TRAUMAS AND PTSD (POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER)
This teaching segment is an excerpt from the book I wrote called TRAUMAS and PTSD. For more in-depth study on this topic you can pick it up in our bookstore.
What is a Trauma? A trauma is something horrific that has happened to you that caused you grief, pain, and hurt, so deeply that it actually changed your heart toward life. The images and pictures play over and over, and this is what causes the problems today. It seems that when people have traumas, this is when the persons life shuts down and they are stuck emotionally at that time and place. The trauma has to be identified at the root so healing can occur. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often labeled on people who had such traumas such as loss of a child, witness of a horrible incident, car accident, unexpected death of a loved one, etc.
How to find healing? If this incident stays alive because of a memory, how do we get that memory purged? Unfortunately, the memory may never be purged, we are chemical beings and our body has a photo-shop built in (photosynthesis) to take snap shots of things in our life. That is why you see different pictures along the way, but not every thing, just things that had an emotional attachment at the time.
But there is hope! Facing the picture again for one last time will help you when being restored. Because you will need to follow the same example about forgiveness. Yes, a trauma "sticks" in our mind and heart because of unforgiveness.
See it's not the trauma that is keeping you stuck, it's the "pain" keeping you stuck associated with that memory. By identifying who was involved, how did it affect you, who do you need to forgive, is key to your recovery. Ask God to help you because some traumas are so awful such as child abuse, death, etc., that we don't even remember or don't want to remember. But in order to get free at the "root" these things need to be exposed. God will be there, He will guide and help you. Ask for His wisdom and discernment and strength, and He will give it. So the first thing to do is recognize you have had a trauma in your life. See the PTSD below and decide for yourself. (Review the forgiveness teaching)
Post-traumatic stress is the response to being emotionally overwhelmed. Depending on your emotional strength to start with will determine if you will suffer from PTSD. It's usually a delayed reaction to an emotional pain, it is not a mental illness. Ministry needs to take place in order to be free. A drug won't help. Drinking doesn't help. Only the Love of God and forgiveness restores.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Let's take a look at the title of this problem. Post - that means after something has happened. Traumatic - something horrible that happened that haven't recovered from. Stress. What is the politically correct word for STRESS? Fear! And Disorder - something out of order or balance. So we can say, After that horrible thing happened to me I feared and now I'm out of balance. That about sums it up! So what can we do about it? First identify if this is the case. The following are some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. A person who is experiencing it does not necessarily have to have all of these symptoms:
Addressing Veterans
The American veterans of the Vietnam War experienced many difficulties after they returned home. Most people did not begin to understand their problems. The opinion of most people was that the veteran should just forget about the war, find a job, and resume a normal life. They thought he could turn off the war in his mind the same way you switch off a television. Because of this mind-set, the veterans turned inward and carried wounds that had to be hidden because no one understood. Most Americans had no idea of the horrific things the Vietnam veteran had experienced. Worst of all, most did not want to know. They were too busy enjoying the materialistic pleasures of life the very things these veterans sacrificed themselves to provide.
There were no welcome home parades for the young soldier returning from Vietnam. Instead, it was not uncommon for him to be spit upon and called a baby killer. It wasn't unusual for him to be ridiculed and rejected by the veterans who fought in other wars, because they had been victorious.
Recent years, things have changed toward that war, however, the damage was done and too late to rectify. Now we need to address each and every person who has been inflicted, one at a time.
Any veteran, whether he was in Vietnam or Afghanistan, or any person who has experienced a trauma can recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a way out. Help is readily available. The first step to recovery is recognizing and admitting that you are experiencing post-traumatic stress and that you need help. It is just as important to admit that you are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder as it is to admit that you slipped on the ice and broke your arm. No matter how strong your arm is, enough pressure put upon it will cause it to break. Denial of the truth prevents healing. "We shall know the truth and the truth will make us free" John 8:32.
Addressing 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina Survivors:
The same holds true with current traumas. People who were involved in these events first hand have these pictures playing over and over in their minds. In their dreams, in their daily thoughts, interrupting their mind which causes problems both physically and emotionally. If we don't deal with these "pictures" and thoughts now, they will become a permanent fixture and only lead to more destruction. As with veterans of wars, we are seeing that long-term the thoughts of the things they witnessed in war has produced a society of homeless, unable to take care of themselves. We cannot let that happen again. We can't afford to allow our lives to be robbed from us because we didn't deal with the memory keeping it alive with pain. See, it's not that we'll ever "forget" what happened, what God wants to do is heal the pain associated with that memory/experience.
So how do we get free from this?
Identify the stressor (the trauma)
Take the list of your sins that you retained, and confess them before the Father in the name of Jesus and receive forgiveness. See it's these sins, these retained sins that prevent you from being free! I John 1:9 say that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once you have received forgiveness, now you can forgive the person who caused your grief. You are now FREE to forgive, truly forgive from your heart because your heart is clean toward them! (If it's a situation like a war, you do the same thing toward the person who was in charge, starting at the top! - Yep, the president, commanding officers, the enemy, etc.)
Forgiving removes the pain of that offense done. You may still remember things, but the pain is gone, the hurt is gone. That is freedom! So then when you are free, you are able to help others find their freedom. And because you are no longer experiencing the pain, you are now able to minister to others without falling to pieces. Because frankly, if someone was ministering to me but was still in pain about it for themselves, I question their freedom.
Identify the surrounding circumstances:
Reminder:
A reminder to stop and reflect on what you have learned, not rush on to the next teaching before it has had time to really do a work in your heart. All head knowledge is only going to cause you to be top heavy! We need to allow time for the seeds planted to grow and take root into our hearts. We not only need the "knowledge" but the understanding. Understanding gives revelation, and revelation makes it a reality in our own lives. Not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge that changes us. By doing this, you are "receiving." We not only need to "know", we need to "believe and receive."
Praising God is crucial to having all you learn take permanent residence in you. We remain in peace when we are strengthened in our spirit and that happens when we thank the one we are doing all this for.
And lastly, all work and no play is not scriptural. If you become overwhelmed or "heavy" spirited, stop and take a breather. It reminds me of flooding. If the water comes too quickly it doesn't have time to absorb into the soil, causing flooding and all that water is wasted. But if the water comes softly, and just enough that the ground absorbs, and then it does great good!
What is a Trauma? A trauma is something horrific that has happened to you that caused you grief, pain, and hurt, so deeply that it actually changed your heart toward life. The images and pictures play over and over, and this is what causes the problems today. It seems that when people have traumas, this is when the persons life shuts down and they are stuck emotionally at that time and place. The trauma has to be identified at the root so healing can occur. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is often labeled on people who had such traumas such as loss of a child, witness of a horrible incident, car accident, unexpected death of a loved one, etc.
How to find healing? If this incident stays alive because of a memory, how do we get that memory purged? Unfortunately, the memory may never be purged, we are chemical beings and our body has a photo-shop built in (photosynthesis) to take snap shots of things in our life. That is why you see different pictures along the way, but not every thing, just things that had an emotional attachment at the time.
But there is hope! Facing the picture again for one last time will help you when being restored. Because you will need to follow the same example about forgiveness. Yes, a trauma "sticks" in our mind and heart because of unforgiveness.
See it's not the trauma that is keeping you stuck, it's the "pain" keeping you stuck associated with that memory. By identifying who was involved, how did it affect you, who do you need to forgive, is key to your recovery. Ask God to help you because some traumas are so awful such as child abuse, death, etc., that we don't even remember or don't want to remember. But in order to get free at the "root" these things need to be exposed. God will be there, He will guide and help you. Ask for His wisdom and discernment and strength, and He will give it. So the first thing to do is recognize you have had a trauma in your life. See the PTSD below and decide for yourself. (Review the forgiveness teaching)
Post-traumatic stress is the response to being emotionally overwhelmed. Depending on your emotional strength to start with will determine if you will suffer from PTSD. It's usually a delayed reaction to an emotional pain, it is not a mental illness. Ministry needs to take place in order to be free. A drug won't help. Drinking doesn't help. Only the Love of God and forgiveness restores.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Let's take a look at the title of this problem. Post - that means after something has happened. Traumatic - something horrible that happened that haven't recovered from. Stress. What is the politically correct word for STRESS? Fear! And Disorder - something out of order or balance. So we can say, After that horrible thing happened to me I feared and now I'm out of balance. That about sums it up! So what can we do about it? First identify if this is the case. The following are some symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. A person who is experiencing it does not necessarily have to have all of these symptoms:
- Depression: Feeling rejected, worthless, and helpless; seeing no hope for the future.
- Nightmares: Experiencing in dreams the traumatic events experienced in that trauma.
- Flashbacks: Suddenly experiencing, with deep emotion, a vivid memory from the war. This is usually triggered by something that occurs in his normal, daily life such as a certain sound or smell.
- Anger: Outbursts of unreasonable and uncontrollable anger.
- Emotional Numbing: Not permitting himself to be emotionally close to anyone. There is no desire to have personal relationships with others.
- Survivor Guilt: With wartime veterans, they constantly wonder why others, considered to be better than himself, died and he did not.
- Suicidal Thoughts: Thinking about ways to commit suicide because it seems that there is no way out.
- Self-Punishment: Inflicting pain upon self to try to atone for the past.
- Substance Abuse: Using alcohol and drugs to numb his memories, emotional pain, and feelings of guilt.
- Blackouts: Periods of time in a person's life that there is no recollection.
Addressing Veterans
The American veterans of the Vietnam War experienced many difficulties after they returned home. Most people did not begin to understand their problems. The opinion of most people was that the veteran should just forget about the war, find a job, and resume a normal life. They thought he could turn off the war in his mind the same way you switch off a television. Because of this mind-set, the veterans turned inward and carried wounds that had to be hidden because no one understood. Most Americans had no idea of the horrific things the Vietnam veteran had experienced. Worst of all, most did not want to know. They were too busy enjoying the materialistic pleasures of life the very things these veterans sacrificed themselves to provide.
There were no welcome home parades for the young soldier returning from Vietnam. Instead, it was not uncommon for him to be spit upon and called a baby killer. It wasn't unusual for him to be ridiculed and rejected by the veterans who fought in other wars, because they had been victorious.
Recent years, things have changed toward that war, however, the damage was done and too late to rectify. Now we need to address each and every person who has been inflicted, one at a time.
Any veteran, whether he was in Vietnam or Afghanistan, or any person who has experienced a trauma can recover from post-traumatic stress disorder. There is a way out. Help is readily available. The first step to recovery is recognizing and admitting that you are experiencing post-traumatic stress and that you need help. It is just as important to admit that you are experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder as it is to admit that you slipped on the ice and broke your arm. No matter how strong your arm is, enough pressure put upon it will cause it to break. Denial of the truth prevents healing. "We shall know the truth and the truth will make us free" John 8:32.
Addressing 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina Survivors:
The same holds true with current traumas. People who were involved in these events first hand have these pictures playing over and over in their minds. In their dreams, in their daily thoughts, interrupting their mind which causes problems both physically and emotionally. If we don't deal with these "pictures" and thoughts now, they will become a permanent fixture and only lead to more destruction. As with veterans of wars, we are seeing that long-term the thoughts of the things they witnessed in war has produced a society of homeless, unable to take care of themselves. We cannot let that happen again. We can't afford to allow our lives to be robbed from us because we didn't deal with the memory keeping it alive with pain. See, it's not that we'll ever "forget" what happened, what God wants to do is heal the pain associated with that memory/experience.
So how do we get free from this?
Identify the stressor (the trauma)
Take the list of your sins that you retained, and confess them before the Father in the name of Jesus and receive forgiveness. See it's these sins, these retained sins that prevent you from being free! I John 1:9 say that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once you have received forgiveness, now you can forgive the person who caused your grief. You are now FREE to forgive, truly forgive from your heart because your heart is clean toward them! (If it's a situation like a war, you do the same thing toward the person who was in charge, starting at the top! - Yep, the president, commanding officers, the enemy, etc.)
Forgiving removes the pain of that offense done. You may still remember things, but the pain is gone, the hurt is gone. That is freedom! So then when you are free, you are able to help others find their freedom. And because you are no longer experiencing the pain, you are now able to minister to others without falling to pieces. Because frankly, if someone was ministering to me but was still in pain about it for themselves, I question their freedom.
Identify the surrounding circumstances:
- Was there others involved and who were they? (Make a list)
- Write down what they did. Did they hurt you? Did they make you angry?
- Then from that list, take one person at a time and write down what you became because of that person. For example, if you were abused you may feel fear, angry, frustration, unworthiness, self-pity, confused, jealous, distrusting, hateful, ashamed, embarrassed, etc.
- Once you have identified them all, you have just identified your sins! All these so called feelings are your sins that you retained from this experience.. They are not emotions as some would suspect, and that's why people are still in bondage. They are sins - your sins retained. And it's these sins that are keeping the trauma alive. Keeping nightmares, guilt, and the pain alive! Did you know even a victim has retained sins from that situation? Let's take a look. If a person was raped, what did they "become" because of that rape? They became angry, confused, hateful, distrusting, fearful, ashamed, worthless, rejected, etc. Looks like the same kind of things that were in someone who was abused, right? The Bible says that if we don't forgive others for their sins against us, we take on their sins! Yep! Every single one of them. (John 20:23). But if we forgive them, their sins don't come onto us but stay on the perpetrator.
Reminder:
A reminder to stop and reflect on what you have learned, not rush on to the next teaching before it has had time to really do a work in your heart. All head knowledge is only going to cause you to be top heavy! We need to allow time for the seeds planted to grow and take root into our hearts. We not only need the "knowledge" but the understanding. Understanding gives revelation, and revelation makes it a reality in our own lives. Not just head knowledge, but heart knowledge that changes us. By doing this, you are "receiving." We not only need to "know", we need to "believe and receive."
Praising God is crucial to having all you learn take permanent residence in you. We remain in peace when we are strengthened in our spirit and that happens when we thank the one we are doing all this for.
And lastly, all work and no play is not scriptural. If you become overwhelmed or "heavy" spirited, stop and take a breather. It reminds me of flooding. If the water comes too quickly it doesn't have time to absorb into the soil, causing flooding and all that water is wasted. But if the water comes softly, and just enough that the ground absorbs, and then it does great good!