June is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month. In early June, my family endured a very traumatic experience. If traumas were ranked, mine wouldn't be at the top of the list, like men who have experienced combat or car accident victims. While I don't believe I would be fully diagnosed with PTSD, I am experiencing several of the symptoms and difficulties associated with PTSD. Apart from social anxieties, and difficulty discussing it aloud (writing is fine), my primary symptom is intrusive memories. I simply cannot stop the thoughts that invade, playing out the whole scenario again and again. Others might say, "Just stop thinking about it. Distract yourself." But that is impossible for me. I cannot read or focus (thankfully, I have at least a month of pre-scheduled book review posts). The instant replays are persistent.
I try to distract in other, less cognitive, ways. It is helpful to get engrossed in household chores (my husband is thrilled with this newfound fixation). Nothing like a pile of laundry, a sink full of dirty dishes, and a bathroom used by BOYS to drill down to mental oblivion. As much as I generally despise shopping, I find excuses to run out and make purchases of things we need. I take more outdoor walks, instead of treadmill walking. If I spend the time praying, it generally keeps those thoughts at bay but sometimes they intrude nonetheless. It is still early days and will take some time for life to resume normalcy. And who knows, I may just require psychotherapy to get over this.
So, what do I recommend online?
Here is a blog post about invasive trauma thoughts on a blog called Still Blooming Me.
I also listened to a few outstanding podcasts by Dr. Caroline Leaf (author of a book I read many years ago called, Who Switched Off My Brain?):
Podcast 366: Intrusive Thoughts - What They Are and How to Not Let Them Run Your Life
Podcast 375: The Different Types of Post-Trauma Syndromes and How to Find Healing
Psych Central's 9 Ways to Cope With Intrusive Thoughts - I'm already doing a few of these (walks especially)
I appreciated the Christian perspective and biblical suggestions in the article on How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts on Pray.com.
Out of all of these, I recommend Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up My Mental Mess Podcast the most. Plus, I intend to seek her book of the same name. I also hope to check out again (had to turn it back in unread last time) Dr. Bessel van der Kolk's bestselling book, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.
Praying God heals the PTSD symptoms I'm facing. Especially praying God uses our traumatic event and its fallout for His glory!
1 comment:
These are excellent resources! Thank you!
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