Treating PTSD: Do You Want Joyful Thoughts?

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All right, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. An important question every survivor needs to answer:

Do I want to spend my life thinking about the bad stuff, or would I rather think about the good?

Post-trauma we get stuck in the loop of all the horrible, bad, awful, no good, very bad day(s) we survived, but I bet if you ask yourself if that’s want you want to think about the answer would be, Hell, no!

So, why do we? OK, we all know the answer to that question but what we don’t always know or recognize or imagine or trust is the fact we actually have a choice. It doesn’t seem like we have any control over our minds or how the past stalks us but the truth is, you do. Yes, you really, really do. You just have to work for it.

Think back to a time you wanted something. If you just sat around wanting it did it come to you? Did it appear on your doorstep, or did you have to work for it?

That’s right, you had to work for it. You had to want it and then take some action(s) to get it. Same thing with PTSD healing and it starts with how you manage your mind. Or, more directly, what actions you take to manage it.

Letting your mind run around like a bucking bronco while you hang on for dear life doesn’t get the job done. Grabbing the reins, wrapping them around your hand, digging down your heals and rocking in the saddle is what helps you win. That, and having a special glove, the kind that helps your hand have a good grip on the reins.

Joy is your PTSD healing glove. It is what helps you focus, shift mental states, refuel, commit and carry on. Joy helps you connect to who you could be, and whom you will become. Joy evolves with you from past, present to future. Trauma is only in the past. It is no match for the power of joyful propulsion.

Healing post-traumatic stress disorder and its symptoms depends on commitment to a clear intention. How did you answer the question at the beginning of this post? If there’s a part of you that wants to ruminate in the past you’ve got to work to shift that answer to something more supportive of healing. (For example, figure out why you like to think back so much.)

If you answered affimatively to the question above then you’re ready to pick your glove and slip your hand into it. You’re ready for change. What’s your joy? It’s time to focus on it. What brings you joy?

BRIDGE THE GAP Exercise

Managing your mind begins with being aware of your thoughts. Your task today:

Be aware of your thoughts. Become conscious of how many bad, depressing, stressful and anxiety-producing thoughts you have.

Now, when you become aware of them all you have to do to get rid of them is replace them with a different thoughts. It’s that easy.

Pick a time you felt very happy. I know you can think of at least one time something made you feel really, really good.

For the rest of the day any time a bad thought comes into your head pause what you are doing and bring to yourself that feeling of complete happiness. See yourself in that moment. What was happening at the time? What sounds did you hear? What did you smell? What does the whole scene look like?

Accessing joy in the present begins with the small step of remembering it in the past. Come on now, I know you can do it!

(Photo acknowledgement on Flickr.)

Today is Veteran’s Day — join us for a special edition of the Heal My PTSD, LLC, BlogTalk Radio Series with OperationPTSD.com founder, Jason Ream, live today at 6pm EST: OperationPTSD: From Victim to Victor.

Tags: healing, intention, Joy, post-traumatic, ptsd, symptoms, The Healing Power of Joy, trauma