Thursday, June 27, 2013

National PTSD Awareness Month

     June 2013 is a PTSD awareness month. Different events are being held across the nation to improve understanding of experiences and awareness of signs and treatments of PTSD. As I am waiting for the start of the community discussion on PTSD facilitated by Dr. Susan Fuhr (http://www.yourjourneys.net/), I am reflecting on what it means to be diagnosed with PTSD, to live with PTSD. On a daily basis I talk to folks, who survived different kinds of traumas. I hear the stories of survival and struggle. Often there is a lot of hopelessness and despair. Always there is a lot of pain. It is very understandable given what trauma survivors went through. They experience normal reaction to the abnormal situation, even though many of them and their significant others do not think that survivor's response is normal.
     I would like to share some of my thoughts on PTSD. In the past two decades our understanding of this disorder changed a lot due to developing research and clinical practice. We know now that this disorder has neurological underpinnings, and that it changes brain. We know that it affects individuals on all levels: physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and spiritual. We also understand that trauma wounds are not healed by just time and do not go away on their own.
     In spite of all the pain and hardship that PTSD comes with, there is a lot of hope too. In the past decade a number of treatments became available to trauma survivors. Among them are EMDR (http://www.emdria.org/),Internal Family Systems (http://www.selfleadership.org/), Somatic Experiencing (http://www.traumahealing.com/), Sensorimotor therapy (http://www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org/), and cognitive processing therapy (http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/cognitive_processing_therapy.asp). All of these treatment modalities have shown tremendous success in treating the effects of trauma and helping survivors find a way to make sense of what happened to them, assimilate their experiences, and truly move forward with their lives.
     In addition, a number of complimentary approaches were introduced, including yoga (http://www.yogajournal.com/) and mindfulness (http://www.mindful.org/). These practices help survivors re-learn how to be present with their current experiences. They help people stay grounded in the present moment as opposed to the past events. They also have tremendous calming effect on the nervous system and brain.
     If you were to take  away  just one point from this post, let it be the following: PTSD can be treated. Get professional help! The sooner you address it, the better results you will get.