Treating PTSD: What Do You Believe?
Monday, December 28th, 2009 • Uncategorized •
“If you think you can do a thing, or you think you can’t do a thing, you are right.” ~ Henry Ford
When you begin your PTSD healing journey you do it without a map. You don’t know the territory, the language or the currency. You don’t know whether or not you will ever reach your destination. With so many variables in the PTSD chaos there has to be at least one thing that holds constant: that must be YOUR BELIEF you will find freedom.
As Ford’s quote so simply states, whatever you think will be true will be true. You create your reality in every minute. That can mean you do deliberately work to build what you want. Or, it can mean you create your world by default. If you think you cannot heal then you don’t because within that belief system is a complete and total lack of motivation. You’ve already decided you cannot achieve the goal. How can anything get done if you begin from a place of defeat?
Tip #11 for Staying on the Healing Path: Never lose faith in your potential to heal. There will be dark days, and even darker days on your healing journey. There will be days you feel you can’t keep going or endure the process. You know those are coming. But there will also be days you get the slightest glimpse that there is life after, outside of and beyond PTSD. It is for those moments your belief must stay strong. It is for those glimpses of where you’re headed your belief must not be destroyed on the days that are tough. Your belief needs to survive the twists and turns of healing, just like you survived the traumatic twists and turns of fate. Staying on the healing path means accepting the path is not straight nor well-marked but believing that with the tools you possess, plus the ones you will find and learn, you will get where you want to go.
On my worst healing days I doubted that I had the strength to do what needed to be done. But I always believed healing was possible. And sometimes, when I was feeling very lucky, I believed I actually did have the stregnth to give it one more shot.
Sometimes, a dogged belief is the only thing that keeps us going. Sometimes, healing depends on something as fragile as a thought, as powerful as a conviction. Always, healing depends on the strength you discover in yourself. Belief is the source for all of that.
BRIDGE THE GAP Exercise:
There is something in which you deeply believe. It could be as simple as the sky is blue, or as complex as God. In your life you have developed many systems of belief. Today, it’s time to tap into them.
Sit in a quiet, safe space. Close your eyes and think of something about which you are very, very sure. Something about which you would defend to anyone, that’s how strong and positive your belief is.
Now, pretend you can see this thing in your mind. See it. Hear it. Smell it. Taste it. Feel it. Allow your senses to experience whatever they can. Pull it close to you. Imagine you can make the picture enormous and very clear and bright. Allow the strength of your belief in this to flood your whole body, from head to toe. Excellent!
As you hold this image and feeling, flex one of your hands into a fist. That’s right, a really good fist. Feel your fingers curl into your palm. Feel the muscles flex and bend. Feel the power of your belief in this image in your mind absolutely flood into your fist. Perfect.
Relax your hand.
Holding onto this feeling and image of belief consider the idea of healing PTSD. Pretend you can see your healing belief in your mind. It may be a small and fragile image. If it is, bring it closer to you and allow the image to become enormous and bright and clearly focused. (Don’t worry if this doesn’t happen the first time. Repeat the process of adjusting the image until you gain control over it.)
Just like you did with the belief you’re sure of allow the image of healing to take on the same powerful strength of feeling and properties as the first image. Close your hand into a fist: feel the strong and powerful belief that is attached to that gesture. Now, with your fist closed focus on the healing image you pretend to see in your mind.
Hold this mental image and physical pose. Take a deep breath in, and let it out. And again: a deep breath in and let it out. Good!
Going forward now, whenever you feel you need a belief boost, curl your hand into a fist and bring back this image. Make this a habit. Test it out. Allow the feeling of strong belief to flood you and focus on the healing image and feeling.
Part of developing belief is as easy as building muscle: You’ve got to work it. Now, get going!
(Photo acknowledgement on Flickr.)
Tags: healing, ptsd, Staying on the Healing Path
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I have one question: When my depression is bad, my PTSD is bad. I work hard on the PTSD and over the years have made some progress but my depression keeps getting in the way.
@ Wayne — You’ve just put into words one of the most frustrating aspects of healing PTSD – - there are so many pieces to the puzzle! I’m not an expert in depression (asking this question directly to a psychologically trained expert might bring some good insights) but here’s what I’ve found in my own healing and in the clients with whom I work:
Depression is a state of mind. The more we take actions to change that state the more of a chance we have to lessen our depression. This is part of why I believe the pursuit of joy can be such a good source of support for PTSD healing.
As you go through the GRIDGE THE GAP workshop you will be deliberately constructing and strengthening your post-trauma self. This is also designed to shift your focus, empower your inner self and lessen depression.
Healing is a commitent we make EVERY DAY. Changes come. Not all at once but slowly over time as we become stronger and stronger in our minds.
Maybe I have been looking at things a little wrong. In the VA therapy the concept there was to medicate the depression and Therapize (not a real word) the PTSD. I think the PTSD is the spearhead and it drags all the other stuff with it. Maybe focus on breaking the spearhead off. I’m trying to visualize what happens and in doing that I can attack each entity a different way, if that makes any sense. What do you think?
@Wayne — Immediately I think you’re on to something. My belief is that we have to resolve our traumas, and by that I mean come to a point where we have a different perspective about them.
I’ll give you an example from myself: For 25 years I lived with the idea/feeling I didn’t deserve to survive, I wasn’t worthy. My healing advanced when I was able recognize that as a driving force in my PTSD and to change that belief. So much of our PTSD perspective is skewed. We need to realign it, like we would realign tires on a car.
Therapy, in terms of reliving, re-experiencing and understanding our traumas and post trauma selves is an integral part of change, but our healing evolution comes, in my opinion, when we learn how to:
1. recognize the thoughts/emotions/beliefs holding us in this awful place,
2. view things in a different, more healthy way,
3. take actions that allow us to grow into our future instead of shriveling into our past.