?

Does it seem like you can actually feel their pain?

You are not alone.  Your empathy has everything to do with your desire to become a care giver in the first place.

It’s also the reason you are so susceptible to Compassion Fatigue.

The first step to healing is awareness.

What Are the Symptoms of Compassion Fatigue? Continue reading Is There a Chance You Could Be Suffering From Compassion Fatigue? →

Are There Tools To Help Manage Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome?

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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 Continue reading Are There Tools To Help Manage Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome? →