Insight That Helps Me

Every now and then you come across something that just hits home., that word perfect event or explanation.  I found one of those today while reading Michael Palmer's "The Last Surgeon".  On page 344 it reads.


"Here's the thing with PTSD," he said.  "Some people think it's in your head and that you can just snap your fingers  or crank up your willpower and come out of it, or like MacCandliss keeps insisting, that it's all manufactured for some secondary gain.  But that's not the case at all.  It's a chemical change where the thinking takes place, like an internal depression, or a cancer eating away at you.  Much as you want to just shake the symptoms off, sometimes they won't let go.  So you end up walking around in circles, holding yourself hostage to the places and people where you feel most comfortable and safe, because the alternative means facing an unknown."

English: signs and symptoms ptsd
English: signs and symptoms ptsd (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a great description of how it feels to have to deal with the chemical imbalance that happens to us when we have had to go through great trials.  PTSD can be caused by many events.  We are often told to "man up" or "let it go".  It is not that simple.  You can not just change the way your body reacts to things.  It is like being told to not breath.  Impossible!  This is the same thing with being bi-polar, having chronic depression or even dealing with schizophrenia.  Medications can help you be leveled out better but they do not take it all away.  Counseling also can give you tools to be able to cope better.  But in my personal experience, nothing makes it just become all better.

I do know that there are things we can control that does help.  If we have a good diet to help our bodies be able to function at it's best capacity.  Enjoying the sunshine and daily exercise also will raise your serotonin levels naturally.  As well as actually choosing happiness in your life.  Yes, we can choose to see the positive and good in life.  This again will not make you "all better" but it will help the ability to cope against the imbalances.  So using a combination of medication, coping skills, diet, exercise and free will are amazing tools that we can control.

Life often hands us a raw deal.  I do not think it is God's will for us but instead the adversary that works so hard to break us.  There are many different events that can be a breaking point and it is different for each of us.  But if we try hard to be as strong as possible, lean on the care and love of others and take the time to gain our center back, then it is possible to win out over these events.  Find it in your life what works best.  For myself it is daily prayer, reading the scriptures and then having a quiet moment to reflect on the amazing love and life I have.  Looking at the small things that make life the best gift of all.

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