Treating PTSD: What’s Your Post-Trauma Attitude?

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Ahhh, so here we are at the end of a very busy, evolutionary month in the BTG healing workshop.

We’ve covered so many critical aspects of defining your future self, including:

• Imagining yourself without your trauma
• Imagining yourself without PTSD
• Who do you want to be?
• Refocusing your attention
• Who are you today?
• Who could you be?
• Being able to see the picture
• Taking control of the picture
• What do you love?
• What do you want?
• Beginning to change

Nice job! That was a lot of work and you moved through it, slowly and subtly altering your traumatised self and deliberately constructing your post-trauma identity.

Still, there’s one more very important thing to do: it’s time to decide what you want to be at the foundation of your overall persona.

Your post-trauma identity challenge today: Develop a new attitude.

In PTSD you are driven by fear. Your actions are perpetuated by an attitude of fear, terror, anxiety… in some cases, rage. None of that is really healing stuff. Time to get rid of it.

BRIDGE THE GAP Exercise

When you think of who you want to be, what do you want to be your driving force? If there was some attitude pushing you from behind what would you want it to be?

A few ideas: loving, compassionate, successful, adventurous, courageous, fearless…. sticking-your-tongue-out-at-the-past.

If someone were to describe your attitude, what would you want them to say? She has a can-do attitude. He has a very determined attitude.

Fill in the blank about this question in regard to your post-trauma self: H/she has a very _________ attitude.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel this way today. The goal is to identify how you want to feel.

Now, go out and imitate that attitude for the next 24 hours. Let it inform every action you take. Before you do anything stop and think how you would need to adjust your action for it to be informed by this new attitude.

PTSD is a habit. In order to break it you must replace it with new and better habits. For the next 24 or 48 or more hours develop your new attitude habit. Once you get the hang of it keep going. Feel it more. Sound like it. See it in everything you do.

Don’t worry if you can’t sustain it; pick it back up and practice it again. Don’t worry if it doesn’t feel quite right. Breaking in your post-trauma self is a little like breaking in a new pair of shoes: at first they’re uncomfortable – they downright hurt – but the more you wear them in the more comfortable they become until slipping into them is like slipping into a second skin.

How did it go this month? Let your fellow workshoppers hear your thoughts. Many of you are writing to me privately; I think it would be great for you to hear each other’s thoughts. Come on, be brave!

And don’t forget to join us for the special ‘Survivors Speak’ radio interview today @ 12:30pm EST.

(Photo: Lisa Ridings)

Tags: attitude, Constructing Post-Trauma Identity, healing workshop, post-trauma identity, ptsd