If you find yourself frozen in immobility, what should you say – and what should you not say – to yourself? What can you do to help yourself get out of it? Today I Felt Paralyzed This morning I felt like I didn’t want to get up. It wasn’t voluntary. I didn’t decide I wouldn’t …
Tag Archive: psychology
Oct 31 2015
Ghosts and Flowers – The Paradoxes of Posttraumatic Growth
It’s Halloween, a day of ghosts, ghouls and goblins – but this image is not about the ghosts of Halloween. It’s about the “ghosts” of PTSD and how they interact with the “flowers” of posttraumatic growth. It’s an image showing how complex the whole concept of posttraumatic growth is in the context of posttraumatic stress. …
Sep 11 2015
23 Things I Wish People Understood About PTSD
I’ve seen a number of great lists floating around the internet about what people with PTSD wish the people around them understood, so I thought I’d create my own version. From my perspective after 8 years of recovery, these are the things I wish people understood. Enjoy! PTSD is as real as any physical wound. …
Jun 15 2015
Meditation and PTSD, A Self-Research Study PART 1 – Nine Potential Benefits of Meditation for PTSD
On February 28, 2014, I posted an article entitled Potential Psychological Dangers of Meditation – Especially Relevant for Those with PTSD in which I compiled a number of different potential psychological difficulties and challenges one may encounter when practicing meditation. I’ve always been a fan of meditation, and have meditated off and on with varied, …
Jun 03 2015
Trauma Recovery – Four Things to Fiercely Give Yourself (Space, Time, Silence and Self-Expression)
Trauma is an obliterating experience. It obliterates important parts of our identity; our sense of place and purpose in life; sense of predictability, security and order in the world; numerous brain functions; hormonal health and balance and in many cases it destroys parts of the physical body as well (whether through the trauma itself or …
Apr 28 2015
Why It’s Difficult to “Think Positive!” When You Have PTSD
If you have PTSD you may notice you have an overwhelmingly negative outlook on life. You may see motivational messages about thinking positively and want to give it a whirl. I know I see people who are infectiously positive and I think to myself, “Wow, I’d love to be like that!” I think that learning …
Apr 07 2015
30 Haikus About PTSD (Haikus 6-10)
Most of these haikus are more related to my earlier years of PTSD than the current time of PTSD. I was really in the “living hell” of PTSD from 2007 until December 2014 – now I’m in partial living hell but I’m reorganizing my brain somewhat due to seeing a Somatic Experiencing therapist since October. …
Mar 22 2015
Novocaine Zombie – A Poem About the Frequencies of Terror of PTSD
Novocaine Zombie – A Poem About the Frequencies of Terror of PTSD 95-100 sheer terror blown apart stretched far beyond the perimeters of self a plaster explosion of me solidifies while screaming ( silently ) frantic …………….stillness ………. )I( ……..feeling-less (can’t) hot whiteness )see( ………. within…………this………….endless…………….moment all life is suspended in a super-sonic flash in …
Mar 20 2015
Exercise: Relax!
Synonyms: Self-relaxation through Visualization Healing Mechanisms: Visualization, Active Imagination Comments: This exercise is just one example of how to use visualization to relax the body. It is meant to open up your imagination to the many possibilities for using active imagination to change states in the body. This exercise is meant to encourage creativity and …
Mar 08 2015
30 Haikus About PTSD (Haikus 1-5)
I attended a Writing from the Heart workshop with Aile Shebar on June 14, 2014. During the workshop, Aile Shebar gave us many writing tips. A number of tips were about what to do when facing a feeling of stagnation, overwhelm, or writer’s block with a writing project. One tip was to write a haiku …