#ptsdinspirational

[hocuspocusletmestrokus]

Sometimes I'm numb, while other's I feel manic. Sometimes I feel like thing's are going calm and steady, and others I can't help but panic. Thing's become worrisome, then I realize I'm constantly using the fight or flight method, like it's a consistent habit. All these different traumas, that consistently keep repeating. Although I don't need to relive everything daily, the memories all make sure to haunt me when I'm dreaming. It's like I can't run, and I can't hide, but I need to keep on fighting to survive. Tell me, as a child were you ever touched and told to fabricate lies? or promised that your loved ones would keep you safe, only for your biggest fear to come into your room, the moment that you shut off the lights late at night? All this for a girl, that just wanted a chance at living a so called normal life. Little did you realize, that these real life nightmares would quickly become part of an almost nightly routine. Something that took years for everyone to finally wake up and believe. Fast forward to when you were quickly becoming a teen, you went from being a Daddy's girl, to being completely over seen. Words that were said, that stung you to the core. They even went as far as saying they couldn't stand being around you, and they didn't want you anymore. Just a young girl that couldn't help but feel unwanted, when all she was trying to do was find a place where she wasn't so easily forgotten. They say that history has a way of learning to repeat itself, and yeah sometimes that's true. But, why is it that the ones that are constantly fighting to be heard are often silenced because nobody wants to believe the truth? They say that #metoo is just a movement and yeah maybe it is, for people that have never been through it. Imagine being a child, and forced to lose your innocence. When you're just to young to fight off the demons and their never ending persistence. You try to scream, but your cries seem to quiet to be heard. I guess that's what people are referring to when they say that the Devil still walks the Earth.

- Amanda Melendez

[urinternetcounselor]

That's all anyone can do right?

Sometimes doing our best isn't what it looks like for others. But that is OK. We all are on our own different journeys. No two exactly the same. Just promise to yourself that you'll always try your best. It's all we can do! Recovery happens if you let it.

[purpleheartpoetry-blog]

Dear,

Mom

•

Twelve years of remorse

I've carried in vain,

I'm so very sorry,

I've caused such pain.

•

The way I have treated you

So inhumane,

I came home so different,

So mean and insane.

•

I've made bright blue skies

Dark thunder and rain,

All of your feelings,

I slowly have drained.

•

You are the one

Who's not left my side,

You are the one,

Who sees me with pride.

•

I love you with all of me

Everything, all,

I hate that I rise,

Then always, I fall.

•

Thank you-

-For picking me up

When I'm down-

Because of you-

-Life has again

Come around.-

•

Because of you

No need to live by the gun,

Maternal real love,

For your war troubled son.

•

Adriana and you

Both why I still fight,

Together you both,

Get me through each night.

•

You and my daughter

Both are my life's light,

You both are my everything,

Both know that I'm right.

•

Love,

Gregg

••••••••••••••••

© Copyright-7/7/17

Gregory J. Fino

US Marines 0311

Iraq 2005

[ginapstoff]

What do you do when a dream is attacked? How to keep your hope alive when every day is not a Friday?

I use to love sailing as a kid. There is nothing like sailing on a clear day. Water calm. Breeze perfect. Sun shining. Out and about on Sydney Harbour  Flying is like that. I have my private pilots license and sometimes manage to find an excuse to a plane somewhere for business. Somewhere that would take us 2 to 3 hours to drive, is an hour flight.  You get a clear day, and it is easy, but if you hit turbulence, if you hit a storm, if you encounter lighting, you have to deviate, you have to change course, you have to go around the obstacle.  Now our deviation or our course correction or the change in our circumstances do not change the outcome of the trip, most of the times they do not change the destination. The only real impact is that we have to be patient, we have to persevere.  But what if the weather is really bad? What if we had fog on the ground here and thunderstorms all the way to the job site?  The two major reasons that people in small planes die is because of fuel starvation (ie the plane ran out of fuel), or a pilot responds to undue or perceived mental pressure to fly when they are stressed, tired or have to meet a deadline.  That’s right, they felt they HAD to fly. They HAD to leave now.  The safest way to fly is to always get into the plane having settled in your mind your not going to go. You approach your plane expecting there to be no fuel, looking and expecting there to be damages, broken gear, oil leak. You make sure you have enough time to drive, that nothing can’t be put off till tomorrow. When you approach a plane like that, it nearly always goes smoothly every time and its nearly anti-climatic.  I can hear the naysayers… You’re just being negative, we need to declare that every day’s a Friday !!   No friend, I am being realistic, most days feel more like Mondays to most people. They look at their week, and all they see are obstacles in the way. I’m not talking about denying the obstacles, nor am I talking about living in denial of the obstacles. I am talking about navigating around the obstacles–that’s how you make progress in life.  A storm on the ocean, doesn’t mean you will never sail again. In fact for me it was always the opposite. I loved the rush of charging headlong into the storm, it might blow me off course, but then it was me and my boat versus the elements. We had to work out a strategy of how to tack and how to position ourselves to make our destination.  Perseverance and patience are the things that keep your hope engaged.  Delay does not mean denial friend…it just means you have another day on the ground to plan.  Or it means you drive, or it might simply mean you just have to change course. The destination is the same, the strategy is now just a little different.  Everyday is not a Friday – I don’t want a week of endings, I love beginnings too much.  No…every day is exactly what it is meant to be….an opportunity to position yourself for success and look forward to an adventure.

http://www.drjohnaking.com/ptsd-recovery/what-do-you-do-when-a-dream-is-attacked-how-to-keep-your-hope-alive-when-every-day-is-not-a-friday/

By Dr John A. King

[zombieshavefeelingstoo]

How to help someone with a flashback... sometimes people don’t always know how to help someone with ptsd... so here’s some pointers

* Always ask if it’s ok to touch them, touching without warning can make the flash back worse

* Dont try to slap them or shake them up to "bring them around" this is really bad

Sometimes they will ignore you... not because they want to but because they physically can’t speak... don’t shout at them just continue to speak calmly

* Keep talking calmly. It's okay to repeat yourself and you most likely will do so for 5-10 minutes. Reassure them they are safe and you are there for them. Don't shame, embarrass or tell them "stop it." They can't "stop it," it's out of their control

* Offer the person water or something to drink, or a piece of gum or candy. They most likely will refuse it, but encourage them to take it. Chewing, drinking and swallowing help ground them.

* Ask the person if they know where they are. Don't ask them about the event while they're in it. Distract and ground them.

* Encourage them to move, or to hold something like a jacket, or towel or ice. The sensation helps bring them back to reality. When a flashback happens a person will almost always stop first and begin to disassociate from their surroundings. Offering food, water, asking them to walk with you, anything to ground them or bring them back to here and now is great.

* If they are able to come out of the flashback quickly and have been trained in the skills they need to process it, then you can ask if they'd like to talk about it, but don't be surprised if they say no. They most likely will

[ptsdcollab]

I like People Who Smile when its Raining

I like people  who smile when  it’s raining

http://www.drjohnaking.com/ptsd-recovery/like-people-smile-raining/

[hocuspocusletmestrokus]

" The F word "

Imagine being asleep, and in a faint distance you begin to hear an echo. Restless, and your mind filled with fog. You begin to think to yourself, what's going on? A sense of clarity begins to take over you. That distant echo that you believed to all be a dream, suddenly becomes a reality. Your dog's are barking, almost as if they're trying to warn you. Like a flare in the sky, trying to signal for help.

You follow the echo, and as it gets closer. You notice something is wrong. The smell of smoke overwhelms you, and you find your kitchen in flames. The image that you wish was nothing but a dream, is now a realistic nightmare. You scream, begging for your beloved husband to wake up. Your voice, it crackles as your soul begins to panic. Upon your husband's awakening the two of you scurry as you each caress your children in your arms. Using your bodies as shields to ensure your children are safe in the battle they are about to endure.

You run, all while your once known sanctuary is fastly becoming an Earthbound Hell. The fire it spreads, almost as if it were a monster that is quickly gaining on it's pray. You inhale, and your throat and lungs begin to burn. Like a snake slowly suffocating it's victim, it's suddenly becoming harder and harder to breathe. Can you escape this Fire monster's grasp? Or will you simply become another one of its victims?

You gasp, as the hot heat intensely hits your skin. The path in front of you, is quickly becoming a labyrinth. So many different ways you can be trapped, and the only way out means battling the monster that is accompanied by its demons. Who are so certain you will soon be joining their firey abyss. The firey abyss that even the Devil himself can't escape.

Your options are running out, and your mind is wearing thin. When suddenly, a glimpse of light slowly begins to peak through. The battle you've been fighting for what seems like centuries, appears to be coming close to it's end. This is it. Your greatest victory. You escaped the beast that was so determined to succeed in destroying you.

But what you didn't realize is, despite escaping the Fire Monster and all of it's hell. It managed to destroy the world as you know it, and the majority of everything in it.

Including your daughters innocence of seeing nothing but beauty in the world. Your daughter who once was so overwhelmed with joy, is now being taunted. Taunted by a monster who constantly reminds her of the real life hell she was forced to endure. The hell she so frequently speaks of, and continues to be terrified of.

You see people often fight their own battles, and while some are lucky enough to live to tell the tale. What they don't tell you is that even if you defeat your own demons. The demons will always be there waiting...

Waiting for you to fall asleep. Because even if you think you defeated them and you'll never have to face them again. They'll always find a way to invade your dreams, your memories, and your mind.

They'll terrify you, and when they do. You won't speak of the damage they've done to you. Instead the word Fire will simply become the only F word that if you can help it, you simply refuse to say.

- Amanda Melendez

[dissociationdemon]

Yesterday my friend tipped the bus bench I was sitting on and I almost fell backwards, I screamed so loud and immediately started sobbing, I was absolutely terrified. When I stopped crying and we got on the bus, I kept flinching and bracing when we would turn, or stop too fast. My friend squeezed my arm and kept saying it was okay, and even walked me to my door step. It felt so stupid to be crying and panicking over the fact that I almost fell, but in that moment, to me, there was a real threat, and all the memories and feelings of the car wreck I was in came flooding back.

I just wanted to let everyone out there who's been through something similar, it's okay, I love you, and you'll get through this. Take it day by day my dear.