Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), continued

Difficult as it may seem right now - you can get better - you can heal from the shock and these overwhelming feelings will loose the charge they have while you are still in shock. Eventually they will become a distant memory and you will be able to focus on your life, your career, the cute and loving people around you. While in shock you may feel that the everyday things people do are shallow and you may feel that it is wrong to simply enjoy life. But time will heal your wounds and eventually that feeling of being misunderstood and disconnected from the world will pass. You will be able to focus on your career, your favorite sport and hobby. and your family.

There are techniques on how to let you sleep better, get less jumpy and one day you will have laughed at a joke or hugged your kids and you will realize that you haven't even thought about the war for an entire day. You can relax again. The key is not to try to heal from the pain by running from it. If you start taking drugs or if you start to drink excessively to help you forget - new problems take hold that cannot be healed by time. Cognitive therapy is best. Telling your stories to a trusted therapist - over and over and over, combined with some rapid eye movement has shown amazing results. Quicker than trying to heal an alcohol and/or drug addition. So the best way to deal with the problem is to get help from a qualified therapist.

Your memory of what happened and your feelings about it are disconnected. In order to move on, it will be important to face and feel your memories and emotions in a safe environment.

The Scream, Edward Munch

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