Get over it! ..........Easier said than done....

 

"Nobody's seen the troubles I've seen" so begins a famous Gospel song.

I recently watched a documentary on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which consisted of in-depth interviews with four soldiers who shared their experiences with PTSD.

What became clear to me as I listened to these men describing some of what they had seen/experienced, was how deeply affected we can become by what we see/experience.

Long after a traumatic event is over, the emotional reverberations can still carry on. A sound, a smell, a taste, a dream, can trigger a flashback, and suddenly we are transported back in time to when the trauma first took place.

"Just don't think about it, just put it out of your mind"....some suggest. Well intended advice perhaps, but unfortunately not terribly effective. Many PTSD sufferers seek solace in alcohol, drugs, (legal and illegal) risk taking behaviours, and or other forms of behaviours that "takes the mind off it", however, this often results in additional troubles.

 

"Don't tell me to forget what I've seen

you have not been where I have been.

Don't tell me to just get over it, leave it behind,

you don't really know what goes on inside my mind.

 

Don't tell me to just look forward, and not look back,

you don't really know, this kind of emotional 'black'.

Don't tell me to just get myself together,

you don't really know my internal pressure.

 

Don't tell me that time, time heals all wounds,

you don't really know, how patronising that sounds.

Don't tell me how that was then, and this is now,

you don't really know, how much I wish I knew how.

 

But, please,

 

Tell me you'll be there to help me through,

though I may not deserve it and my sadness makes you blue.

Tell me hopeful stories to help ease my troubled mind,

though I may seem belligerent and emotionally blind.

 

Tell me you wont give up on me and simply walk away,

though I'd really understand, if you'd prefer not to stay.

Tell me you don't understand, but you still want to try,

to help me find my way, to help me get by."

 

(PTSD is not exclusive to soldiers, any kind of traumatic event can potentially result in a person experiencing PTSD.)

When a person experiences PTSD, commonly friends and loved ones also become involved.

As a friend/loved one, we can be helpful by learning about PTSD, by listening, by encouraging the sufferer to seek professional help, by being patient, supportive, by encouraging the sufferer to take an active role in his/her own recovery.

PTSD is not something anybody can "snap out of".... and for those of us fortunate enough to have escaped it, a bit of tenderness and compassion goes a long way in helping the sufferer find a way to recovery. We may never fully understand what someone experiencing PTSD is going through, but we can try.

 

"Sometimes being understanding is more important than being right... Sometimes we need not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens... Not keen eyes that always see faults but open arms that accept. Not a finger that points out mistakes but gentle hands that lead." (Unknown)