Thursday, September 27, 2007
Invisable Scars
August 1996 By Dr. Stacy Becker Bio: Stacy L. Becker, Psy. D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and has been an advocate of abuse victims and survivors for several years. She is particularly committed to educating and treating survivors of psychological maltreatment. Your comments are welcome by e-mailing yesican@yesican.org.
A middle-aged woman walked into my office, took a seat and asked, "Is it possible for me to have been a victim of child abuse if I was never beaten or molested? I responded, "yes" and asked why she asked. She described herself as being frequently depressed and unable to feel good about herself. She said that she felt that she did not know who she was, or what her purpose in life was. She said that her parents were good, strict parents and that, in all honesty, she had no right to feel badly about herself. "After all," she added, "worse things have happened to other people."
I thought that there had to be a reason for her asking her original question even though she insisted that she had a wonderful upbringing. I asked her what her parents' attitude had been like towards her. She said that in her home children were "seen and not heard." She recalled being the "good girl" in the family who always followed the rules. When I asked her what happened if she didn't follow the rules, she said that she never dared rebel but that she often saw her siblings publicly humiliated; they were frequently called "imbecile," "dummy," or "useless." She said that it made her feel afraid, even when she was not the one in trouble. When I asked her what she thought of this tactic, she stated that she knew that her parents did the best that they could. She said that her parents were simply trying to teach all the children the "ways of right and wrong" so that they would grow up to be "disciplined and successful adults." When I asked her if she felt angry about how she and her siblings were treated, she replied, "No, we weren't really allowed to get angry. Anger just makes things worse. Besides, I've always been much too sensitive about things."
It seemed to me that as the "good girl" she even felt guilty questioning her parents as she spoke to me. She spoke in a polite, soft tone, qualified nearly everything that she said, and reminded me several times about her parents' good intentions. When I gently suggested that it may be beneficial that she try to begin to look more at her past and how it may be keeping her from fulfilling her dreams in the present, she said that she was wrong for having come in and that blaming her parents was an ungrateful and disrespectful act. I explained that the goal of therapy is to understand what happened so that she could be as accepting of herself as she was of others. Therapy is never about blame. It's about understanding, healing and growing. This example illustrates one way in which psychological maltreatment had adversely impacted the life of a woman. There are many types of psychological maltreatment and just as many ways that it impacts the emotional, social, and intellectual development of individuals. In this case, although her parents had, perhaps, acted in ways that they felt would be in the best interest of their children, this woman had learned how to "be good" at the expense of learning who she was, what she wanted, and how to express her own feelings. Maybe she was depressed because she was too afraid to take chances and risk making an error; after all, in her family, making an error meant taking the chance of being devastated by humiliation and ridicule.
What is particularly insidious about this form of abuse is that the child victim and the adult survivor often have no idea "what hit them." There are no memories and no physical evidence of being beaten, molested, or abused because the bruises and scars are invisible. It is the soul that is injured.
Part of being a child is to naturally trust one's parents or caretakers and assume that if the adult says, "this is for your own good," it truly is. Even as adults, therefore, victims of psychological maltreatment often find it difficult to trust their own judgment since an integral part of the abuse was reinforcing that they didn't know what was best for them. Many children and adults simply accept the blame and think that they are the problem and are crazy, bad, or worthless. They discredit their own reactions and feelings so that their perceptions match what they are told to think or feel. They often conclude that had they been better, smarter, or more obedient, their parents would have been more loving, supportive, or proud of them. Unfortunately, depression and low self esteem are natural consequences of this process. The good news is: this is treatable. Therapy can bring relief and a new sense of purpose.
http://www.yesican.org/articles/article1-1.html
A middle-aged woman walked into my office, took a seat and asked, "Is it possible for me to have been a victim of child abuse if I was never beaten or molested? I responded, "yes" and asked why she asked. She described herself as being frequently depressed and unable to feel good about herself. She said that she felt that she did not know who she was, or what her purpose in life was. She said that her parents were good, strict parents and that, in all honesty, she had no right to feel badly about herself. "After all," she added, "worse things have happened to other people."
I thought that there had to be a reason for her asking her original question even though she insisted that she had a wonderful upbringing. I asked her what her parents' attitude had been like towards her. She said that in her home children were "seen and not heard." She recalled being the "good girl" in the family who always followed the rules. When I asked her what happened if she didn't follow the rules, she said that she never dared rebel but that she often saw her siblings publicly humiliated; they were frequently called "imbecile," "dummy," or "useless." She said that it made her feel afraid, even when she was not the one in trouble. When I asked her what she thought of this tactic, she stated that she knew that her parents did the best that they could. She said that her parents were simply trying to teach all the children the "ways of right and wrong" so that they would grow up to be "disciplined and successful adults." When I asked her if she felt angry about how she and her siblings were treated, she replied, "No, we weren't really allowed to get angry. Anger just makes things worse. Besides, I've always been much too sensitive about things."
It seemed to me that as the "good girl" she even felt guilty questioning her parents as she spoke to me. She spoke in a polite, soft tone, qualified nearly everything that she said, and reminded me several times about her parents' good intentions. When I gently suggested that it may be beneficial that she try to begin to look more at her past and how it may be keeping her from fulfilling her dreams in the present, she said that she was wrong for having come in and that blaming her parents was an ungrateful and disrespectful act. I explained that the goal of therapy is to understand what happened so that she could be as accepting of herself as she was of others. Therapy is never about blame. It's about understanding, healing and growing. This example illustrates one way in which psychological maltreatment had adversely impacted the life of a woman. There are many types of psychological maltreatment and just as many ways that it impacts the emotional, social, and intellectual development of individuals. In this case, although her parents had, perhaps, acted in ways that they felt would be in the best interest of their children, this woman had learned how to "be good" at the expense of learning who she was, what she wanted, and how to express her own feelings. Maybe she was depressed because she was too afraid to take chances and risk making an error; after all, in her family, making an error meant taking the chance of being devastated by humiliation and ridicule.
What is particularly insidious about this form of abuse is that the child victim and the adult survivor often have no idea "what hit them." There are no memories and no physical evidence of being beaten, molested, or abused because the bruises and scars are invisible. It is the soul that is injured.
Part of being a child is to naturally trust one's parents or caretakers and assume that if the adult says, "this is for your own good," it truly is. Even as adults, therefore, victims of psychological maltreatment often find it difficult to trust their own judgment since an integral part of the abuse was reinforcing that they didn't know what was best for them. Many children and adults simply accept the blame and think that they are the problem and are crazy, bad, or worthless. They discredit their own reactions and feelings so that their perceptions match what they are told to think or feel. They often conclude that had they been better, smarter, or more obedient, their parents would have been more loving, supportive, or proud of them. Unfortunately, depression and low self esteem are natural consequences of this process. The good news is: this is treatable. Therapy can bring relief and a new sense of purpose.
http://www.yesican.org/articles/article1-1.html
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Trauma's Interaction With The Brain
The amygdala is the brains alarm, contained deep within our brain. The amygdala is the core of our issues with PTSD, and where we need to start, so you can interpret your own image on how your reactions are forced upon you, instead of the rational decision that often comes second or later, though often too late for the hurtful and spiteful things we say first, from a very misinterpreted and confused amygdala to our output.The above image represents your amygdala. The normal place for the alarm (amygdala) is over to the left, being the safe place. Now, if something very extreme happens, being your traumatic event, the needle is now moved over to the right side, being the war zone. This is now where your needle rests normally. Now conceptualising the above image, your needle is already in alarm mode, so the slightest event will now trigger your internal alarm to react or respond to the most trivial things. It is like your neighbour having a cheap alarm fitted, whilst it detects a burglar, it also detects a passing truck, birds or a football hitting the house. So realistically, we could call your neighbours alarm faulty. Another model to explain this alarm reaction is the PTSD cup explanation.With PTSD, you have developed a similar faulty alarm within your mind, being your amygdala. Unfortunately, each time the alarm goes off, you take it seriously. You may get angry with yourself for allowing your alarm to go off in the first place, though this only makes matters worse. You can no more stop your alarm going off than I could from blinking if I attempt to stick my finger in my eye. Very slowly you can coax your alarm system to move from the extreme right (war zone) backwards towards the Belfast position (being stable, but could explode anytime), then further back to your safe place once again, where a person without PTSD often reside.Achieving this is not merely an intellectual thing, but a combination of mental thought and exposing yourself to things you avoid. It is like learning to swim. You may know with your head that you will float because of Archimedes Principle, but you only know it at an experiential level when you let go of the side wall in the pool. Inevitably getting the alarm back to the correct position is two steps forward and one back, if for example, you hear in the media of a trauma just like yours, the alarm will move over a notch towards the right, or as you expose yourself to self interpreted fears, and real fears surrounding your trauma.The drama of trauma is written by the hippocampal system involving the hippocampus and probably the pre-frontal cortex. This system is aware of what’s going on at the amygdala level and can send a message about how seriously the alarm should be taken. The only opposition to this, is that if a particular traumatic aspect was so traumatic, it may off actually bypassed the hippocampus and burnt itself directly into the amygdala instead. This has an impact on memory recovery.At this point, talking and writing about the trauma, each incident and its effects are a critical aspect in the recovery of lost memories. If you try and block memories when they arise, you will find yourself attempting to think off other things, though the more you try and block the memories, the more you think about them, thus the more symptomatic response. This is only a brief point on this part, as exposure therapy is covered in more detail within the exposure therapy for PTSD thread.The Bubble and Emotional NumbnessThose who experience severe trauma can become very concerned about their numbness or emotional flatness, which tends to make you feel like a bottle of soda without the fizz. Whilst the fizz will not return on its own, it will return gradually and often unexpectedly if you engage in increasing doses of activity. Unfortunately, you will feel as though you reside within a bubble.You will feel as though you cannot connect to others, because of the differing settings of your alarms that they cannot possibly understand if they have not been through the severity of trauma you have. Heroic behaviour means gradually acting opposite to the feeling of flatness and disconnection. To begin with you will feel like a robot going through the motions, but you are pressing into the service part of the brains command / demand system (the anterior cingulate and dorsolateral frontal cortex) that can override fearful messages from the hippocampal / amygdala system, so that over time and with daily practice, the fear may still be there, but it becomes a fear that you are no longer afraid of, more accept it for what it is, a memory.It takes a lot of energy initially in small controlled doses to burst the bubble you feel that you reside within, and reconnect to people once again. You must not blame yourself for the flatness of fizz or being within your bubble, because you are not responsible for the problem, only for working on the solution.
http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread576.html
http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread576.html
Conceptualising PTSD - Trauma Response to Anger
Conceptualising PTSD - Trauma Response to Anger
Definitions
Amygdala - The brains emotional computer and alarm system
Hippocampus - Brains storage for our most recent concious memories
Thalamus - Translates sights, sounds, smells into the language of the brain
Definitions
Amygdala - The brains emotional computer and alarm system
Hippocampus - Brains storage for our most recent concious memories
Thalamus - Translates sights, sounds, smells into the language of the brain
http://www.ptsdforum.org/thread535.html
Little Rock, 50 Years Later and PTSD is present
This month, Little Rock will commemorate the date, 50 years ago, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to escort black children to Central High. In that moment, Little Rock became a synonym for hate. After claiming that desegregation would lead to violence, Gov. Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to keep black children from attending the school. Meanwhile, the black students designated to integrate Central High made plans to enter as a group. Eckford's family had no phone, so she never got the message. She came alone, only to be sent away by Faubus's soldiers and left to the angry mob.
No black child got in on the appointed day. Three weeks later, armed with a judge's order prohibiting Faubus from interfering, the students were spirited in through a side door (the mob was so unruly, however, police decided the Nine could not stay). In the weeks that followed, they endured unrelenting abuse. They never believed the task would be easy, but they had no idea how hellish it would become. Minnijean Brown Trickey was expelled for a fight she didn't start. "If we knew what it was going to be, we would have been too scared to go," says Trickey, who returned to Little Rock after many years away to care for an aged parent. Decades later, Eckford realized she suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. For years, she could not work. In her current job since 1999, she has found a measure of peace: it has taken "a long time getting there, a long time to talk about the past without crying."
Charles Ommanney / Getty Images for Newsweek
Now and Then: Eckford today, at her former high school
Mostly, the Nine have flourished. Many got advanced degrees. All moved away—for a while, at least—and Little Rock tried to move on. Mayor Mark Stodola says it's time to put the past aside. He says Little Rock never deserved its racist reputation and that "the people who want to continue to look to the past are an impediment to where we want to go for the future." Ralph Brodie, a Central High football player and student-body president at the time of the crisis, says the reputations of many were unfairly tarnished by the actions of a few. Most people at Central were receptive to the black enrollees, he says, yet the world focused on "problem students—25 maybe, a minuscule percentage." The rest "did everything they could to make that schoolyear work," says Brodie, a lawyer and member of Central's 50th Anniversary Commission.
No black child got in on the appointed day. Three weeks later, armed with a judge's order prohibiting Faubus from interfering, the students were spirited in through a side door (the mob was so unruly, however, police decided the Nine could not stay). In the weeks that followed, they endured unrelenting abuse. They never believed the task would be easy, but they had no idea how hellish it would become. Minnijean Brown Trickey was expelled for a fight she didn't start. "If we knew what it was going to be, we would have been too scared to go," says Trickey, who returned to Little Rock after many years away to care for an aged parent. Decades later, Eckford realized she suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder. For years, she could not work. In her current job since 1999, she has found a measure of peace: it has taken "a long time getting there, a long time to talk about the past without crying."
Charles Ommanney / Getty Images for Newsweek
Now and Then: Eckford today, at her former high school
Mostly, the Nine have flourished. Many got advanced degrees. All moved away—for a while, at least—and Little Rock tried to move on. Mayor Mark Stodola says it's time to put the past aside. He says Little Rock never deserved its racist reputation and that "the people who want to continue to look to the past are an impediment to where we want to go for the future." Ralph Brodie, a Central High football player and student-body president at the time of the crisis, says the reputations of many were unfairly tarnished by the actions of a few. Most people at Central were receptive to the black enrollees, he says, yet the world focused on "problem students—25 maybe, a minuscule percentage." The rest "did everything they could to make that schoolyear work," says Brodie, a lawyer and member of Central's 50th Anniversary Commission.
Photo ;Will Counts / Arkansas Democrat Gazette-AP
Monday, September 24, 2007
PTSD: Regenerative Nutrition Should Help Vets
Posted: Aug 29, 2007 7:38 PM
PTSD: Regenerative Nutrition Should Help VetsBy Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.comPhillip Leveque is a Combat Infantryman, Physician and Nutrition Biochemist.(MOLALLA, Ore.)- Veterans are injured, the VA is broken, and it is time for someone to step up to fix this problem. Many, including myself, talk about how medical marijuana helps veterans with PTSD. Regenerative nutrition can help anyone with PTSD, whether they use medical marijuana or not.The Veteran's Administration (VA) is not staffed to handle the influx of PTSD veterans. Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are not receiving proper care or respect. Most do not seek treatment and those that do are often stigmatized and given ineffective prescriptions that erode their quality of life. Let's give them something that may actually work, now. Regenerative Nutrition helps all parts of the body repair and should help the body repair the neurological damage of PTSD. We are assembling a pilot study to examine the impact of a regenerative nutrition product in people with PTSD. This cell renewal beverage from a high-end biotech company has been found to improve mental clarity, focus, vital energy, stress management, and cognitive function in the general population. If the average person is aided by this beverage, imagine how much of a difference it could make in the lives of people with PTSD. This study will enable us to raise public awareness of something that could truly improve the quality of life in veterans with PTSD.According to the Veteran's Administration website, 8% of the population will have PTSD at some time in their lives and 5.2 million Americans each year suffer from PTSD. The VA reports that PTSD affects 30% of Vietnam veterans, 10% of Desert Storm veterans, 6-11% of veterans from Afghanistan, and 12-20% of veterans from the Iraq war. USA Today reported on February 28, 2005, "Of the 244,054 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan already discharged from service, 12,422 have been in VA counseling centers for readjustment problems and symptoms associated with PTSD." The real numbers today are probably much higher.A 2004 study in the New England Journal of Medicine examining veterans from the current combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq found that only 23-40% of veterans and military personnel with PTSD sought treatment for the condition. Many veterans fear stigmatization and are concerned about other barriers and/or ineffective care.PTSD has not been treated very effectively with western medicine. Clinics have tried every anti-psychotic and anti-depressant in the book as well as highly potent pain killers like Oxycontin and Morphine with minimal success for PTSD. They did end up with thousands of drug addicts and alcoholics. Veterans are suffering. Rates of suicide and depression among army personnel reached a 26-year high last year, according to the recently released 2006 Army Suicide Event Report. Improvements to the treatment of PTSD could vastly benefit those afflicted, their families, and a society that has been charged with their care.People with PTSD need to repair their damaged nervous systems to be able to heal. The cell renewal beverage is made from nature's pharmacy and is safer than the food we eat. Unlike dangerous pharmaceutical drugs which merely mask symptoms, this beverage could go to the root of the problem, by helping the body repair damage to the brain. We should not let people with PTSD or their families continue to suffer. We need a solution for PTSD. This cell renewal beverage can't hurt, but it could make all the difference in the world for people with PTSD. The VA doesn't have an answer, but perhaps we do. Please help us make a difference: Join our study and help us to take action now. Visit our PTSD Study page at www.LifestyleOregon.com and email health@LifestyleOregon.com to get involved.
PTSD: Regenerative Nutrition Should Help VetsBy Dr. Phillip Leveque Salem-News.comPhillip Leveque is a Combat Infantryman, Physician and Nutrition Biochemist.(MOLALLA, Ore.)- Veterans are injured, the VA is broken, and it is time for someone to step up to fix this problem. Many, including myself, talk about how medical marijuana helps veterans with PTSD. Regenerative nutrition can help anyone with PTSD, whether they use medical marijuana or not.The Veteran's Administration (VA) is not staffed to handle the influx of PTSD veterans. Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are not receiving proper care or respect. Most do not seek treatment and those that do are often stigmatized and given ineffective prescriptions that erode their quality of life. Let's give them something that may actually work, now. Regenerative Nutrition helps all parts of the body repair and should help the body repair the neurological damage of PTSD. We are assembling a pilot study to examine the impact of a regenerative nutrition product in people with PTSD. This cell renewal beverage from a high-end biotech company has been found to improve mental clarity, focus, vital energy, stress management, and cognitive function in the general population. If the average person is aided by this beverage, imagine how much of a difference it could make in the lives of people with PTSD. This study will enable us to raise public awareness of something that could truly improve the quality of life in veterans with PTSD.According to the Veteran's Administration website, 8% of the population will have PTSD at some time in their lives and 5.2 million Americans each year suffer from PTSD. The VA reports that PTSD affects 30% of Vietnam veterans, 10% of Desert Storm veterans, 6-11% of veterans from Afghanistan, and 12-20% of veterans from the Iraq war. USA Today reported on February 28, 2005, "Of the 244,054 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan already discharged from service, 12,422 have been in VA counseling centers for readjustment problems and symptoms associated with PTSD." The real numbers today are probably much higher.A 2004 study in the New England Journal of Medicine examining veterans from the current combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq found that only 23-40% of veterans and military personnel with PTSD sought treatment for the condition. Many veterans fear stigmatization and are concerned about other barriers and/or ineffective care.PTSD has not been treated very effectively with western medicine. Clinics have tried every anti-psychotic and anti-depressant in the book as well as highly potent pain killers like Oxycontin and Morphine with minimal success for PTSD. They did end up with thousands of drug addicts and alcoholics. Veterans are suffering. Rates of suicide and depression among army personnel reached a 26-year high last year, according to the recently released 2006 Army Suicide Event Report. Improvements to the treatment of PTSD could vastly benefit those afflicted, their families, and a society that has been charged with their care.People with PTSD need to repair their damaged nervous systems to be able to heal. The cell renewal beverage is made from nature's pharmacy and is safer than the food we eat. Unlike dangerous pharmaceutical drugs which merely mask symptoms, this beverage could go to the root of the problem, by helping the body repair damage to the brain. We should not let people with PTSD or their families continue to suffer. We need a solution for PTSD. This cell renewal beverage can't hurt, but it could make all the difference in the world for people with PTSD. The VA doesn't have an answer, but perhaps we do. Please help us make a difference: Join our study and help us to take action now. Visit our PTSD Study page at www.LifestyleOregon.com and email health@LifestyleOregon.com to get involved.
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