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When my mind was frozen from multiple eruptions of my fight or flight mechanism, life seemed out of control, suffering was a daily companion.
An enormous pull, one reinforced by the sensing of imminent danger, powered by secretions of cortisol and adrenaline, supported by a biased storyline, draws us toward avoiding.
At first as a new chronic pain sufferer and when PTSD erupted at 55, I isolated from the crowd and felt damaged.
It takes a while for us to understand the enemy (challenge) and there is an all out war to be waged.
I love that image of waging war with Trauma. It sure felt like a war, I sure as hell felt mortally wounded mentally.
Waging war with trauma meant surrendering to its power while sitting quietly, focused while observing all the body sensations.
A different war, where we lay prone, vulnerable, exploring our traumas without judgment.
The road less traveled of course.
Part of our battle plan: Always incorporate your strengths in every endeavor you undertake. I was a former pro athlete, a typical gym rat, an athletic grinder.
My ability to make my body take action in the face of danger or pain was a great asset, a vehicle used to accelerate healing.
The ability to hike uphill to exhaustion, showered me with enormous reward. Even though my mind had betrayed me, frozen and terrified, I could push my body through pain and fear like a locomotive.
What a contrast to shaking uncontrollably, filled with cortisol, avoiding triggers, suffering, compared to exhilaration and accomplishment.
Whether it was the prison of chronic pain or Complex PTSD’s stress hormones (cortisol, Norepinephrine and adrenaline) the skill to take action, especially strenuous aerobic exercise was invaluable.
You do not have to be coordinated or athletic, all you need is the will to push your body strenuously.
Chronic pain and PTSD are usually isolating and depressing ways of life.
Adopt a sedentary lifestyle and you will suffer.
The ability to take daily action is the one trait I see shared by those who improve that I mentor.
Incorporate Strenuous aerobic exercise three times a week.
Our toxins and poisons are flushed from our system during strenuous aerobic exercise.
Cortisol is dissipated calming our nervous system. We are mechanically eating up cortisol, giving us a much needed break.
We need wins over PTSD when it is at its apex of power.
Use your body to energize your mind.
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PTSD - A Way Out.com 