Oh man --- I've got homework!

[Sailorsong]

The PTSD session went OK as far as I could tell. I got to talk to the shrink about last Friday's nightmare ER visit and all of that stress on me. So that part was good even though she used it as a teaching moment in understanding how my emotions work and how she will be trying to help me to not get so upset.

We also set a goal for me to be able to go to Lookout Mountain at some point without having a complete meltdown due to panic. That I will be looking forward to as I have wanted to go there for years.

She also gave me some homework to do over the next week until I see her again. I'm too old for homework! :)

I'm suppose to write down everything that evokes some kind of emotion in me. What kind of emotion, and what I did about it. So far this seems counter productive because in order to remember something until I get home and can write it down I have to dwell on the event and how I feel. So the longer I am thinking about it the more upset I am getting. Don't know how to get around that aspect of the homework. Any Ideas?

Dennis

[immisceo]

How on EARTH did I miss the fact that you were in Tennessee before this, Dennis? (Originally from Chattanooga myself)

It sounds like she may be starting you off on something similar to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and identifying the 'As' in this model (take from the following site, but I could certainly paraphrase it myself as I've undergone CBT http://www.mindandbodyworks.com/articles/overview-cognitive-behavioural-therapy-kathleen-horne-miacp)

                                  "Ellis and the ABC Model
Ellis (1977) put forward an easily remembered model which explains the relationship between thinking and emotion. It is called the ABC Model:

A = Activating Event
B = Beliefs, thoughts
C = Emotional and behavioural consequences

What this means is that emotional distress and problematic behaviour, C, are the
consequences, not of the events themselves, A, but of the negative inferences and
evaluations of the events, B.

People, who have distorted images of themselves, have an A-C formula, in which A, the bad event, directly causes C, the emotional distress. One task of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is to persuade the client that it is the bad evaluation B, “negative automatic thought” (NATS) that produces the C." - end quote

More details are found at the link if that didn't make a bit of sense. Again, I'm just hypothesising that this is what she's pursuing, but something similar wouldn't be unexpected. I've received in-patient treatment for PTSD among other things and CBT and DBT (dialectic behavioural therapy) were all the rage.

[SarahL2491]

The first few entries will go rough and then they will get easier.......jot them down any ole way you want, and you will develop a pattern eventually.......

I should do this, I still have PTSD from 1961-ish era.........just keep burying it..............hang in there, you sound like you have a good "coach" with the doc

[supermum_ms]

Hi Dennis,

I just want to remind you to record in what ever way works easiest for you, (voice recorder, note pad, Iphone, computer etc) it can seem like a tedious exercise but it can be a big help locate any patterns. It isn't always one memorable event that triggers it but a build up of little events preceding.

I'm aware of there being 3 stages to a melt down, rumble, rage and recover, it is that first stage (rumble) which is the least recognised but its probably the most important, ignore the rumble signs and a melt down (rage) is inevitable. After the melt down (rage) there needs to be sufficient time to decompress and rest (recover), if there isn't enough time or specific needs distraction provided (recover), they can be thrown back into a meltdown (rage).

Example:

Getting ready to go to the VA - apprehensive
Driving down the first stretch of hwy - peaceful
Seeing school children on the road - confused
Thinking about what will happen at the VA - slightly anxious
Seeing wild life - fascinated
Driving down the second stretch of hwy - peaceful
Singing along with the radio - happy
Thinking about what will happen at the VA - more anxious
Traffic getting heavier - anxious
Driver in front slamed on the breaks - slightly freaked out
Looking for a car park - frustrated
Saw the Dr who didn't help me in the hall - annoyed
Trying to find where i need to go - even more anxious
Sitting in the room with strangers - high anxiety
Break time, thought i could leave - anxiety even higher
Session over - desperate to get out
Driving home - relieved
Seeing wild life - content
Finally home - very happy
Spoke to Dave - amused

Its actually quite hard to look back on a day and accurately register what we were feeling at the time of an unmemorable event. If your tired or in a bad mood when you go to write it down, you're more likely to write more negatively, than it might of been. So i'd recommend recording in the moment and see how that works for you.

Cheers......JJ        

[AvaQ]

Hi Dennis,

I'm glad you had a good visit with the shrink. Regarding your homework, one option may be to carry a small notebook and just jot down a couple of words for each occasion - enough to prompt your memory when you get home. Eg. For the event write down 'jerk at shop' and for the emotion write down 'anger'.

The other option is to use a small voice recorder - they aren't too expensive and they'll allow you to capture your thoughts at the time. You can then re-listen and write up your notes later when you feel better.

I agree that by writing things down when you get home it's going to mean a certain amount of 'dwelling on things'. It will be hard, but if you do it for a week or so, maybe your doc can understand your triggers better and help you come up with a plan to manage it.

Let us know how the homework goes! Best wishes,
Ava

[Poppy7402]

If your cellphone has a recording function, perhaps you could 'tell' your cellphone what is going on and get someone else to transcribe it for you???  

I can see the logic behind what the shrink is doing.  By writing down your 'experiences' you are, in a way, parting company with them.  

I had PTSD after the midwife made an utter hash of the birth of my second child and carried a lot of anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and all sorts of emotions around for several years.  Eventually I sat down and wrote about what had happened, I then burnt it.   The mere act of burning it made a huge difference to how I felt.  It still took a lot of years to fix all the issues, but that one small act sure did help.

Best wishes


Poppy