We would like to apologize for the delayed article.  This one was suppose to be posted a week ago but because of the outbreak of the coronavirus in our area, there has been some slow down.  Thank you for understanding.

The Struggle is Real

What are some of the struggles one goes through when battling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?  Sandra was settling down for bed when her husband came in; damp from his nightly shower.  In a time when Sandra should be getting ready to rest and put all of her troubles to bed, her night was just beginning.  David was a loving husband that just finished almost twenty years in the Marines and the Army.  Serving as a soldier in combat–and his times in the military–has taken a major toll on his body, but mostly on his mind.  David was considered a weapon because of his training and his ability. After leaving the Army, he found making new relationships hard, tedious, and meaningless.  Not unless you were once in the military, David found it hard to relate and be understood by others in his community, his job, and his church.  His family became his everything and nothing meant more to him than staying connected to them but that continued to be challenging.

What was it like living with him?  Despite what others saw in him, Sandra loved her husband’s passion, love, boisterous laugh and desires to stay connected.  His Post Traumatic Stress Disorder had caused Sandra to have fear in times when she should feel relaxed; and night time were one of those times.  They laid down and kissed each other good night and went to sleep.  That night she was not feeling well and quietly went to the bathroom.  After a few minutes she returned to her bed feeling a bit weak and made some noise as she was settling back in bed.  David was instantly startled and quickly grabbed her by the throat, slammed her against the wall and was inches away from connecting his fist to her delicate jaw.  Sandra struggled to say “It’s me, David!  David, you’re hurting me.”  Just before she started to pass out from her airways being squeezed, her calling his name woke him from his trance.  He looked into his wife’s eyes, which were full of tears.  His grip loosened and he put his arms down once he came out completely.  He hugged her and apologized to her again and again with kisses of love.  Sweat formed on his face as he had to admit that he had lost it again.

David is amongst many in the world who are struggling with PTSD because they survived some kind of trauma like abuse, violence, crisis, and tragedy.  Many soldiers, like David, are plagued with this from seeing combat, while others experience it from natural tragedy, or being violated. The sad thing is many survivors of these tragedies don’t feel like survivors because the incident haunts them and 20% of them are face thoughts of suicide.

What Are Some Ways We React to PTSD

If you are struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I want you to know that I too went through PTSD in my adult years.  It was so hard at times and it is hard for many to understand unless you have been through it.  For those of you who have gone through some strong trauma, I would like you to think through this article; and be honest, are you struggling with suicide?  Does suicide come to your mind when you feel like this is never going to end?  The images, the dreams, the sounds, the flashbacks won’t leave you alone so you think it would just be better to end it all.  I know that these feelings may lead you to a path of hopelessness because you just don’t see living life like this and depression starts to settle in.

How do you deal with being whisked back into that traumatic moment against your wishes? Sadly, many drown their hurt in addictive substances like alcohol and drugs, but anything that we depend on for escape from these moments is bad.  We don’t have to only rely on those things but maybe it is overworking, or overeating?  I first want to say I am sorry because I know that many probably have their thoughts on, what they define as, destructive behavior but they don’t understand that you don’t want to be like this. You are trying to do whatever you can to just make it through, but your decisions are making living worse.

Sadly, this can cause a person to have anxiety disorders where fear overtakes them at the worst time.  We want to avoid the idea of having to relive certain memories so when we think that we are about to face our nightmare, anxiety attacks us.  It is also not uncommon for us to experience panic attacks as well.  This can be so exhausting because these attacks can have dizziness, accelerated heart rates, sweating, shortness of breath and serious chest pains.  The chest pains can be so bad that you could think that you are having a heart attack.

Where Do We Run To

Where do we go when we are feeling this way?  Well, first we have to understand that there are people in the Bible that went through anxiety, fear, maybe even panic.  When we understand that there are people in the Bible who hurt as we hurt in this way than we can feel confident that God is not judging us harshly.

Psalms 40 11-13

Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord;

may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

For troubles without number surround me;

my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

and my heart fails within me.

Be pleased to save me, Lord;

come quickly, Lord, to help me.

In these verses, we see that the author feels like trouble is surrounding them.  Isn’t that what it can feel like when we are feeling like our world is closing in around us?  Then as we continue to read the author says that there was more trouble than the hair on his head.  Sometimes when we have PTSD it spills into every area of our lives.  Before we know it, it is hurting our job, our family issues, our friendships, and even our view of God.  At times we may just feel like we are trying to keep our head above water.

Unfortunately, David and Sandra did not last too much longer like this.  Due to his fear and his anxiety he was the one who left.  Sandra loved him but his anger and his instability caused him to feel it was better to end the marriage.  After leaving the marriage he was able to find a very powerful support system of people that was able to slowly show him that he needed counseling. Those around him saw that he was blacking out at times, and having panic attacks.  He was placing himself in danger unexpectedly and it became clear he couldn’t even work.  Despite his resistance, he knew that he needed therapy and got into professional counseling.  Today healing is slow and he is still battling with somethings but every day is baby steps.

Next week I am going to talk about the things we can use to treat this disorder but I have to first say that we all need help.  We can never do anything alone.  There are times when we have to admit to ourselves that we are not capable of going on this way.  I want to encourage you to reach out to a professional therapist or counselor.  It may be embarrassing to talk about it, but that’s where step one starts…talking about it.  We will have a link to Bedrock Ministries where you can get professional help.

Always remember, God loves you and He will help you find the strength you need to keep moving on.  You will beat this and you will find peace. No one can do this alone.  If you do not have a therapist or a counselor that you can go to, here is a link to Bedrock Ministries Bedrock Ministries.  Bedrock is a counseling ministry that will help walk you through this painful season.  They are a counseling ministry that can at least can advise and begin to point you in the right direction.  We would also love to be there for you.  Please feel free to contact us through our email at thruthewinters@gmail.com or comment below.  Also if you would like to hear more about my testimony read my book, “The Threshing: A Weapon Forged by Fire.” Sign up here to read the first three chapters for free!  You can also buy the full book on Amazon!.  We would also love to hear from you.  You can email us at thruthewinters@gmail.com or you can comment below.