The Reiki Cafe 

Any specific ideas on helping someone with post traumatic stress disorder?
Thanks,
Feather

feather,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- to a goodly extent that will depend on the nature and severity of the stress

- both the actual event(s) and the reaction to the event(s)

- there is a fairly large developing discipline in the mental health field devoted to PTSD

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

Hi, Firekeeper,
This is an elderly woman I see about once a month. She had a car accident in her driveway and ran over herself a while back . She was lucky and is recovering physically OK, but she has been lacking energy and is depressed, even though she is up and about and active. Her spiritual companion suggested that she is probably suffering from PTSD and was wondering what more I could do for her. She has had some stuff come up in our Reiki sessions.....seems to come up as she can handle it. For example, she relived an incident from childhood that she had forgotten about and saw shocking things during the session, but felt much at peace afterwards. To my thinking, this was part of releasing her own recent trauma. So, perhaps the question is.......is there anything "special" to do....or should we just allow Reiki to bring things up and out gently and when they are supposed to......
Thanks,
Feather

feather,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- she ran over herself? With her own car?

- I am having a little trouble visualizing how that might happen - unless she got out of the car which was on an incline without setting the parking brake and it rolled over her foot or bumped her or something like that???

- anyhow, I wonder if it might not be more a matter of "emabarrasssment"?? - which could be a source of being a bit depressed - also the elderly may be bit more prone to depression than the population as a whole.

- we deal with PTSD at our hospital all the time - usually following serious MVA (and often TBI) so that we try not to toss that term around too much

- people will use the energy to their own benefit more often than we sometimes give them credit - or in ways that may not meet our expectations (or intentions we may try to slip in during sesssions)

>:-}}

- if she is up and around, etc, just give her some time

- and, it might also pay to be sure the "partner" is not the one overly stressed out by the 'close call'

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

One of the most effective way to deal with PTSD is EFT.

If you do not already know it, try looking it up on the internet.

love and peace,
Harsh

Dear Feather,

I am still trying to overcome my own PTSD symptoms - I wrote here about it within the week.

Every trauma is different - and so is every person reacting to it. I was extremely calm during the event and helped others but suffered to a much greater extent 18 months after the initial shock. There were times when I was dangerously close to extinguishing my own life energy.

I have to agree with Choprah - EFT is probably the most efective technique one can use for PTSD. I tried many methods (such as EMDR, psychotherapy and prescription drugs) before I finally arrived at EFT (or rather it found me).

I would recommend that the EFT practitioner has Reiki training because it is a very effective safety net when things get rough during a session.

My symptoms started almost a year ago and every kind of treatment I tried fell short. Surprisingly, most of my symptoms disappeared after only 3 sessions of EFT/Reiki and right now I am left with only a few (working through them:-)).

I have to admit, when the person administering the treatment is someone you trust completely, there is a huge difference in results. EFT requires that we "accept" ourselves - the healing goes so much deeper when you are in the hands of someone you know accepts you profoundly. This is a rare gift indeed.

I hope this helps.

Live long and prosper :-))

Esin

Firekeeper,

Can I please say that sometimes (not always), leaving things to time with sufferers of PTSD can be a risk not worth taking. I remember days during my own worse periods when my energy "slipped" in only a few minutes and if I had left things to time, I am certain I would not have been here talking to you.

For anyone who is close to a sufferer of PTSD - please, please take care when speaking to people who have been through a dark experience. Time can amplify the darkness if no help is forthcoming. My light broke through via a handful of friends who called me and sat with me through those agonising dark hours and helped me accept the help that came my way; an act of providence in my mind.

Every day I am thankful for the love these people gave me with an urgency matching my own needs.

Blessings to you too, for your help :-))

Esin

esin,

/*\ Namaste :-}}

- if someone is really depressed for more than a week or so and they are not normally depressed than seeking help is a good thing - I am in no way minimizing any particular case - it is simply that we see a fair number of 'potential' cases of PTSD - not all of which end up with an official clinical label of PTSD (a distinction that can be important at several levels)

- all I was suggesting (perhaps poorly) was that it may be that the term PTSD is being used a bit "loosely" sometimes??

- just as the term 'paranoid' gets used in common conversation but I suspect most people do not know the actual clinical defintion of "paranoia" or what a clinical diagnosis including that of paranoia signifies.

- thus, cases that are considered clinically as PTSD are generally related to fairly strong reactions to pretty terrible things - PTSD is more than the "normal" reactions one may have to some of life's stresses (anxiety and depression for briefer periods are, I would say, part of life)

- it is when these reactions are strong and don't go away when we try to use the coping mechanisms we all have that PTSD may be indicated.

- it is possible to over-react to our own reactions to things, afterall

- and yes, time (without some assitance) does not always seem to heal all wounds

Reiki All Around,

All Blessings,

Firekeeper

To Chopra and Esin,
I have been hearing so much about EFT lately....I actually had downloaded much information on it a few years ago, but it seemed like so much to remember...but since it has come up in conversation three times this week, I think it might be time to jump in and swim with it!
Thanks,
Feather