Nokoni

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I think this is a wonderful suggestion.
I'd add to this that we live in a culture that fails to value small things.
so "exercise" involves herculean efforts
"reading" involves something "useful/meaningful"
"meditation" involves sitting like a monk for hours on end.
(@Nokoni I appreciated you noting this)
One of the THE most pivotal points in my recovery which has been horrifically slow
and continues to this day...... but has been as consistent as the day is long and the sun/moon rise
was the moment I realized that every single effort on my own behalf no matter how small
was ENORMOUSLY significant. My yoga practice began with literally crawling out of bed and unrolling my yoga mat and sitting on my mat for a few
seconds or minutes and crawling back in bed. Just getting to the mat became a win.
The voices in my head would scream how "that's nothing".
It was embarrassing even though nobody even knew.
but just the act of allowing the most smallest of self affirming actions COUNT
made more difference than anything else.
If all you can do is make sure you eat ONE thing tomorrow you know you want to
Or if all you can do is brush 2 teeth
the acknowledgement that every act of self affirmation no matter how micro matters
is a radical act.
Amen brother, well said. We need victories. And if our frame of reference is our own selves, there are no insignificant victories. Every one of them feels good. Kudos for your accomplishments.

Oh, and don’t neglect the energetics :)
 

Owen B

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Veterans miss war because it is a form of "addiction", based on low dopamine and high cortisol. Going to war temporarily increases dopamine just like alcohol but chronically exposed to war leads to even more CRH/cortisol and less dopamine.
Stress Leads To Lower Dopamine And More Drinking

Eventually it becomes PTSD with very high CRH and low cortisol. CHR is a highly inflammatory peptide and is probably the main cause (together with serotonin) in the high suicidal rate among veterans, as well as many brain diseases. Stress (duh) is the most potent inducer of CRH, and serotonin and CRH can increase each others' levels. If that doesn't make it obvious that stress directly causes disease/suicide then I don't have much hope for anybody with an MD degree.
Corticotropin-releasing hormone - Wikipedia
"...In the short term, CRH can suppress appetite, increase subjective feelings of anxiety, and perform other functions like boosting attention. Although the distal action of CRH is immunosuppression via the action of cortisol, CRH itself can actually heighten inflammation, a process being investigated in multiple sclerosis research."
Beautifully and succinctly said! They also suffer from having had prolonged sleep deprivation.

The armed forces need stress and trauma treatment in the field. By the time they've had a couple of tours and get back home it's been in the system for so long it's going to be very hard to get it out. And cognitive/behavioral therapy ain't gonna do it.
 
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haidut

haidut

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By the time they've had a couple of tours and get back home it's been in the system for so long it's going to be very hard to get it out. And cognitive/behavioral therapy ain't gonna do it.

Precisely. And this is why they seek violence at home to simulate the dopamine rush they were getting in the field. They develop tolerance (in this case downregulation of both ACTH receptors in adrenals and dopamine receptors in brain) to stress so more and more is needed to keep them going. Same as alcoholics, developing tolerance for alcohol.
 

Owen B

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Precisely. And this is why they seek violence at home to simulate the dopamine rush they were getting in the field. They develop tolerance (in this case downregulation of both ACTH receptors in adrenals and dopamine receptors in brain) to stress so more and more is needed to keep them going. Same as alcoholics, developing tolerance for alcohol.
It's too bad that people in the trauma field can't put their finger on the issue the way you can, by emphasizing the enormous impact of stress chemicals on the system, resensitizing, resensitizing again and again.

There's lots of good people in the field who have a lot of specialized knowledge and, in addition, very good instincts about stress and trauma from a theoretical POV. And If they talk about nutrition, it's all fish oil and the like. Their heads and hearts are in the right place but there's not a lot of good, effective applications.

The take many people in the trauma field would put on the issue of resensitization would be somatic. So they would say that the violence is precipitated by the person wanting to recreate the violent shock of the episode(s) in the hope of getting a somatic completion of the massively inhibited neuro-muscular system. IOW, getting the brake or the freeze to release.

Those therapies exist but still they need to be done in the field as the stress and trauma is ongoing.
 
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Braveheart

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Thanks Haidut...this is all so true...I have seen time and again what happens when family and friends give up...in no time they are gone... I have recently had some minor bouts of depression over my situation and became aware of how that feeling creeps into ones mind...and I see how that feeling can cause ones demise. But I shake it off...got too much to do yet...not ready yet.
 

YourUniverse

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Thanks Haidut...this is all so true...I have seen time and again what happens when family and friends give up...in no time they are gone... I have recently had some minor bouts of depression over my situation and became aware of how that feeling creeps into ones mind...and I see how that feeling can cause ones demise. But I shake it off...got too much to do yet...not ready yet.
Keep on keepin' on!
 

Mauritio

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Thanks for posting this @haidut.


I think the same or it'sa large part of the puzzle anyway. I don't feel unwell but I could easily go back to that life if I wasn't proactive about things. It seems like once you've been there you have to remain mindful of implementing strategies to help prevent falling back into that way of not fully living again. Maybe if our culture were different but the system right now seems geared toward reactivating that state.
That's so true. I feel it s a little like with an addiction: you can slip back anytime you dont take care of yourself. The system is made like this . I know you're also working in the medical field and espceillay there you can always "give more " , be nicer ,take care more etc. Nobodys going to tell you to stop.
That's why I and actually a few colleagues of mine decided to only work 30 hours per week .
The old people though, dont get it at all . They ask things like :" you dont wanna get a good pension?" , " you're already burned out?"
Stuff like that. I think it's one of the best things I can do and I think my generation has understood that more than the baby boomers where it all seems to be about beeing well and wealthy after you retired.
 
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I think "Open Water" (2003) is a film whose ending starkly portrays how learned helplessness can lead to giving up trying to survive.
 
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jb116

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That's what they're doing now. The dangling of hope, then taking it away! They did that all year with the bull**** plandemic and convid. They are doing it again with the election. Strain you until you mentally give up.
 

Regina

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That's what they're doing now. The dangling of hope, then taking it away! They did that all year with the bull**** plandemic and convid. They are doing it again with the election. Strain you until you mentally give up.
That makes it easy though. They are the perfect fade.
 
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Yeah but some traumas are definitely lasting and there is no escape for most, like being bald. I would say that's true chronic defeat. Even some fat people never lose the weight, and it's a never-ending battle. What would you do in those cases?

My experiences with Western culture so far have been that people are generally quite nice, and that most of the moral issues I've endured, the insults, etc. came from multicultural circles and what they call 'white trash'. Loitering youth that seemed to drag down whoever they disliked. Some of the 'business types' were also awful. I come from Europe though, and I wouldn't be surprised if Americans are far more competitive.
Going bald young (I had nw3 at 17) is such a mindfuck, you feel way older than your peers, leads you to constantly wear hats/ avoiding social situations where you can’t wear a hat. Eventually led to severe social isolation and a waste of some of my best year of my youth. I would probably choose to have my limbs broken than go bald young it’s such a chronic mentally destabilizing trauma.
 

JamesGatz

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I think this is a really good reason for people to believe in God

All atheists I've ever met in my life tended to lean towards views of Nihilism/hopelessness - never met an exception to the rule

The one thing I liked the most about attending a Christian school were that everyone there WAS NOT Nihilistic or hopeless - they were all wildly hopeful and optimistic and generally they were all REALLY NICE - I didn't experience this in public schooling

Instinctively, whenever I am REALLY STRESSED OUT, like in the Woods when its REALLY DARK and I feel alone, I always keep the thought that God is with me, and that NO MATTER HOW DIRE a situation may seem - There is ALWAYS A SOLUTION and I am NEVER ALONE and God walks with me

For the future especially, I think BELIEVING IN GOD fills a void many have in their life and NO MATTER HOW DIFFICULT A SITUATION IS - IT GIVES YOU HOPE that YOU ARE NOT ALONE and that God is with you
 
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