What are you guys doing to cope with PTSD?

2024-11-25T20:53:39-05:00

Meds, VA psyche, private doctors? What are some effective strategies you guys are using to make your life better despite having PTSD?

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 25 at 2024 9:26 PM

2024-11-25T21:26:33-05:00

I sing karaoke as part of what I do to cope. I don't drink or do recreational pharmaceuticals. I take my meds as prescribed and talk open and honestly with my VA providers.

Response by PO1 Theresa Aldrich made Nov 25 at 2024 9:54 PM

2024-11-25T21:54:00-05:00

Anti-depressants, weekly therapy, and medical marijuana, which I discussed with all my VA docs and hobbies, and I have a mission as founder of HadIt.com Veterans. Our 28th Anniversary is Jan 20, 2025. No matter where my PTSD takes me, I always go back to my mission. Find a purpose and live it; it doesn't matter if it's a website or getting the best close-up photos of trees. Stop and try to embrace the good moments, and take a snapshot with your mind that you can replay in your head. I have a snapshot of sunrise over the ocean, sitting on a piece of drift on the beach in Carmel, CA. It is good to put good images in there to counter the dark ones. You are not alone.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 25 at 2024 11:05 PM

2024-11-25T23:05:52-05:00

This is what I did which helped me. Then I have suggested to many folks who I mentored:

I will describe the mirror technique in detail. Go to the mirror and smile at yourself. You might have to fake a smile, but it is better than none at all. Over time real smiles will appear. Talk about who and what you love. Then discuss who and what loves you. It makes absolute sense thinking and talking about love will make you feel better. Say good things about yourself through positive affirmations. This is commiserate with the old adage a positive thinker is a positive person. Conclude the session with it will all get better. Use the mirror at least three times a day. If you feel overwhelmed by life or have anxiety at bedtime, then go to the mirror.

I found out if a person becomes significantly less depressed, then they can handle PTSD better.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2024 12:01 AM

2024-11-26T00:01:23-05:00

Meds and VA psych.

As for strategies I use on my own: I got some basic guitar lessons and a guitar from Guitars 4 Vets almost 10 years ago - right now I've been going through Fender Play and Guitar Tricks to better learn how to play, learn some music theory, etc. I've found it's a great mindfulness exercise to focus on learning a riff or a song.

I'm also into nature therapy, and I'm an outings leader with the Sierra Club Military Outdoors program in my local Sierra Club chapter - I believe in the healing power of spending time outdoors and breathing fresh air, and can actually enjoy it when I can just walk in the woods and take in what's around me (unlike the time we spent in the woods when we were in the military). I also enjoy skiing, geocaching, and photography while I am spending time outdoors.

Response by SSgt Richard Kensinger made Nov 26 at 2024 11:56 AM

2024-11-26T11:56:15-05:00

I find that group psychotherapy to be quite efficacious given the military bonds that are created.
Rich

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 26 at 2024 3:34 PM

2024-11-26T15:34:13-05:00

Models. LEGOs. Video games. Target shooting, ironically. And therapy with The Veterans Center.

Response by SFC William Stephens made Nov 26 at 2024 3:56 PM

2024-11-26T15:56:07-05:00

Writing my story that RP Administrator s will not let me share on here

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Nov 26 at 2024 5:47 PM

2024-11-26T17:47:59-05:00

I have pretty much recovered, so I no longer need to cope. There were a number of factors, the most salient one being time.

It took years before I was able to enjoy fireworks. I still startle at the booms, but this summer was the first time in over a decade I was able to enjoy the Independence Day fireworks live and in person. As time passed, giving me more and more space between initial trauma and "now," my reactions got smaller and more controllable. And then I did self-administered exposure therapy. But I had to wait until I was able to control my reactions before I tried this.

It took years to return to "normal" sleep. Well, OK, I am still not there. But I am about as normal as I will ever get. I have returned to no longer remembering my dreams, and I no longer wake up in the middle of the night due to nightmares. (The bladder is a whole different issue....) The biggest factor was time, again. When I did wake, I would use biofeedback to slow my heart and my breathing, and return to normal, and force myself back to sleep as rapidly as possible. This became easier to do, more quickly, and more effectively, the more I did it. It also helps that I have a CPAP, and "mask on" means it is time to sleep. My body and my brain pretty much shut down as soon as it goes on. So with the nightmares, I would wake up, take the mask off, and use biofeedback to calm myself. Then I would use the restroom, drink a couple swallows of soda (I am addicted - I strongly recommend water as a healthier alternative), and "reset" my brain. Then I would lay back down and put my mask back on, and get back to sleep.

I do not know if my emotional regulation will ever return to normal - I can find myself holding back tears at "A League of Their Own," but I did not shed a single tear when my father finally succumbed to cancer a year ago - and I was there when it happened. I am prone to a short temper, but I also have done a great deal of work on anger management, even before the PTSD. I know my own warning signs and am able to remove myself from situations before they become volatile. However, the emotional regulation is not something that greatly affects everyday life, so it is not something that prevents participation in "polite society." (It greatly affects quality of life and relationships, though - so I do not want to downplay it.) I also more or less quit drinking alcohol. I drink, on average, 3 bottles of Smirnoff Ice a month. And never more than 4 in a night, never more than 2 in an hour. That greatly helps me manage my own emotions. I may not control what emotions hit me, but I can certainly keep myself under control.

I never really experienced any avoidance - other than the booms of fireworks. And even that was more a voluntary thing because I did not like my reaction and did not want to have that reaction publicly.

The only other real concern is the hyper-vigilance. I have this reduced to simply heightened alertness. I no longer HAVE to sit in the corner, or facing the door, or any of that. Sure, I still do a brief scan for possible exits and possible threats, but I was doing that even before PTSD. I still PREFER to sit where I can see as much of what is happening as possible, but I do not NEED to do so, and I do not get anxious if I cannot. I got over this with a combination of time and exposure therapy. It started with finding times and places where I could maybe sit with my back to the door, but with a mirror so that I could still see behind me (like a lot of bars may have a mirror behind the bar type thing, or a barber has mirrors everywhere). I also would go to sports bars and sit in an inopportune location, but distract myself with all of the many games on, so that I did not have any left over attention to notice that I had blind spots.

And the single biggest thing I found to help is distraction. For PTSD, Depression, and anxiety, all three, keeping myself too busy to have time to think about any of this stuff is exceptionally helpful. HOWEVER, and it is a big however, this is ONLY useful for buying time and separation from the trauma. It in NO WAY helps recover from it. And *eventually* you will have down time. There is a very real possibility of things crashing down on you when you do finally have that down time. Everything you have been too busy to deal with comes on you all at once. So IF you do this, be prepared for the crash - and make sure you have people around you who know what to expect and can support you through it.

I will also say that even at its worst, my PTSD was very mild. In no way do I expect that my experience is the same as anyone else's experience, and the fact that I was able to (mostly) recover without a great deal of external assistance in no way means that those who DO need that assistance are in any way less capable or less than. Fighting off a small demon by yourself is far easier than fighting off a big demon - even if you have help.

Response by MSgt Steven Holt, NRP, CCEMT-P made Nov 27 at 2024 10:23 AM

2024-11-27T10:23:56-05:00

Avoid alcohol or drugs at all costs. Plus I spend as much time as I can on two wheels (it's amazing how the rumble of a big V-Twin can make you feel better). Having a few close friends to talk with helped me far more that pharmaceuticals and ineffective therapists.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Nov 28 at 2024 2:26 AM

2024-11-28T02:26:05-05:00

Play in my shop

Response by SGT Lorenzo Nieto made Nov 28 at 2024 7:09 AM

2024-11-28T07:09:22-05:00

I could say get high,don’t work could say drink don’t work other drugs never tried, did talk to many people at the VA didn’t work so came up with my own plan, spent time with my wife,spent a lot of time building wooden model ships it works for me, I think the VA is out of touch with combat veterans.