Why does PTSD hit the whole you?

Why does PTSD hit the whole you?
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
August 24, 2013

This weekend I am working at convention. One of the speakers I was listening to is a chiropractor and he was giving a fascinating presentation on the brain along with the central nervous system. Why was it so fascinating to me? Because of all the time I spend trying to explain to veterans why every part of their body is effected by their brains especially when their minds are dealing with PTSD.

I couldn't find the exact pictures Dr. Ron Wellikoff used but here are a couple of really good ones.

PTSD hits the frontal lobe. The frontal lobe controls these parts of you. Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions, and problem solving.

And here are the other three. Parietal Lobe- associated with movement, orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli. Occipital Lobe- associated with visual processing. Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech.

This is the nervous system running through your body.

This is why PTSD does not just hit your brain. It hits every part of you. When you make irrational decisions or when your emotions are out of control, this is part of the answer. When you notice that every part is connected through the massive amount of the workings of the human body, it is easier to understand how everything can go to hell.

Maybe now it will be easier for you to understand why it is so important to have every part of you treated for this one diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

You have to take care of your mind with psychological help and often that includes medications. Medications are not the whole answer and there is no one medication that works on everyone. If your doctor gives you medication that does not help or you have problems with it, talk to your doctor. They have others they can try that can help you. They won't change your medication unless they know what is happening so don't just give up taking them. Communicate!

You have to take care of your body so it is vital that your body learn how to calm down again. It had to be trained to go through combat. It has to learn how to calm down again and drinking is not the answer. It is part of the problem. There is a growing list of things you can do from taking a walk with calming music in earbuds so that you can drown out thoughts that upset you, to Yoga, martial arts, swimming, playing musical instruments and artistic projects that work for you. Keep looking until you find what fits you and not the other way around. You are not your buddy or the other guy you talked to in the waiting area of the VA.

You also have to take care of your spirit and that also lives in the same part of your brain. It is why you have been unable to "just get over" what happened, what you did, what you saw and what was done to you.

Learn what PTSD is and why it has taken over so much of your life but then know this. It is not the way things have to be for you. They can get better. I've seen veterans heal for over 30 years. I have not seen one of them "cured" but their lives did get better. What you cannot heal, you can learn how to cope, change and adapt. You can do it. After all, you adapted to becoming part of the military. You can adapt to become a new version of yourself.