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"I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
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Oleander
08/27/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
I find this very interesting and relevant to my life. I was assaulted in October and developed PTSD, which worsened over the course of months until I could barely function. In addition to seeking regular therapy, I signed up for a martial arts course at a place that offers a wide variety of disciplines. For some reason, I was naturally drawn to the class that was the MOST violent, most lifelike, with the absolute lowest ratio of women to men, and no protective gear. I frequently had flashbacks during these classes. I wondered if I was simply a masochist to re-traumatize myself over and over again. However, as time goes on, my flashbacks are becoming less frequent and less debilitating. It is a very painful process (literally and figuratively!) but I can finally start to see why I was drawn to this particular style of martial arts.

I'm not an expert in psychology, but I think Freud had a theory that people will compulsively recreate traumatic experiences in an effort to "master" them. I think a lot of Freud's theories are BS, but this one always made sense to me. Perhaps recreating trauma in a controlled manner is an effective way to gain mastery over the experiences that shape us, and finally break the harmful cycles that control our lives.
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Oleander
08/27/09

@Oleander: Actually, I should clarify something. I went to a therapist immediately following the assault. I talked about it a lot, and I'm pretty sure talking about it made the symptoms worse because I kept reliving the fear. Then I took a much-needed break from the therapy for about a month, and started on my own with the martial arts and a new therapist who deals specifically with victims of sexual assault. It was only this second type of exposure, on my own terms and with a specialist, that my mental state improved. Then again, this could have just been the natural course of things anyway.
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TurtleWexlerKickedMe
08/27/09

@Oleander: This sounds fantastic, and sounds like you are doing everything "right" to piece yourself back together. Brava!
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bowleserised
08/27/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
What if your PTSD stems from learning via catastrophic incident, that much in life *is* out of your control, and that's what freaks you out?
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Edited by bowleserised at 08/27/09 12:43 AM bowleserised was starred bowleserised was unstarred

Truna
08/27/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
I'd really like to read the study and how it was conducted. I work as a clinician, providing counseling to sexually abused children, and have worked with survivors of DV and human trafficking in previous years. My understanding is that exposure therapy, while some what successful with certain populations, is potentially harmful with many others (those with eating disorders, for example.) CBT and other cognitive focused treatments are currently evidenced based interventions for trauma survivor with "proven" positive outcomes. Narrative therapy is currently being researched for torture survivors.... exposure therapy... well... I have my doubts.
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greeneyedfem
08/26/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
This is directly in opposition to Belleruth Naparstek's work with PTSD patients (she originially started working with Vietnam vets) -- she shows that forcing a person to re-experience trauma over and over again by talking about it actually worsens symptoms because they're being re-traumatized, constantly in panic mode, so their brain won't start healing itself.

She uses guided imagery for healing -- since imagery, unlike language, affects the right brain, where we experience emotions.

I haven't used guided imagery for trauma, but I have used it for anxiety. It's incredibly powerful. I highly recommend her book Invisible Heroes.
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greeneyedfem
08/27/09

@greeneyedfem: It's been a while since I read her work, but I think she was working with vets into the 90s. Her book came out in 2004, so she's not just arguing against outdated 1960s approaches.
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tobesthewonderdog
08/26/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
i went to therapeutic boarding school and exposure therapy was the bedrock of what we did. it was a little fucked up, for sure, but it's what worked. there is nothing to be gained through avoidance. i would urge anyone with issues of any sort to look into it. reliving experiences on your own terms gives you a power over them that i don't think can be achieved otherwise. i have a lot of opinions about all this and can talk about it for hours, but i think this sums them up nicely.
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Spacegirl goes home
08/26/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
As a PTSD sufferer, I have to say that Hypnotherapy has worked best for me. I literally have not had one PTSD-related nightmare since my first session. It may seem weird and new-agey (and expensive) but good God did it ever seem to help.
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gherkinfiend
08/27/09

@Spacegirl.goes.home: I'm currently having hypnotherapy for a phobia unrelated to my PTSD, but am finding it is helping with the PTSD hugely on a day to day basis.

I feel that therapy such as CBT or EMDR will be more effective in the long run for the PTSD, but anything that helps short term is a blessing. The though of exposure therapy just makes me feel panicked...I relive these events so much, I want away from them, not asked to do it willingly.
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snark_shark
08/26/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
Wait, wasn't this kind of therapy used and proven ineffective in the 1980s? For some reason, I remember hearing about that kind of stuff back then.
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J.D.Regent
08/26/09

@snark_shark: yeah, it's not new and as far as I know, not effective.
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suck_it_monkeys
08/26/09

In reply to "I’m Back In The Human Race": Elle Takes On New PTSD Therapy
The idea of making someone who has already gone through hell relive that hell over and over does not sit well with me. There is a punitive aspect to it that seems cruel and unnecessary. One way that PTST is different than OCD is that the fears of someone with PTSD are generally logical- they lived through something awful and are therefore afraid of that something.
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Abra
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
So much of the permissive or non-permissive atmosphere is created by the commanding officers' attitudes. Two months ago, several girls at my school's ROTC program came forward with rape accusations against another cadet. He has since been jailed and is awaiting trial. The first person the girls trusted to talk to was their CO, and he handled the situation quickly and fairly with no repercussions for the girls involved. There are many good officers out there who are looking out for the best interests of ALL their soldiers.

Of course, the military has quite a few other problems and the post-deployment treatment of soldiers is definitly one of them.
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Hell on Heels
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
This sucks. However, I think it's true that in general there is a need for greater acceptance of PTSD and similar afflictions in the insurance industry in general. As someone who was diagnosed following a near-death experience, the accusatory, practically Spanish Inquisition-style interrogations I had to endure from my insurance company did not do ANYTHING for my mental state. I was basically made to feel like some kind of scam artist simply because I had the audacity to have a negative psychophysiological reaction to almost dying.

I lucked out in that my plan allowed me a decent number of psych visits to get through it (plus meds, which were also covered, helped a lot). But I'm sure that for every case like mine there are many more people who could not get the treatment they deserved.
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Penny_Esq
04/14/09

@Hell on Heels: YES. This. PTSD is notoriously hard to prove in an insurance/VA/workers' comp context, and it is pretty easy to fake, especially if you live alone - professionals have to take your word for it that you're suffering nightmares, your temper is shorter, you have flashbacks, etc. All of which means a lot of people who legitimately HAVE PTSD are viewed with suspicion and thus forced to sit through what you aptly characterized as Spanish Inquisition-style interrogations. It would be so much more compassionate to give people with PTSD claims the benefit of the doubt, but it's super tough to justify doing that when the money is so tight. But that means a lot of people fall through the cracks.
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SarahMC
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
Did anyone hear that sort of interview on NPR with the guy living at the VA and the VA offical claimed the interview was over and like confiscated the reporter's equipment and even the reporter himself?
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Mav
04/14/09

@SarahMC: No! I assume it was because the interview was bad for the VA?
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SarahMC
04/14/09

@Mav: Oh yeah. Real bad.
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Mav
04/14/09

@SarahMC: Do you have a link to an NPR trascript or something? I'm curious to hear about it now.
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Lou
04/14/09

@Mav: [www.washingtonpost.com]
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SarahMC
04/14/09

@Lou: Heh, thanks, I am short on deets.
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Mav
04/14/09

@Lou: Thanks! I'm off to read now.
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HoooooooT
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
My boyfriend is a disabled veteran...and the VA system is so incredibly fucked up it's amazing. He has a horribly damaged knee that could very easily be fixed, but he refuses to go to a VA hospital to have surgery done because the quality of doctors and car is so poor (hence the famous always-girl-on-top sex. When he got tonselitis last year, he had to drive two hours to the hospital, and then wait for 10 hours before he could even see a nurse.
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HoooooooT
04/14/09

@HoooooooT: care, not car, and tonsillitis not tonselitis. That is a hard word to spell.
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Mav
04/14/09

@HoooooooT: Dude, I don't blame your boyfriend. My grandfather refuses to go anywhere but the base hospital because its in his pension as a veteran.

They missed my grandmother growing a second spleen and starting her period again. At 75. Also totally misdiagnosed my grandfather with a spine tumor when he has since found out that he doesn't have one (since we MADE him go to a private practice/doctor we know).
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That-Dude
04/14/09

@HoooooooT: where are you guys located -- rough geography? B/c, for a knee, he should just go to the closest service academy location, if possible. Athletes get good care and knees are common ailments for football players.
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HoooooooT
04/14/09

@That-Dude: We're in Texas. He has to go to Temple to Ft. Hood or San Antonio or Houston, which are all at like 2 hours away. There's a VA hospital here, but only within the past year was he somehow made "eligible" to go to the one that's 5 minutes from the house, and they still only provide minor care.
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vulcanized
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
I hate this. I hate that we ask people to potentially give up everything to serve this country and we can't give them something as simple as some therapy in return.
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Sanfo
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
I'm so frustrated that there's always a HUGE discrepancy between The Democracy the military wants to bring, versus The Reality They're Trying To Cover Up.
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GirlFailer
04/14/09

In reply to U.S. Government Continues To Shaft Female Veterans
The Veterans Administration is such a pain in the ass. Getting your benefits is such a clusterfuck I can't even begin to explain. I'm not even mildy surprised this poor woman was denied her treatment, and benefits. If you wait longer than a year to file for your benefits after you are discharges, it is nearly impossible to get any help. My husband started to exhibit some Gulf War Syndromes more than a year after he got out, and he was denied disability. In many cases you need to have disability benefits to get treatment in a VA center.
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GirlFailer
04/14/09

@GirlSailor: some *gulf war syndrome symptoms*
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