FearSome

Before I started therapy when I was 30 to deal with PTSD from a violent stranger rape at age 19, my life was a mess. As the years went on things got better, but then new therapies started to appear like EMDR (an eye movement technique that mimics REM sleep) - then I really started to make some progress. Adding medication also helped a lot. Gone now are the frequent night terrors, flashbacks, overwhelming emotions and all the rest of the symptoms that interfered with having a "normal" life. I'm now back to my art and can engage with people without experiencing extreme fear of what they might do to me or my family.

With all the hi-resolution brain scans going on, I'd like to see some empirical evidence of the similarity, if any, between men's orgasm and women's. It should be easy enough - just watch the neuronal circuits while the test subjects of each sex experience what they call "orgasm," and see if the neurotransmitter balance shows that the amygdalae are reading from the same page. Yea or nay, that would be news I could use.

What a strong look at fear and our brains. Lately, I've made a change in my thought patterns, shutting off negative thoughts and replace them with comments about what I am doing right. Hokey? Maybe, but it seems to be keeping me upbeat and productive.

After reading your blog, I believe I'm making a chemical shift in my brain. You give me hope that these changes might be permanent. Thanks, and congratulations on a wonderful blog.

B. Lynn Goodwin
http://www.writeradvice.com
Author of You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers

And I am proof that this idea extends beyond mice. :)

I'm a trauma survivor who struggled with undiagnosed chronic/extreme PTSD for 25 years. And then I was diagnosed and went on a healing rampage!

I was largely self-healed and entirely without meds. A major factor for me was deliberately constructing a post-trauma identity; I didn't think it was possible to heal in the present and move on toward the future if I continued to define myself by the past.

A major component of this redefinition was accomplished through the pursuit of joy. Joy, as you know, has a great effect on brain chemistry. I put myself in a daily situation that made me feel joyful feelings that caused feelings of courage, invincibility and strength to surge through me, giving me a perspective of safety, hope and belief that I could be healed. I really do believe we can condition ourselves to reperceive, and then use that accomplishment to heal.

OK, I've written enough but it was an exciting journey. Today, I am into my second year of being 100% PTSD-free. Now, I write a healing PTSD blog. Would you be interested in writing a guest post (or adapting the post above) for my blog? I think what you're saying here is SO necessary for my audience (which is global and spans all segments of the population) to hear. There's so much written about PTSD, but not enough written about what we ourselves can do to effect the problem without the aid of meds or other false supports.

Nice article. But for me HOPE is the biggest factor.