Heal Your Ptsd

Originally published by Viking Penguin, 2014.

The Definitive Resource for Trauma Survivors, Their Loved Ones, and Helpers Trauma can take many forms, from witnessing a violent crime or surviving a natural disaster to living with the effects of abuse, rape, combat, or alcoholism. Deep emotional wounds may seem like they will never heal. However, with The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook, Dr. Glenn Schiraldi offers a remarkable range of treatment alternatives and self-management techniques, showing survivors that the other side of pain is recovery and growth. Live your life more fully-without fear, pain, depression, or self-doubt Identify emotional triggers-and protect yourself from further harm Understand the link between PTSD and addiction-and how to break it Find the best treatments and techniques that are right for you This updated edition covers new information for war veterans and survivors with substance addictions. It also explores mindfulness-based treatments, couples strategies, medical aids, and other important treatment innovations.

While there are many different approaches to healing trauma, few offer a wide range of perspectives and options. With innovative insight into trauma-related difficulties, Jasmin Lee Cori helps you: Understand trauma and its devastating impacts Identify symptoms of trauma (dissociation, numbing, etc.) and common mental health problems that stem from trauma Manage traumatic reactions and memories Create a more balanced life that supports your recovery Choose appropriate interventions (therapies, self-help groups, medications and alternatives) Recognize how far you’ve come in your healing and what you need to keep growing Complete with exercises, healing stories, points to remember, and resources, this is a perfect companion for anyone seeking to reclaim their life from the devastating impacts of trauma.

As a teenager, Michele Rosenthal was diagnosed with an illness so rare none of her doctor’s had actually seen a case. She recovered, but found as an adult that she was suffering from a storehouse of nightmarish memories from her near-fatal illness. For years she experienced PTSD, until she developed tools that worked to heal her symptoms. In Heal Your PTSD, Rosenthal applies the tools and ideas she developed from reclaiming her own life after trauma. As she says, “We’re all individual in our traumas, but completely universal in our post-trauma experience. Every trauma survivor needs education, compassion, creativity, ideas, hope, and belief, to name a few.” She tackles post trauma identity, the science of the brain and body (as it relates to trauma), common problems and how to resolve them, how to gain (and maintain) momentum, and so much more. She provides readers not only with healing thoughts on each topic, but actionable steps for moving forward with their lives.

Medical researchers have known for decades that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure life-long symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain and harmful acting out behaviors. Drawing on nature's lessons, Dr. Levine teaches you each of the essential principles of his four-phase process: you will learn how and where you are storing unresolved distress; how to become more aware of your body's physiological responses to danger; and specific methods to free yourself from trauma.

If you have traumatic memories from an extremely upsetting, stressful, or painful experience in your life, you are not alone. In fact, many young people have been exposed to traumatic events. As a result, you might have lingering flashbacks, trouble sleeping, or a constant feeling that you are in danger. These are common symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Based in cognitive behavioral therapy, this user-friendly workbook for teens with PTSD and other trauma-related difficulties will help you work through your experience and make sense of your thoughts and feelings. The book includes worksheets and activities to help you reestablish a sense of safety, gain control over your emotions, make peace with your traumatic experience, and reconnect with a positive sense of self. If you are ready to start recovering from traumatic memories and take back your life, the PTSD Workbook for Teens will show you the way.

Self-help measures to supplement PTSD recovery: “Excellent.”—Mary Beth Williams, PhD, MCSW, co-author of The PTSD Workbook Following a critical illness, Michele Rosenthal struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for twenty-five years. Now a post-trauma coach and award-winning writer, Rosenthal shares the program that helped her and others. Trauma and recovery have never been easy, and with different trauma disorders, there is no one solution. Whether it’s psychological trauma or emotional trauma, by exerting self and emotional control, readers can examine how, when, and in what way to move toward recovery. Find stages and exercises to build a flexible, unique system that strengthens trauma recovery. Inside, learn how to: · Connect to your own power and authentic self · Apply self-help measures like mindfulness and meditation · Handle trauma symptoms and recovery obstacles

Restoring your sense of self after trauma. “In 1981 as a thirteen-year-old child I was given a routine antibiotic for a routine infection and suffered anything but a routine reaction. An undiscovered allergy to the medication turned me into a full-body burn victim almost overnight. By the time I was released from the hospital I had lost 100% of my epidermis. Even more importantly, I had completely lost myself.” Now a professional coach who specializes in helping trauma victims rebuild their lives, Michele Rosenthal struggled with the effects of medically-induced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for over 25 years before reaching a full recovery. Today, she is 100% free of symptoms of PTSD. In this book, she applies her personal experience and professional wisdom to offer readers an invaluable roadmap to overcoming their own trauma, in particular the loss of sense of self that often accompanies it. If you suffer from the effects of trauma or PTSD, whether it was caused by a single-incident like a car accident, or from chronic childhood abuse, domestic violence, illness, or war trauma, you are well aware of how disconnected you feel from the person you most deeply wish to be. Trauma interrupts—even hijacks—your identity. To cope, you may rely on mechanisms to keep your emotions, triggers, and responses in check, but these very habits can often prevent the true restoration of safety, stability, and inner connection. How can you rediscover your sense of self so that you honor who you were before the trauma (even if that trauma began at birth), understand who you are at this very moment, and determine who you want to be going forward? Like a therapist in your back pocket, Your Life After Trauma guides you in finding answers to these tough questions. Expertly written by a helping professional who keenly understands the post-trauma identity crisis that is so common among trauma and PTSD sufferers, it is a simple, practical, hands-on recovery workbook. Filled with self-assessment questionnaires, exercises, tips, and tools—not to mention insightful personal and professional vignettes—it takes readers through a step-by-step process of healing the identity crisis, from understanding some of the basic brain science behind trauma and why you feel the way you do, to recognizing who you were (or had the potential to be) before the trauma, who you are today, after the trauma, and who you want to become. With this book by your side, it is possible to regain a sense of calm, confidence, and control on your road to recovery.