Today nothing is scheduled to cause physical pain to anyone, but for our family facing appointments for my nephew's counsultation with the cardiologist this morning and my son Ethan's ENT consult in the afternoon we are on high alert.
I've mentioned PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) previously on this blog, but I have not given it much explanation.This graphic has been the best way to describe it in my opinion.
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| Cups Explanation |
Cup 2 is representative of what happens to everyone when bad stress gets dumped into their lives. Getting fired, health issues, fender benders etc. It is added to the "good stress."
Cup 3 is where is gets interesting. For people who have experienced a traumatic event in their lives they live with their cups nearly full all of the time. The "green" part may be bigger or smaller depending on what healing and/or counseling in how to handle their PTSD has happened. Either way it takes up a big chunk of available "cup." There is little room for the bad stress when it gets dumped into their lives and overflow happens quickly.
Overflow will look different for everyone. It might mean retreating from the world, lashing out in anger, lots of tears, high anxiety etc. This overflow is caused by added stress or "triggers" from the trauma. I am not an expert in this and I have more to learn for sure, but people without PTSD may have similar reactions to bad stress, but it would probably take them a LOT of bad stress to get to the overflowing, "small" things would not set them off as they do with PTSD sufferers, and they would be able to recover more quickly from bad stress.
I know my "green" PTSD section has been helped over the years with counseling and healthy coping skills being learned. But it is still there and probably always will be. I have several triggers I am able to handle much better than years ago, but medical issues and paperwork are the ones that "overflow" me quite easily.
When Thomas died the amount of paperwork that I had to fill out went on for months. If you have ever experienced major grief you know how depression can make simple acts become nearly impossible, yet I was constantly bombarded with deadlines for paperwork. (I know this sounds crazy to some of you, it's just filling out papers, but for one example I still shudder and my heart rate increases when I see that box to check "Married, Divorced, Single." Rarely there was a "Widow" box which made it even sadder for me at the time.)
I know this is not my typical writing style or subject, but I hope this might help some of you who suffer from PTSD symptoms understand the way we react and also for our loved ones who are dealing with our what seems silly reactions to stress.
We appreciate prayers today as we navigate our triggers and for my nephew Jett as he starts to gain an understanding of what he is facing.
I have peace this morning from all of your prayers and I look forward to sharing with you tomorrow how God provided for us all day today!
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