PTSD is Not Just For Veterans, But Anyone

Today I would like to describe what exactly is PTSD. How PTSD is not just for veterans. I will be using an article from the National Institute of Mental Health.

Have you ever experience a very extreme scary event in your life? Think of the emotions that happen. Or rational thinking tends to go out the window, your muscles tense up, your heartbeat races etc. What these reactions are called is your fight or flight response. For some people this response changes things in their brain and they have harder time moving past it. Anything that reminds them of the event can trigger the flight or fight response in them.

I know for me, so many similar trauma’s plus my brain injury makes it hard for me to move past the fight or flight response to my triggers.

PTSD is not just for veterans 

Signs and Symptoms

Not everyone who has PTSD has been through a life threatening event. Some experience severe emotional trauma like death of another, emotional abuse, so on. The symptoms can come on as early as 3 mo. after the event or even years after. But the deciding factor on if it is PTSD or not is if it affects a persons daily living and relationships and lasts more than a month.

For me, I do not remember when I have not been the way I am. Not many like to be around me because it is hard to know when I will react irrationally to things. I do not have any friends other than my husband and in laws where I live. Everyone is online. My traumatic events are sexual abuse many different men in different times in my life, and my brain injury.

ptsd is not just for veterans

diagnosis criteria

• At least one re-experiencing symptom
• At least one avoidance symptom
• At least two arousal and reactivity symptoms
• At least two cognition and mood symptoms

My qualifying criteria

• I re-experience my fear symptoms every time my husband and I try to be intimate
• I avoid intimacy or even facing people because I have been hurt
• I quit regularly get very angry to the point of blind rage
• I have depression, and anger issues, plus I cannot think straight when I am triggered

To further explain these symptoms I would like to share more of the article and add how the show up in my life.

Re-experiencing symptoms include:

• Flashbacks—reliving the trauma over and over, including physical symptoms like a racing heart or sweating
• Bad dreams
• Frightening thoughts

I sometimes get crazy nightmares and cannot sleep well. When it comes time that I want to be intimate with my husband my mind gets triggered. I want to love my husband, but my brain says no, I get scared. Then also it seems in some conversations, I lose all control of my emotions. I think this was first affected from all the fights I had with my first husband. When I see anyone being belittled, treated badly, or if anyone suggests anything that appears to go against me in any way triggers me. I shake, I say nasty things, I breath fast, get tunnel vision etc.

Avoidance symptoms include:

• Staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of the traumatic experience
• Avoiding thoughts or feelings related to the traumatic event

I do both of these. I hide at home so I do not have to possibly face people in the world that could trigger me. I also do not like to think or feel negative feelings. When I get so blind angry I then get very depressed and blame myself. Then I feel like pulling away from what triggered me. I am in a women’s group, I get triggered regularly by someone in the group. I left it once, but I am now determined to have God help me. I am staying in the group but, that does not mean that the urge to run does not happen often.

Arousal and reactivity symptoms include:

• Being easily startled
• Feeling tense or “on edge”
• Having difficulty sleeping
• Having angry outbursts

Out of these my biggest issue is angry outbursts. My biggest need to help me cope with life is to feel I have control. I believe this is because I lost control of my life to so many abusive people. So, if it appears anyone is getting close to taking any kind of control from me I blow up emotionally big time. I can be very mean and ugly with my words. In raising my kids, I could not control them, so they often got the brunt of my rages.

When I am in a group of people I am always tense, waiting for something to hurt me, or someone to hurt me. Waiting for someone to say how bad and wrong I am, what a terrible person I am.

Cognition and mood symptoms include:

• Trouble remembering key features of the traumatic event
• Negative thoughts about oneself or the world
• Distorted feelings like guilt or blame
• Loss of interest in enjoyable activities

Wow! I fit all of these!

Between my brain injury and abuse I do not remember my past much at all. I remember some of the abuse, who did what. But it is all like a fog most of it.

Negative thoughts about me or the world?! Ya! I do not like myself at all, I am scared of the world. I am scared of living with my husband again.

[spp-tweet tweet=”Guilt or blame, ya I blame myself for all the men I brought into our lives. I feel guilty for all the pain that happened. “

Loss of interest? Hum, staying home all the time say anything about my loss of interest?

PTSD is not just for veterans

Do you recognize any of this in yourself? I would like to encourage you strongly to seek professional help. It is not easy, but there is a way out. Between God, counseling, and spiritual warfare there is peace and healing God wants us to live with.

If you need to talk, please do not hesitate in joining my site as I seek healing for my life.

Finding God Community

Written by: Sanda Allyson
myrtleministries.com

July 30, 2018

When reflecting upon just the past five years, I’m rendered speechless at where our nation is today. There has been such a dramatic change, a fundamental shift away from all things godly and biblical. It becomes increasingly clear that we have entered a new season on the End of Days timeline. As a nation, we just ran headlong into the Days of Noah iniquity with the recent bold declarations made by science of hybrid creatures and CASPR 9 technology, splicing DNA of both humans and animals together in combinations forsaking any allegiance to God’s blueprint, with no concern for the consequences. These scientists boldly and nonchalantly state that they have moved evolution forward.

They are and will continue to sell this as a benefit for mankind, that they will eradicate diseases and disabilities. But I’m no longer in my twenties and I’ve heard this before. The benefits to mankind never seem to manifest in the way they had proclaimed but we usually seem to reap other problems, such as with genetically modified foods and the corresponding increase in immune and digestive diseases and disorders as a direct result.

In the bag of door prizes this shift has brought to us, we also have the utter mental breakdown of a disturbing percentage of young people in colleges who no longer have the ability of critical thinking, who were never taught to deal with emotions in a healthy way, who were taught that up is down and down is up in school systems that openly preach socialism and hedonism.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” -Isaiah 5:20 NIV

In this setting, believers in Yeshua Jesus are hated like never before. Does the following scripture sound like it was written today?

“They [the pagans] are surprised that you do not run with them into the same riot of recklessness, and they vilify you.” 1 Peter 4:4 TLV [emphasis mine]

As we read that scripture in chapter four which has the heading of How to Live in the Last Days, believers in a country that has never experienced open Christian persecution must respond to the scripture’s caution in ways that have been forgotten or removed from the church’s teaching. Among these lost skills is spiritual warfare.

“Stay alert! Watch out! Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, searching for someone to devour. Stand up against him, firm in your faith, knowing that same kinds of suffering are being laid upon your brothers and sisters throughout the world.” I Peter 5:8 TLV [emphasis mine]

This is the point I want to make: How do we do that? How do we stay alert? Exactly how do we “watch out”?

I’m so glad you asked!

Since spiritual warfare is my area of ministry, I can help you with these questions!

To begin with, lets start with the most basic of these questions, “How do we do that?”

You can’t stand firm against any spiritual attack if you aren’t saved.

Have you given your life to Jesus? Have you truly given him your heart, turned away from all sin, and set upon a path of walking in holiness?

You’d be surprised how many people go to counseling and the counselor discovers that they have never actually given their lives to Jesus! They may have gone to church with family since they were young, but they never actually said, “Today, right here, right now, I’m giving my life to you Jesus. You are the foretold Messiah. You died and rose again for me. Please forgive me of my sins, cleanse me with your blood, and fill me with your holy spirit, and I will serve only you for the rest of my life.”

This is ground zero for both the supernatural and spiritual warfare! Salvation is a supernatural event! You cannot defeat the dark side if you are still aligned with them.

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 NIV

“All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.” Acts 10:43 NIV

Salvation is comprised of a few things often referred to as The ABCs of Salvation: acknowledge you are a sinner unable to pay for your own salvation in need of a savior who can, believe that Jesus alone is God and that he died and rose again, and confess with your mouth that he alone is Lord. We are then commanded to be baptized which is both obedience and a declaration of our faith.

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10 NIV

Have you done that? Do you know the date you got saved? Are you able to tell the story of being at Vacation Bible School and answering the call on your heart? Or of meeting someone in college who said something that shook you to the core and resulted in a tear-filled prayer on your knees in a dorm room?

If you don’t, I encourage you to pause for a moment to think about whether or not you actually gave your life to Jesus or if you conveniently never got around to it. Are you an introvert who nearly had a panic attack at the thought of getting baptized in front of people and just never followed through to get it done?

This is the center point of spiritual warfare!

I must say it again: Salvation is a supernatural event! It means everything! The Lord of Darkness has been evicted from the throne in your heart and the King of Glory now sits there! This is the center point of spiritual warfare! For, without the authority of His name, you have no power over the forces of darkness and therefore no hope to break free from them.

There should be a date or event you can point to when it was official. We don’t get saved by association or by doing charity work in a church. Salvation is a very different thing! And, there should be visible fruit from the experience that begins to grow, fruit that others can observe such as turning around from sinful behavior, no longer hanging out with the same people who pushed you to take the drugs that got you busted, or a sudden desire to read all the scripture you can.

After we make sure it is only Jesus Christ on the throne of our heart, then we can get about the business of learning both how to live in The Days of Noah and how our Lord has instructed us to defeat the forces of darkness.

“A Week’s Worth of Workout”

(This week’s writing is inspired by a change of fitness routine which gives the true meaning of “workout”. Personal reflections will be scattered throughout. The piece ends with Rom. 8:28)

This past week, my wife and I started a new fitness routine. We had been going to the senior citizen center for “gentle joints”, a combination of aerobics and stretching, then cool down at the end. This exercise class was fun because we both got to get a little dancing mixed into the steps. We were known as the “dancing couple.” That was great, but it was only on Mondays and Wednesdays, and our bodies weren’t getting the exercise needed to lose weight, tone up, or stay fit. We needed something on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Enter the real workout. Enter the place with “no judgment zone” and “no lunk alarm”.

And enter the land of real workout, and the inspiration for this writing. The machines at this facility are very effective, and definitely stretch, strengthen, and tone the muscles. They do what they are designed to do – painfully so! This was a workout! And we needed it. It stretched us physically, mentally, and spiritually. We need to be stretched in all three areas, painful though it may be – especially spiritually.

I am a creature of habit, and I thrive on that habit, that routine, remaining the same. That gives me a sense of stability. This past week, all that has been thrown out the window with the change in workout. My wife and I experienced two different kinds of exercise, a substitute leader at “gentle joints”, new muscles being stretched (and found!), and a whole world of emotions thrown in for good measure. But it ALL worked out for good. Life does not have to go the way we planned, and it seldom does. Things may not go the way we expect, and that’s okay. And do you know why? Because God is in control. He is sovereign.

God is literally taking every area of our lives, every experience, every heartache and trial, every test, and bringing something good out of it. As I’ve heard it said, “God doesn’t waste a single tear.” In our humanity we will question that. We will wonder why we are going through such a hard time or why things happen the way they do. Truthfully, we are not big enough or wise enough to understand. We are not God, and we were never intended to be! Remember that the devil tempted Eve to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden – “you shall be like God.” (Gen. 3:5)
Sometimes life really is hard. Our struggles cause pain in body, mind, and soul. Yes, life really is hard, but God really is good! It will all “work out” in the end!

Rom. 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose”

PTSD, Christianity, And Me What Does One Have to do With The Other

I am so happy to be accepted as an author for Unresolved Life! I believe we all have unresolved lives, that is until we get to Heaven. I pray some of my

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I hate gossip. It does nothing but destroy people. I’ve seen it first-hand and I hate it with a passion.

Why? Becuase it destroys relationships and trust. I’ve literally seen it divide churches. I’ve had it affect me personally, causing Child Protective Service called on me, all because a judgemental elder who had no understanding ran his mouth to our pastor who in turn ran his mouth to a social worker, instead of talking to us. The social worker, in turn, filed a report with C.P.S. and we had to fight them off for the next 6 months. The report was later dismissed for lack of cause. I ended up leaving the church.

The Bible is very clear about this topic. There are numerous scriptures that address it. I found 32 of them!

The one I think that addresses it the best is

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. James 1:26

So here’s my best advice. If you can’t say something to a person directly, keep your mouth shut!

Don’t go to a third party and “express your concern” to them. Even if it is a person in leadership or a pastor. Again if you have a concern, go to the person and express it to them directly. If you can’t do that, then pray about it and keep your mouth shut.

The problem is that too many times, we tend to try to fix things the way the world does. That’s not the right thing to do.

I think people act with the best of intentions. However, they don’t understand the damage that can be done.

Most of the time, people who are the victim of gossip, end up leaving the church and even spurn churches and Christians afterward. They may even walk away from God altogether.

I went through that. I deliberately stopped attending local churches for a time. I attended an online church where I felt safe. It took me a long time until I could trust people again.

If you are a pastor or leader, and someone comes to you with a “concern” tell them to talk to the person directly and educate them that what they are doing is gossip. Either that or arrange a meeting with the person in question and the gossiper and get it resolved.

Under no account, should you tell the person being talked about that an anonymous person has expressed a concern.  All you are going to do is tick the person off and create division.

enough said?

Lessons From the Mailbox

(This writing is inspired by the true-life experience of trying to install a new cedar mailbox post, and a new mailbox. The process and the frustrations of putting the mailbox kit together led to a few hard life lessons, which are shared in this post. Personal reflectioins are at the end.)

Recently, I put in a new mailbox and post for my mother-in-law. At the time of this writing, it is in the ground, the mailbox opens and closes, and the mail lady is happy with its height. All is well, except for two things – the post wobbles and the mail box is shaky. It is all a little loose. It works, but it is on shaky ground!

This project turned out to be harder than my wife and I ever expected. My level of frustration was growing with each unintelligible instruction. Nice pictures and nice simple idea, but putting it all together was another story all together. Can you relate? But I was also part of the problem, and that is what I want to focus on for the rest of this writing.

My first lesson is to actually read the instructions. I thought I had a clear picture in my mind, so I just started getting the parts out, getting advice on how to put it together, all from looking at the parts and pictures. It should be simple, right? Reading the instructions helped some, but there was more to learn.

The second lesson – and it is a big one – is to work together with others to get things done. Listen to what they are saying and their perspective. People of all ages have something to contribute, a point of view to be heard. Let them use their talents, knowledge, and perspective to accomplish the task at hand. It will be worth it, if the task is worth doing. This one was worth the effort.

Lesson number three comes from my frustrations with the process of this installation. I wanted to get the job done, and I wanted it done quickly. But the process, by nature, was slow. It took time. It needed to take time to get it right. When we are in a hurry, we mess things up. Confusion in the process aside, we are still responsible to our best for the Lord. Taking time is part of that.

Finally, consider the brokenness. The old mailbox post was broken off underground. It rotted from probably 30 years of use. Sometimes we feel useless and rotten,but God does not see us that way. He sees people through the cross – healed, forgiven, clean, whole, gifted in various ways, and with something to contribute to His Kingdom. If we are in Christ, we are sealed, safe, and whole in Him. This is all possible by his death on the cross. Our identify is found in Him, not our success or in other earthly things.

One final thought – never, and I do mean never, attempt this project if you have a loose screw!

(Personal reflections – Sometimes I need to slow down, be patient, and trust God with the results. So do we all!)

No Air – No Power

Recently, my wife and I stayed at a hotel in Alabama for our 24^th anniversary. Our goal was to go to a wildlife refuge, which was amazing. In front of the hotel was a golf cart which was plugged in so it could be charged. That made sense. It needs to be charged up to be ready to do what it was designed to do. Then I saw a contradiction. That plugged in cart had a flat tire. It had no air and no power. It was rendered useless and ineffective. It had power, but it was still ineffective.

When I saw this, I thought of Christians, myself included. We read our Bible, we pray, we seek God’s face, we beg for help, we cry out to God in pain, we tell God what is on our heart. These are all great things, but we are rendered ineffective if we don’t complete the process, if we don’t ask God to fill us with His spirit, so we can walk in His strength, not our own. When we try to do things in our own strength, in our own power, using our own ideas instead of God’s leading, iit just doesn’t work.

Often times, we as Christians will get all excited about what God is telling us, what He is revealing to our hearts – a fresh insight, a cool idea, or a a calling we suddenly realize. In our excitement, if we’re not careful, we will just take God’s ideas and run with them on our own. That is not helpful, not effective. It is not the way God has designed for us to operate. We are to do things with Him, using His strength, letting Him lead, and submitting to that leading.

Another way we walk in our own strength is our determination, our own self will. We are bound and determined that we are going to fix this problem, do this task, accomplish this goal. Our self will tries to take the place of being filled with God’s spirit, of walking in dependence on Him. This makes it all about us, and not about God and His power, and His glory. Guys, have we not seen this in our own liives, trying to fix things for our family?? That’s what guys tend to do, at least I do. When I’m walking in my own strength, I am not walking in His.

Finally, we try to walk in our own strength when we try to work our way to Heaven and earn God’s approval. Our works, our good deeds, cannot replace what Jesus has done on the cross for us, dying for our sins. It is His goodness, and His strength we need. That strength, that power, that filling is fully available when we submit ourselves and our needs to Him.

Phil. 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”

In this week’s episode, we talked with Todd Williams about a few different topics, including Suicide.

The question becomes what if I’m considering suicide? First, let me say this, no matter what you are going through, nothing is so bad, that taking your life is the best option.

While you may feel there is no hope, I can assure you that this is a lie, from the deepest pits of Hell. The fact is, that the Bible gives you an alternative to ending it all, Jesus says come to me all you who are weary, and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Mat 11:27

That said let’s get down to brass tacks.

What do you do if you are having suicidal thoughts? If you are a Christian, do your very best to pray, because the Lord says he is close to the broken hearted, and he will meet you where you are at. I know this is the case because it is exactly what happened to me, that fateful night when I made my attempt. I’d had it.  I just wanted to go home, and call it a day.

However, God was right there, and he made it clear to me, that this was not his plan, and I would not go through with it.

However what if you are not a Christian?

Your answer is this, do not end your life, because as much as you might want things to end, they won’t.  Once your life ends here, you step into eternity. And an eternity without Jesus, means that things will only become much worse, and there will be no end.

Second, realize, that wherever you are at, there is hope, God says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

It doesn’t all of a sudden mean that your life will instantly get better, but it does mean that when the crud hits the fan, you have help getting through it, and furthermore when your life does finally end, that you will go to Heaven, not Hell, because you know that your Sins are forgiven, because of what Jesus did on the cross.

You see, the Bible says that Jesus died, and was in the grave for three days, and then he rose again, proving that he could not be held by death.

Because he lives, we have a hope, and because we have a hope, we do not need to resort to taking our own life.

I hope this has been helpful to you, and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

In Christ,

Teresa Blaes