Someone Asked, Is 'PTSD' Contagious? Here's My Answer...

When a ‘warrior’ comes home from the battlefield, they carry tremendous emotional damage from the violence and atrocities they’ve experienced. Some people are stronger than others, so they may not exhibit the extreme behaviors that some others do.

We know that women who’ve been abused, raped, experienced violence and major loss, etc, suffer from a form of PTSD. The trauma they’re exposed to from PTSD partners is transferred like this:

Imagine living with a man (or woman) who’s spent months or years with gunfire around them, being shot at, feeling threatened 24-hrs a day and living in constant fear of dying in a violent confrontation.

In war zones, physical threats of death…violent death is a way of life. Battles bring another intense form of trauma. The bombs, the deaths of friends, seeing/experiencing horrible injuries, dead bodies, attacks from the enemy…all of this is constant.

When the warrior comes home, they can’t just leave all of that stuff behind like flipping a light switch. Very often they have violent nightmares, are very depressed and paranoid; some are too afraid to leave home and can’t handle crowds our being in public places.

A car backfiring can set off a fear experience or a defensive assault against whomever’s around. In our society, even real gunfire is possible in our neighborhoods, and that can trigger an episode. They often become alcoholics and drug abusers as they try to cope. This adds another layer of dysfunction.

Imagine being awakened in the middle of the night with your partner sitting on your chest with his hands around your throat, choking you because he’s in the middle of a nightmare memory of a battle experience and he thinks you’re the enemy.

Imagine awaking to the sounds of screams and seeing him or her fighting off an ‘imaginary’ assailant, in an encounter you can’t see or understand.

Imagine living with sudden outbursts of fear and anger as they struggle with the emotional roller coaster of a severely traumatized soul and mind.

That loving partner that left a year ago, may come home completely transformed into a violent, uncontrollable, unpredictable monster.

I remember my friends, William and Sandy having these experiences after he returned from Viet Nam, back in the 60s. The battlefields of today may be even worse because our weapons and tactics are more advanced. Not to mention our soldiers are experiencing multiple deployments now.

The families of these ‘warriors’ are in no way prepared or capable of dealing with the after effects of a war-damaged psyche. Our professionals are having a hard time treating them and they’re trained to heal these conditions.

EFT seems to be one of the most effective healing modalities for treating these conditions so far. It’s being used to help the soldiers and first responders who’ve had recent trauma and is also being used for some long term trauma victims of previous wars like Viet Nam and Desert Storm.

I woke up this morning remembering what my friend William went through after returning from Viet Nam. Until you’ve witnessed one of their outbursts, it’s hard to imagine what it’s like.

This is how the trauma of PTSD can be ‘transmitted’ to the family of the warrior; and it’s not just the partners, the children will be affected too. Unfortunately, they’re probably not as vocal about what they’re experiencing and probably are not getting the attention they need either.

We’ll probably see more of how the children have been affected as they grow up and act out their own traumatized behaviors. Who knows, we may already be seeing the effects now, as some of the kids shooting other people are teens who could have had parents deployed in Desert Storm.

As an energy healer and life coach, I encourage anyone who’s experiencing any form of PTSD to seek help from an EFT Practitioner and medical professional. Whether you’re a wounded warrior, an abused woman or the child of a PTSD sufferer, ask for help as soon as possible.

Assistance and healing is available. EFT (aka Tapping) works! It’s one of the most effective healing practices currently being used to help those with PTSD.

I used it, along with Reiki to heal my own moderate PTSD and depression experiences over the last decade, which is why I’m an energy healer working with clients today.

I don’t work specifically with PTSD sufferers, but I do work with clients who have light to moderate depression, and those who’re looking to have happier lives in general. Being sad, unhappy and feeling isolated is an indication that depression may be an issue.

I’m not a therapist; I’m a counselor and coach, which is why I limit my practice to those who are healthy enough to help themselves.

If you’re suffering from severe PTSD or depression (thinking of suicide would qualify as severe depression), please seek professional help from a medical or psychiatric professional right away.

Love and Light to you Always...
Rev. Lyn
http://www.thewomanexec.com