As with any life changing traumatic experience, stress, even to the most hardened of us, will raise its unnerving head. Whether just at the beginning, until we truly understand our illness and get to grips with that “ole virtue” patience, or for a much longer time during our recovery.
I am mentioning Post Traumatic Stress here in a book on Bell’s Palsy because for some of us it has been a definite trauma.
The definition of a trauma is that it has these three things:
1. There is an external cause.
You cannot traumatize yourself, something or someone has to do it to you. Suddenness or unexpectedness are also important here
2. There is a violation.
Your body and/or mind are violated by an unexpected and unwelcome intrusion
3. There is a loss of control
The experience is unexpected, overwhelming and beyond your control (and would be beyond the control of most people)
I am sure that we can all agree that Bell’s Palsy would easily satisfy all three of these requirements.
For some people, their experience of Bell’s Palsy will not have been so traumatic, worrying of course, but hopefully short lived and not necessarily an actual trauma.
For others however, myself included, it was most definitely a massive trauma. The events that preceded it, the ones that came later in the hospital and then, even later in my personal and business life, were all part of this traumatic event that literally changed my life.
It is most definitely possible to have symptoms of PTSD from a personal medical trauma. It does not have to be an air disaster or a bomb blast in which you were involved, in order to trigger some of the symptoms I am about to list.
Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress:
- bewilderment and confusion, an inability to understand what is happening or why it happened
- a strong sense of denial
- irritability, short-temperedness, sudden intense anger and occasional violent outbursts
- hyperawareness, an acute sense of time passing, the seasons changing, distances when travelling
- an enhanced environmental awareness, a greater respect for the natural world, a feeling of "wanting to save the planet"
- hypervigilance, which feels like but is not paranoia, (and which may be mislabelled as paranoia) a sense of fear and a noticing of your immediate environment that exceeds what needs to be noticed, as if in a “fight” or “flight” scenario. This can lead to feeling physically unstable.
- sleep problems including nightmares and waking early
- flashbacks and replays which you are unable to switch off
- impaired memory, forgetfulness, memory which is intermittent, especially of day-to-day trivial things
- inability to concentrate
- exaggerated startle response
- panic attacks, feelings of nervousness and anxiety, excessive sweating, trembling, palpitations
- hypersensitivity - almost every action or remark is perceived as critical or threatening, even when you know it isn't
- a deep sense of betrayal
- obsessiveness - the experience takes over your life and your mind
- joint and muscle pains with no obvious cause
- depression (reactive, not endogenous)
- excessive shame, embarrassment and guilt
- undue fear
- low self-esteem and low self-confidence
- a deep sense of unworthiness, undeservingness and non-entitlement
- physical numbness, especially in fingers, toes and lips
- emotional numbness, anhedonia, an inability to feel love or joy
- detachment, avoidance of anything that reminds you of the experience
- physical and mental paralysis at any reminder of the experience
If you have some of these symptoms, try not to worry about them.
On the contrary, when I found out that some of these were exactly the symptoms that I was constantly trying to describe to people (in particular the “Hypersensitivity”,the “Hypervigilance” and “Fear”) I was absolutely elated. I had finally found that I was not suffering from some mental disease, mental illness or neurological problem.
The next thing that I was extremely pleased to hear was that, Post Traumatic Stress is NOT a mental illness or a mental or nervous breakdown, as had all crossed my mind. It is a psychiatric injury and thus, IT WILL HEAL !!!
It is a NORMAL reaction to an ABNORMAL situation.
Next, is an excerpt from Tim Field, an expert in the field of PTSD.
Although his main point of his research is in relation to bullying in the workplace, I think that he explains it perfectly. . .
This psychiatric stress injury, or stress breakdown, is a natural and normal conclusion to a period of prolonged negative stress; the body is saying "I'm not designed to operate under these conditions of prolonged negative stress so I am going to do something dramatic to ensure that you reduce or eliminate the stress otherwise your body may suffer irreparable damage; you must take action now".
TransformationA stress breakdown is a transformational experience which, with the right support, can ultimately enrich the experiencer's life.
However, completing the transformation can be a long and sometimes painful process. The Western response - to hospitalise and medicalize the experience, thus hindering the process - may be well-intentioned, but may lessen the value and effectiveness of the transformation.
How would you feel if, rather than a breakdown, you viewed it as a breakthrough?
How would you feel if it was suggested to you that the reason for a stress breakdown is to awaken you to your mission in life and to enable you to discover the reason why you have incarnated on this planet?
How would it change your view of things if it was also suggested to you that a stress breakdown reconfigures your brain to enable you to embark on the path that will culminate in the achievement of your mission? Tim Field.
I cannot really hope to put it any better than the above.
If you are experiencing any of these PTSD symptoms or perhaps are looking for a reason for your Bell’s Palsy, then I think that the “transformation” piece above, says it all.
I think that no matter what the “quiet” lack of knowledge out there “shouts” at us about it maybe being a viral illness, I am sure that a lot of us could conclude that the virus (if that is the case) may have been helped on its way by a lower immune system, which may in turn have been reduced by a period, or a build up, of extreme stress.
If that is what you have concluded then please read the “transformation” piece again and use it to propel “”the real you” to your real life’s dreams, aspirations and ultimate destination.