Treating PTSD: Finding Your Own Way
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 • PTSD Recovery Tips •
We all say we want to ‘heal’ — it sounds easy, right? We’ve healed things before, think of all those scraped knees and broken bones. We’ve healed illnesses, broken hearts and broken families. Healing PTSD symptoms should be as methodical as all the othe things we’ve healed, shouldn’t it?
Sure, it should! But it isn’t. PTSD is tricky and wily, sneaky and unpredictable. There’s no prescribed path or certain Rx for everyone. We each have to find our own way.
Today’s BTG Big Question: Are you doing whatever it takes to find your own way?
No one can advocate for you better than you can yourself. Only you know what you’re feeling, experiencing, struggling with and wishing would end.
Take a look at your healing journey in the present tense. How’s it going? Are you making progress? Do you feel an evolution toward a new, PTSD-free self taking place? Do you feel good about what you’re doing to heal?
If the answer is, no, perhaps it’s time to step up your own proactive activities:
- talk to your therapist about where you are in the process; strategize together.
- revamp your healing plan; add and/or subtract healing methods.
- Assess your therapeutic relationship. If you don’t feel comfortable, respected and supported by your therapist find a new one!
If the answer is, yes, way to go! Take a look at how and when your healing seems to progress:
- What are you doing in those times that supports such movement?
- Make a list of all the things you’ve done throughout your entire healing process that has brought good results.
- Save this list somewhere as a reference for the future if you get stalled.
- Look over the list and notice which actions made you feel strong, good and empowered. How can you incorporate them more into your process?
Watching others work at healing and getting ideas from them is a good way to add creativity to your own healing process. But in the end, you have to try and fail and try again until you succeed at your own pace in your own time in your own way.
It’s up to you to manage your healing. It’s up to you to do whatever it takes to tweak the process, restrategize and reenergize it.
YOU are the one who will benefit from healing. YOU are the one who cares about it the most. YOU are the one struggling, so it must be you who works harder than everyone else.
What can you do today that clarifies the focus of your healing path?
We’re all good at seeing different things in different situations. Leave a comment to share what actions you’ve taken that have helped you find your healing way. The more we swap ideas the more we learn about healing, the more of us will find relief.
(Photo: Romilove)
Tags: Doing Whatever It Takes To Heal, helaing, ptsd, symptoms
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One of the events that contributed to my PTSD was an auto accident five years ago. It flipped my entire world upside down and changed the path I thought my career would be on.
Since it was a young teen driver who hit me, I’ve been visiting different driving schools to talk with new drivers about respect and responsibility behind the wheel. It’s not only been healing for me but has had an impact on the young drivers. Hopefully something positive will come from my experience!
-Meagan
@Meagan — WOW, how inspiring! I think one of the best therapies for healing is to help others. I read that when we perform an act of kindness it actually releases serotonin in our brain…. Interesting.
I would love to hear more about how reaching out to teen drivers has progressed your healing. Would you be interested in writing a guest post about your experience? If so, email me through the contact page.