Treating PTSD: What If You Can’t Find Your Joy?

All this focus this month on joy and yet you may be thinking, “I have absolutely no idea where to begin.” Not a problem! We all begin somewhere when we learn new things. You’ve learned, discovered and explored other new things before so this is no different than anything else. Except in this way: you must BELIEVE you can feel joy and: you must WANT to.

You don’t have to think it will be easy, but the first step in feeling joy is assuming you can. Actually, you know you can because you’ve smiled before, something has captured your attention and made your stomach jump for …. er… joy. So, your body remembers, let it guide you.

The next step is WANTING to feel joy. Do you? I know you do. No one chooses the pain or symptoms of post-traumatic stress disoder. I know if you could you’d give it up in a second. Developing a habit of joy is one immediate action you can take right now, TODAY. If you want to heal and you want to feel better then turn those desires in the direction of joy. Commit to them. Make joy a priority and watch how it impacts your physical feeling, emotional state, mental acuity and perception(s) of what is possible for you.

Today’s post is really all about the exercise below. First off, however, let’s just understand one thing: your joy DOES exist. You may be out of touch with it, you may never have devoted any time to — you may not have ever considered it, but joy is an instinct, an inherent trait, so you do have the capacity for it which means there is something that stimulates that feeling in you. Now, it’s time to figure it out.

In order to do this exercise you must give yourself permission not to be in control — that is, you must give yourself permission to let go of your PTSD state for a moment and allow another deeper, more pure part of you to take over. Will you do that? I know you can! Let yourself out of your PTSD comfort zone and reach for something so much better!

BRIDGE THE GAP Exercise

Today is all about moving closer to your joy. Right now joy might seem like something that looms very, very far away. We’re going to change that!

Right now, in this moment, summon up what you remember – or just imagine — joy feels like. Let it come into your body. That’s right, let it just settle in. Allow your mind to make a picture that goes with this feeling. The idea, the concept, the thing that represents joy: make a picture in your mind, let anything that wants to pop into your head.

Great! Now, turn up the brightness on this picture so it is really well lit. Make it come into focus as much as possible, as if you have a camera and can adjust the lens. Good, now, put this picture so it is directly in front of you.

And then: step closer to that picture. And closer still. Take as many steps as you need to in order to get so close to the picture it’s right in front of your face. Now, make it ENORMOUS. Imagine the image is as big as a movie screen. 

And then: reach out your hand. Touch it. See and feel how close it gets.

Finally, take one more step and step into the picture. Take a look around. How does it feel to see things from this perspective? How do things look? What sounds do you hear? What smells exist? What taste does this joy have?

Your senses are powerful tools in creating your world. You may use all or only some of them, but use them to imagine. Let their ideas guide you one step closer, and then closer still to your joy.

(Photo acknowledgement on Flickr.)

Tags: Joy, post traumatic stress disorder, ptsd, symptoms, The Healing Power of Joy