When we are exposed to severe trauma, we can develop a condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  Studies show that most people are likely to experience at least one life-threatening or violent event in their lifetime.  The studies indicate that even if a person recovers from PTSD, he or she may continue to show mild symptoms, at least from an emotional perspective from the heart-wrenching trauma of events that may have occurred decades ago.  PTSD is compounded because the brain can't tell time, therefore, it can't distinguish the difference between a painful event that occurred 20 years ago and the memory of that event triggered by a similar situation today.  As an example, it was common for soldiers who returned from the war to become anxious or distressed when they heard fireworks because their brain doesn't understand it is no longer in the theater of war.  Similarly, couples who go through a bitter divorce may recoil when they hear each other's voice many years after the marriage has ended.  It is also possible for a person who has no conscience memory of the traumatic experience to exhibit outward symptoms of PTSD.  Most of us have heard this referred to as TRIGGERS.  Often these individuals are wrongly diagnosed with a mental illness.

The 5 medically recognized symptoms of PTSD:

1. Recurring dreams/nightmares, difficulty sleeping.

2. Anxiety/panic (can escalate to OCD)

3. Flashbacks

4. Muscle spasms

5. Unexplained anger rapidly/irrationally escalating to extreme rage.

​

I invite you to have the courage to change the way you experience your future.  Let's change the brain's response in the current moment around past and present trauma.  You can begin the journey back to being a better version of yourself, living strong and having a purpose, TODAY. 

​

​