PTSD is something that can have a profound effect on your life. One minute, you feel fine – like your normal self, then the next, something triggers your symptoms, and you go downhill. When this happens to you, it can feel like fighting PTSD is impossible. After all, it seems to occur at random.
The good news is that there are various strategies you can use to push back against PTSD and find the warrior within. While it might take time to overcome the condition, there are numerous steps you can take.
Acknowledge Your Strength
The first step is to acknowledge your strength. You want to have a sense inside you that you have an inner resilience capable of facing the challenges presented against you.
While it might not seem like you have much strength when experiencing PTSD, it is something that can help drive you forward. Knowing that you have the grit and determination inside you to deal with the issues you are facing can strengthen you against them, allowing you to make more progress.
The opposite of this approach is to believe you are helpless and can’t do anything to improve your condition. While this path might involve less short-term pain, it will eventually cause issues and challenges in your life in the long term.
If you are struggling to see your inner strength, look at times in your past when it came out. Focus on the achievements you made during your life and how they got you to where you are today. Think about the challenges you already overcame while managing your condition.
Identify Your Values
Another good foundation for healing PTSD scars is to define what you value. Knowing where you are heading and what matters to you enables you to build a life of purpose and well-being.
Start by writing a list of the things that are most important to you in your life. Don’t use any filters (write it down in a personal journal if you must).
Once you understand your values, you can start fleshing them out with more substance. Creating a narrative gives you something to live by, helping you chart a course, even if your emotions make it less clear to you.
If your values don’t ring true, then try again. Eventually, you will refine your ideas and emerge with something that serves you and the people around you.
Be More Loving To Yourself
Lastly, on the point of building a strong foundation for dealing with PTSD, you want to be more loving to yourself. Showing yourself more self-compassion enables you to view yourself differently.
Remember, if you have PTSD, that usually means you have been through a severe challenge in your life. Something bad happened to you and now you’re dealing with the consequences.
Don’t ignore that fact. Treat it compassionately, as if you were talking to a friend who had been through the same experience as you.
Once you move over to more self-compassion, you’ll notice that your world changes. It becomes okay if you’re not perfect. It’s fine if you have a bad day or if something triggers you and you can’t control your response. That’s just a part of living with PTSD. It doesn’t mean anything other than that.
Get Professional Help
Once you’ve laid a foundation, the next step is to reach out and ask for help. Seeking professional guidance and support can provide you with the tools you need to move forward in your life.
Start by exploring various therapeutic techniques with your therapist. Trained professionals can use various forms of talk therapy to enable you to manage the consequences of PTSD.
Keep working with therapists until you find one that works for you. Each professional uses different techniques, so don’t assume the first is the best.
Throughout the process, your therapist should support you and provide you with guidance. They should tell you what to expect at each stage and how to manage it when they aren’t there.
You should feel equipped to manage your symptoms after the first few sessions. Your therapist should provide you with strategies and guidance you can take with you.
Build A Support System
When you start working with a professional, the next step is to build a support system. You need a community around you equipped to deal with the challenges you face.
The first place to go is groups of people who understand the problems you face. For example, many PTSD survivors join support groups to help them through the worst of their experiences. Many of these individuals have had similar difficulties in their lives to you, allowing them to understand the psychological processes affecting you. Having these people around can be comforting and helpful at the same time since many are further along the road to recovery and can point you in the right direction.
Your support system can also include friends and family. However, you need to be careful. These individuals might not know what you are going through and be unable to understand how you feel.
If you struggle to be alone, service dogs for PTSD. These specially trained animals provide non-judgemental love and attention, helping you feel contented and at peace, even if there’s only the two of you in the house.
Use Novel Therapeutic Techniques
You can also try using new therapeutic techniques to find the warrior within and heal from PTSD. These help you relax, calm down, and feel a sense of equanimity during the most challenging times.
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is a popular technique to help people process traumatic events. It uses the power of visual imagery to reconfigure the brain into a new format, helping to relieve some of the tension and symptoms that afflict many PTSD patients.
You can also use other desensitization tactics with the help of a qualified therapist. These may reduce traumatic flashbacks over time by normalizing your situation and helping you see it for what it is.
Set New Goals
Once you set the foundation and get help, the next step is to set new goals. Ensuring you are working toward something new can be an excellent way to resist the trauma and prevent it from defining who you are.
Setting goals is essential in life in general. However, it is critical for traumatized individuals. It gives you a new focus and meaning to your life, allowing you to keep pushing forward and avoid looking back.
It also permits you to celebrate your victories. Reaching various milestones can feel like a tremendous achievement, allowing you to gain momentum and continue moving forward, setting yourself new challenges and doing new things. It prevents you from feeling stuck and constantly ruminating over what happened.
Setting goals that involve overcoming your fears can be even more powerful. These retrain your brain into believing you can do things, even if you previously thought you couldn’t because of an experience you had in the past.
Hone Your Healthy Habits
You also want to hone your healthy habits while recovering from PTSD. Ensuring you are taking care of your body can increase the speed of recovery and the degree to which you can put your trauma behind you.
Start by eating well and exercising. You should find you feel lighter on your feet and less inflamed, which helps with brain health.
Proper sleeping habits also help you feel stronger and give you additional energy. Once you improve your diet and lifestyle, you feel like you can take on the world (and don’t always have to struggle in private).
Other people also notice. Getting into shape shows what you can accomplish in an outward fashion.
Use Techniques To Manage Your Stress
Finally, it’s a good idea to use various techniques to manage your stress if you are living with PTSD. These can heal scars over time and make you a confident and happy individual.
The first step is to use mindfulness. Observing your thoughts is essential for personal well-being.
The next step is to practice these techniques in everyday situations. The more you get used to them, the more likely it is that you’ll deploy them in the future.
If you notice a difficult emotion arising, don’t try to ignore or suppress it. Instead, see if you can accept it coming and going, observing it as it does. This practice creates a space between you and your thoughts, preventing them from becoming so intrusive and having such power over your emotions.
At first, you’ll find this hard to do. But the more you practice it, the more you will gain power over the process, allowing you to deal with challenging emotions when they arise.
Wrapping Up
PTSD is a complex condition requiring specialist treatment. However, you can manage it and even overcome it with a suitable approach. Don’t assume that the condition has to be a part of your life. You can improve your well-being in many ways, even if you can’t eliminate your traumatic processes.