Smile And Wag Your Tail: How To Overcome PTSD

PTSD is an interesting thing to deal with. It makes you irritable, anxious, or even sad in an instant. Sometimes you don't feel anything at all...just numb. It will come out of nowhere and last for days leaving you confused as to why you feel the way you do. Overwhelming thoughts fill your head:

"How do I stop the tears from coming again?"

"Shouldn't I be over this by now?"

"Will I ever feel excited or happy again?"

I make a choice every day to rise above and overcome my obstacles. Focusing on the sad and negative things doesn't exactly help me be inspired to live out my destiny. I've overcome cystic fibrosis and experienced a journey of total health and wholeness that I used to only dream about, but since losing our home to a fire several months ago, I've realized that struggling with the emotional stress of PTSD can be a real downer. To put it frankly - it sucks! I've made a habit of looking for sprouts in my life though - you know, the small positive things that are proof of what's going right and what's on the grow. It would be so easy to hide in shame, like a puppy with its tail between its legs; but God didn't design me to be the type of person that gives up or gives in.

Several months ago the overwhelming emotions from PTSD were so strong, that I really just needed a big hug and some encouragement. Do you ever feel that way? Ever cry out to God and say "Lord, I know you have great things for me, but today I really just need some encouragement so please send lots of it!" Well one February day I cried out to God, and as usual, he answered. Here's what happened...

I was sitting at Starbuck's, kicking resistance in the butt by writing. It was going great - I was in a comfortable chair with my legs curled up, my soy caramel machiatto steaming in the cup beside me, and my pen was going like crazy as words poured out of me. Then I heard a polite, raspy voice ask me, "anyone sitting here, Miss?"

I looked up and smiled at the joyful face looking intently at me. "Nope!"

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all - it's all yours!" I exclaimed, smiled and went back to writing.

He sat down and I kept writing, secretly hoping that he would let me continue on task. No such luck. He introduced himself as Gene and started chatting with me; he even asked if I was a writer. I began to recognize the moment as a rare one, so, I put my notebook down and embraced the gift in front of me - the gift of learning about someone new.

We talked for an hour and he began to tell me a story about his Grandma. I marveled as this retired gentleman reminisced about a moment from his past as a 16 year old. He shared how his Grandma gave him $5 to go to a dance. And then she told him, "Gene, don't go to this dance with your tail between your legs!" In other words, he explained, she wanted him to "wag his tail!" She was encouraging him to go and meet people, have fun, share his story - not hide in shame and be shy.

As Gene left, I chuckled to myself. God is so awesome in how He orchestrates things. Watching Gene walk out the door, I felt God tell me, "Mandy, wag your tail!"

It's not easy to wag your tail when PTSD, CF, disease, or any kind of pain and discomfort comes your way and lingers longer than you wish. But have you ever watched a dog? Ajah B., my miracle dog, always welcomes me home by wagging her tail. Even on her worst day - when she had spent six hours in an apartment fire fearing for her life, once she saw me and I picked her up and held her, she wagged her tail! Why? Cause she felt safe again, she was happy to see me and share her fear with me. She was still scared - she was shaking from fear, but she was happy to share it!

So, my friends, instead of being ashamed of having PTSD, CF, depression, disease, or any kind of struggle, let's vow to "wag our tails" in the midst of it. Our stories just might be what helps save someone else from drowning in despair!

Born with cystic fibrosis, Mandy B. Anderson's journey of overcoming a life-threatening disease encourages and equips people to rise up and conquer their own barriers in life. She is an inspirational speaker, singer, writer and wellness coordinator who shares her life in such a way that you feel like you just spent time with your best friend. Mandy cares about people, and is passionate about helping them overcome their obstacles so they can live their lives in true wholeness. Download your free copy of the E-book "True Wholeness: Lessons Learned On My Journey From Cystic Fibrosis To Total Health" at http://www.mandybanderson.com/

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Ways to help teens overcome fears and stigmas of mental illness

ScienceDaily (June 6, 2011) — When teens start experiencing changes in moods or emotions, they tend to fear sharing their blue days with their families and adults who can help them. As a consequence, they often suffer in silence.

Case Western Reserve University KL2 Clinical Research Scholar and Instructor Melissa Pinto-Foltz from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing wants to find the magical elixir that helps teens speak up, seek help and then stick with treatments that get them feeling better.

"About one in five Americans has a mental illness, with half of these individuals first experiencing symptoms of mental illness in their teen years," she said.

Pinto-Foltz's research contributes to efforts nationwide to combat a public health issue, stigma and mental health literacy, made a priority in a U. S. Surgeon General's Report and the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health.

She found that a good way to reach teens to help them learn about mental illness and improve negative attitudes about mental illness was through their school.

She studied 156 girls in the 9th and 10th grade in a research project set in public high schools in Louisville, Ky. About half the group participated in a special national program called In Our Own Voice, offered by the National Alliance for Mental Illness, and the other half did not see the program.

More than 200,000 people across the U.S. have seen the In Our Own Voice program, which is frequently given in schools, churches and other community settings. The one-hour program involves learning through storytelling and changing attitudes through interacting with people who are in sustained recovery from mental illness. These individuals tell their personal stories of what it was like to first discover the illness and get through their recovery from the illness.

While the program is widely used across the U.S., no evidence exists that it is effective with teens, nor has the impact of the program been examined for an extended time period.

Pinto-Foltz used the In Our Own Voice program with the teens and reported her findings from the study, "Feasibility, Acceptability, and Initial Efficacy of a Knowledge-Contact Program to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma and Improve Mental Health Literacy in Adolescents," in Social Science and Medicine.

"We tell stories every day to friends, family and co-workers," she said. "The whole idea behind this approach is that people learn about the world through stories, and interacting with people with mental illness may violate previously held stereotypes. We wanted to see if teens responded to these interactions with and stories told by people with mental illness in such a way that it decreased stigma associated with mental illness and improved their knowledge of mental illness."

She followed participants four times over 10 weeks: first to study what stigmas and knowledge they had about mental illness, then in response to the In Our Own Voice program. She conducted follow-up interviews shortly after girls saw the program and again at weeks 4 and 8 to see if there were changes in the their level of stigma associated with mental illness and whether their knowledge of mental illness increased.

Pinto-Foltz's 10-week study found that the girls liked and learned from the In Our Own Voice storytelling program, but the program was too short to change some of the girls' stigmas that they would be more accepting of individuals with mental illness.

"This was our first assessment of In Our Own Voice as it's currently given, and it's a starting point to tackle stigma and improve mental health literacy among adolescents using existing approaches," she said.

In the future, she added that we can increase our chance of combating stigma and increasing mental health knowledge by providing more opportunities for adolescents to interact with the presenters following the program.

She suggested continued interaction with the presenters through projects with the girls or visits to their health classes for further discussions about mental illness.

"The girls were eager for more interaction with the presenters," Pinto-Foltz explained. "They kept asking me when the presenters would return to tell more stories. After the program, the girls had many lingering questions about mental illness. Increasing their interaction with the presenters would allow an opportunity to clarify their questions about mental illness, increase their comfort in interacting with individuals with mental illness, and decrease stigma."

Meanwhile in the follow-up with the girls at four and eight weeks, Pinto-Foltz found that girls who participated in In Our Own Voice had improved mental health knowledge when compared to the girls who did not receive the program.

Stigma levels for both groups remained the same, calling for further examination of approaches to tackle this important and pervasive problem, Pinto-Foltz said.

This research was support by the Midwest Nursing Research Society and the Iota Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Case Western Reserve University.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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