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Originally posted by k21968
reply to post by pheonix358
Great advice and I will try it! I do know of one other horrific thing but he didnt tell me I learned it from a soldier that served with him that sent me a message on facebook and told me he was haunted by the image of a small young child running to their vehicle for candy ( soldiers like to give kids candy so they arent afraid of them to make friends ) and this child stepped on a land mine and was "poof" gone in a cloud of smoke. This sodler is haunted to this day by this and only told me because my husband was driving when it happened and the child was running to their vehicle to get candy they had thrown out. This soldier also thinks that could be one of the things that is haunting my husband as well and why he is withdrawing from children (our own) so much.
Affection is very limited. It is sad. I will try to take what I can get. Great advice. Thank yoU!
Originally posted by k21968
reply to post by tinker9917
Tinker that is what he is doing now!! It is a row of blinking lights on a bar..remotes in each hand...he thinks it is pointless and stupid.
Originally posted by CX
Originally posted by k21968
reply to post by tinker9917
Tinker that is what he is doing now!! It is a row of blinking lights on a bar..remotes in each hand...he thinks it is pointless and stupid.
I wonder if it's a form of EMDR treatment? Do you know if he has to recollect his story whilst doing this treatment?
EMDR is supposed to be a great treatment for PTSD, has been used a lot in abuse cases too. That said, it's great if done properly. I had it years ago and the guy apparently wasn't doing it right. It's all to do with unsticking the memory and puting it back into the normal filing system of your brain, rather than the one that makes the memory traumatic.
EMDR
I would disagree with those who say you need to grow a pair and get over it. Thats what on counselor said to me after 6 weeks of treatment, he was trying to say i should be sorted by now as i'm not in the army any more.
So i tried to hide it as much as i could, after all i had a family that i loved dearly and didn't want it to affect them in any way. Hiding it away is the worst thing that could have happened.
I do understand that people can use it for a crutch, but there are a lot of people out there suffering from this that just can't help being affected the way they are. Example, i used to have blackouts when i experienced a trigger, say for example a helicopter flew over or a loud bang, even the smell of cut grass (thats the smell i associated with the death of a friend in N.I)....as soon as that happened it was like i was thrown back into the incident i had in the army. It was like a movie being played and i was in it.
When it finished, an hour or two had passed, and i could be somewhere else than where i was when it started.
So no i don't agree that it's something you just have to get over. Theres also a fine line when it comes to giving service personnel treatment in the battlefield. If you have full blown PTSD, just the sight of anything forces related can set you off.
I remember being in the QEMH in Woolwich receiving treatment, along with lads from the Falklands and the Gulf war (couple of Chelsea Pensioners came in too), every now and again the artillery barracks along the road would fire thier guns, and the whole ward was under the beds shaking like a leaf. Looking back it was funny, but at the time you filled your shorts.
Exposure can be a horrible, but effective way of dealing with it. In effect it gets boring after a while. Example, a few years back, my daughter was playing on her electric piano with all the effects, one was a helicopter and she put it on full volume. Freaked me right out and i was physically sick.
My therapist told me to start with a few seconds of it, then build up to about half an hour of listening to it. It was very hard at first, but after sitting there for 45 minutes, you tend to think you have better things to do. lus, that high adrenaline traumatic sensation you get, apparently theres no way it can get any worse after a set time, so it will only reduce after a a long period of exposure.
My has got a lot better, i tend to lose sleep and get tearful rather than get in moods like years ago, and luckily i never went down the drink/drugs route.
Not sure what it's like over there with the VA, but here in the UK you can get help even as a family member, or at least support from various agencies. Is there a support group for family near you? Might be able to find one online.
CX.
CX.edit on 5/11/12 by CX because: (no reason given)
Originally posted by tinker9917
EMDR that is it! And yes, my son has PTSD from traumatic experiences/abuse while living with his dad, not from war.