Stay Active After P.T.S.D.- Overcome Your Post-Trauma Predicament in 5 Easy Steps

According to the National Comorbidity Survey Reports over 7.5 million people are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder every year in the United States alone. Most of them suffer from the post-trauma predicament. A predicament is a security system developed by our instinct which prevents us from further trauma. We make a mistake when we think it is an unmanageable disease. Yes, it’s definitely a complicated health and mental issue but we can bypass it using simple techniques. Today I’m going to share with you the 5 steps I took to overcome my post-trauma predicament.

GIVEAWAY- Download the Activity Flowchart PDF

What is a trauma?

A trauma is condensed stress. When an event of our life or a chain of events pile up a huge amount of insecurity within our subconscious mind, we experience a trauma. The major characteristic of a trauma is that it is more of a subconscious affair than a conscious matter. So, to deal with trauma we need to specifically work on our subconscious mind and generate a habit of feeling protected. To do that we need to understand that our subconscious mind is connected to a few things, like- our body, our memory, our environment and the community we live in. If we can manage all these aspects then we’ll be able to balance rejuvenate our subconscious mind.
When I was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis in 2011, I took it easily but my subconscious mind became frightened instantly. In a few years, my subconscious brain was designed in a way that whenever it was a time to visit the doctor I used to get stressed. I could not move my legs, I couldn’t swallow the food, I couldn’t even pee.
It took me a long time to reorder my subconscious mind. I went through a whole process of transformation. Now I don’t get stressed easily. I can control my temperament. I’ve analyzed the complete process for you in last few weeks and picked up the nuggets that changed my life.

How does post-trauma predicament behave?

The post-trauma predicament is a security system developed by our instinct which protects us from further trauma. Yes, it’s a security system that saves our butts. But in this process, it ruins us the other way. In a post-trauma condition, our body cuts the connection between our nerves and muscles. It stops the flow of oxygen in the Neuromuscular junction and we cannot move our limbs. We know this situation as a predicament.
Let’s understand this in an example; suppose you want to check your email and you turned on the email app on your mobile phone but there’s no internet connection. You can see the “loading circle” on the screen. Your device is trying to synchronize the app with your email account. And, it fails. You try again and the same thing happens. The email app in your mobile phone cannot load the inbox page because the connection between your mobile phone and the internet is broken.

Same thing happens with us when we go through a predicament. We try to do some activity, our brain initiates the process but the muscles cannot perform it because the connection between our nerves and the muscles is broken. So what do to rebuild the connection? What do we do to restart activity?
Before we start talking about the solution please go ahead and download the Activity Flowchart. It’s a concise documentation of the 5 steps, I’m going to teach you. It took me 10 years to perform them, 10 months to decode them, and it’ll take you only 10 minutes to consume them. I hope you’ll perform them better than I did!

How to stay active?

Most of the P.T.S.D. challengers spend a good amount of time lying in bed and sleeping. They get out of bed, have some food and go back to sleep. If you are one of them then don’t feel ashamed. I’ve spent years lying in the bed, sleeping all day long and waking up in the nights. It’s totally okay. Your body needs that rest. You need to give yourself a minimum time to recover from the immediate shocks of the trauma.
The point is what you do next? How do you grow from ashes?
Before we start I must tell you that you should hire a coach who can lead you through the step by step process to overcome predicament; who will be there to catch you when you slip.

Step 1- Start with ‘no-brain activities’:
(Use your sensory organs)

You should start by doing the ‘no brain-activities’. After the immediate shocks of trauma, our body develops a practice of feeling stressed all the time. While feeling stressed there is more blood flow to the back part of our brain (mainly in the hypothalamus) and less blood flow on the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe executes all logical and analytic processes. So, it’s difficult for us to perform actions. That’s why we should start with no-brain activities.
Use your sensory organs to start working. Use your eyes, your ears, your tongue. You can start by simply watching TV or listening to music. Some people start eating. I used to watch television shows like Phineas and Ferb, Man vs. Wild etc. While carrying out no-brain activities just do a trick, watch one show or listen to one podcast that teaches some activity you can perform easily. For example, you can follow Magic Mike who does awesome things with paints and scissors. Next what? Engagement.

Step 2- Engagement is the key
(Use your hands)

Next, you need to do physical tasks. It’s the time when you introduce your hands with your eyes and ears. You need to practice what you have learned so far. Simply start singing, start dancing, try to enact your favorite scenes from your favorite TV shows, start cooking, start drawing, do make ups, start working out, literally anything that involves physical engagement. Just keep in mind you should pick one or two of the tasks you like. Do not overwhelm yourself. You can schedule a routine that you’ll cook in the morning and paint at night or whatever suits you. Don’t do the mistakes I’ve done. I used to overwhelm myself by starting a bunch of projects. I couldn’t finish them and I ended up sabotaging myself.

Remember, you still do not have enough blood flow to your logical brain so your brain cannot handle more than one or two tasks. Don’t set goals, don’t pressurize yourself. Just hang out with your task and try to create a relationship with it. I started by hanging out with my laptop. I used to learn designing online. Not that I’m an expert in designing but it helped me to create a relationship with my laptop and start engagement.

Step 3- Join a community
(Utilize the power of collective humanity)

Next, you’ll need to join a community. A community is always helpful. You get to meet a lot of people dealing with similar challenges like yours. You also meet people who have survived similar situations. You’ll get to talk to them, you’ll get to listen to them. They’ll empathize with your pain. And, most importantly they’ll recognize your achievements.
When I was starting the recovery process I got to meet a few awesome people. Whenever I was upset I called them and they helped me. One of my friend's father became paralyzed when he was 17 years old. Since then he is the only earning member of his family. He has been a great support to me for last few years. So, join a community that shares similar interest and beliefs. The community should be a physical community and not an online community.

GIVEAWAY- Download the Activity Flowchart PDF

Step 4- Start a venture
(Use your legs)

It’s more of an advanced stage and probably the most difficult one. Most of the challengers fail to nail this one. But, the fact is if you are able to execute stage 4 you’ll never look back. It’s like a reward to yourself, it’s a gift from the Universe. So, what do you do at this stage? You start a venture.
The best way to stay active in a post-trauma situation is to start a venture. Now, what can be a venture? Anything that is dedicated to a purpose and requires consistent engagement is a venture. If someone has a family he is a member of a venture, if someone works for a company then he is a member of a venture if someone works for a nonprofit group he is a member of a venture. Now you also need to be a part of a venture. Either join an existing venture or start a new one. It’s the best way to attract gratitude which will bring you recognition and empowerment.

Step 5- Keep the ball rolling
(Maintain continuity)

Now, you have to maintain the continuity. It is said that most of the trauma challengers fail to stay active because they fail to continue the process. It’s a secret how to keep the ball rolling. Read the next few lines carefully. It might change your life.

1. You Need A Strong ‘Why’- define a purpose of your life. It’s a way to hack the rules of the Universe. As a human being, we tend to stay active if there are people depending on us. If you can convince yourself that there are a few people depending on you, you’ll more likely to stay active than if not.
2. Create a Community of Yours- create a support group of your own. They’ll keep you motivated and even help you to start a venture. Your community should contain a core and a buffer group to help you in different situations.
3. Establish your actions with rituals- you have to establish the activities I taught previously. Rituals are the best way to do that. A personal Mantra or Japa can help you. Even lighting up a candle can help you to continue your journey.
4. Hire a coach- It should be your first step to overcoming your predicament by hiring a coach. If you are serious about getting rid of your post-trauma difficulties then hire a coach in the first place. Make sure your coach has these three qualities-

i. He must have personal experience with P.T.S.D
ii. He must teach you breathing exercises
iii. He must teach you serious meditation.

JUST BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

It's all about what you believe. A trauma has a two-way effect. It affects our physics and our psyche. We do not have much control over our physics but we can control our psyche. And, by controlling the psyche we can govern our physics to some extent. The goal of a predicament-challenger should be to get full command over their psyche and guide their physics to recovery.

Before you leave download the Activity Flowchart. It’ll help you to remember the whole process and perform them in an order. Whatever the situation is that you have to face every day remember there’s always someone to help. There’s always a messenger near to you. All you need is to reach out and ask for help.

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Let me know what are your takeaways!