Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

unhappycamper

(60,364 posts)
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 10:08 AM Feb 2015

“There is no cure for trauma. Once it enters the body, it stays there forever”

http://www.salon.com/2015/02/01/there_is_no_cure_for_trauma_once_it_enters_the_body_it_stays_there_forever/



Survivors say the day of their trauma marks the end of a chapter in their lives. The IED attack in Iraq was mine

“There is no cure for trauma. Once it enters the body, it stays there forever”
David J. Morris
Sunday, Feb 1, 2015 09:00 AM EST

Excerpted from "The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder"

We are born in debt, owing the world a death. This is the shadow that darkens every cradle. Trauma is what happens when you catch a surprise glimpse of that darkness, the coming annihilation not only of the body and the mind but also, seemingly, of the world. Trauma is the savagery of the universe made manifest within us, and it destroys not only the integrity of consciousness, the myth of self-mastery, and the experience of time but also our ability to live peacefully with others, almost as if it were a virus, a pathogen content to do nothing besides replicate itself in the world, over and over, until only it remains. Trauma is the glimpse of truth that tells us a lie: the lie that love is impossible, that peace is an illusion. Therapy and medication can ease the pain but neither can suck the venom from the blood, make the survivor unsee the darkness and unknow the secret that lies beneath the surface of life. Despite the quixotic claims of modern neuroscience, there is no cure for trauma. Once it enters the body, it stays there forever, initiating a complex chemical chain of events that changes not only the physiology of the victims but also the physiology of their offspring. One cannot, as war correspondent Michael Herr testifies in “Dispatches,” simply “run the film backwards out of consciousness.” Trauma is our special legacy as sentient beings, creatures burdened with the knowledge of our own impermanence; our symbolic experience with it is one of the things that separates us from the animal kingdom. As long as we exist, the universe will be scheming to wipe us out. The best we can do is work to contain the pain, draw a line around it, name it, domesticate it, and try to transform what lies on the other side of the line into a kind of knowledge, a knowledge of the mechanics of loss that might be put to use for future generations.

* * *

Major traumas are both a death and a rebirth, the end of one kind of consciousness and the beginning of another. As practically any survivor will tell you, the day of their rape or “their” IED serves not merely as the end of a chapter in their lives, such as the end of puberty or bachelorhood, but the actual disappearance of their previous identity and the emergence of something altogether new and unknown. After trauma, your mind works differently, and your body has been altered to the extent that an entire new understanding of it must be negotiated. In time, as people enter therapy or simply reflect back upon the course of their lives, on the turning points in the stories of their time on earth, such days grow in power and take on a totemic quality, seeming to contain not only some portion of the mystery of their new being but also some key to the structure of the universe. Cormac McCarthy, describing one such haunted survivor in his classic novel “The Crossing,” wrote that men spared their lives in great disasters often feel in their deliverance the workings of fate. The hand of Providence. This man saw in himself again what he’d perhaps forgot. That long ago he’d been elected out of the common lot of men. For what he was asked now to reckon with was that he’d been called forth twice out of ashes, out of dust and rubble. For what? You must not suppose such elections to be happy ones for they are not. In his sparing he found himself severed from both antecedents and posterity alike. He was but some brevity of a being. His claims to the common life of men became tenuous, insubstantial. He was a trunk without root or branch.

Trauma exists in time even as it destroys it; the numerals of such dates can become like curses, and because they recur, both in the mind and on the calendar, they take on a timeless quality, as in 9/11 or 7/7, the date of the terrorist attacks in London in 2005. The language that Western survivors use in these instances is so consistent as to constitute a law of some kind, and it reveals, to a surprising degree, how religious images of rebirth and resurrection still govern the imagination. World War I veteran Max Plowman, describing his feelings when taken off the front lines, said, “It is marvelous to be out of the trenches: it is like being born again.” Reunited with his family at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, Hanoi Hilton survivor Dick Tangeman was moved by the “warmth and sincerity of all the wonderful people who welcomed us home and witnessed our rebirth.” Alice Sebold, writing of her return to her parents’ home after being raped, seems to echo a verse from First Corinthians: “My life was over; my life had just begun.” (Interestingly, this theme of rebirth takes on a slightly different tone when observed in non-Westerners. One Hindu survivor of the 2004 tsunami in Sri Lanka spoke of her joy in the aftermath of the disaster, for it surely meant that she would be rewarded in her next life.)

In the increasingly interconnected PTSD community, it is common to hear such days referred to as “Alive Days” or “second-birthdays.” On March 25, 2010, professional mountaineer Steve House was climbing Mount Temple, an 11,600-foot peak in Western Canada, when he fell eighty feet and broke his pelvis and six ribs, an event he would later describe to me as a “rebirth.” To this day, House and his wife Eva observe this day as a special event in their lives. House, who still climbs widely and is by temperament keenly attuned to the physical world, finds himself uniquely sensitive to the environment every March 25, as if he were being observed by the universe in some special way. On what he described as the “third anniversary of his second birthday,” he wrote on his blog, “On my way to Canada to celebrate my third year of life since my accident in the best way I know how: to climb and share experiences with the Alpine Mentors crew. (House founded a climbing training organization shortly after his fall.) The weather forecast seems to be a good omen that we’re doing the right thing.”
35 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
“There is no cure for trauma. Once it enters the body, it stays there forever” (Original Post) unhappycamper Feb 2015 OP
Selfish kick for non-veterans who experience trauma. nt Ilsa Feb 2015 #1
Thank you libodem Feb 2015 #4
Amen to that-why we have a V-Day play, event duhneece Feb 2015 #30
Very Awesome libodem Feb 2015 #31
yes....many women are survivors, often traumatized as little kids. BlancheSplanchnik Feb 2015 #11
++ Voice for Peace Feb 2015 #18
thank you and well said n/t zazen Feb 2015 #23
well-stated, Blanche Duppers Feb 2015 #32
My PTSD thanks you. Phlem Feb 2015 #24
As I often say, Post - Traumatic Stress is not a "disorder." MADem Feb 2015 #2
I think you are right libodem Feb 2015 #5
yeppers. n/t BlancheSplanchnik Feb 2015 #12
I don't even call PTSD a mental illness meow2u3 Feb 2015 #16
It's the obvious and understandable reaction to trauma. I'm glad that understanding of it is MADem Feb 2015 #27
It's a psychological affliction, isn't it? A naturally occurring one in a healthy person, Joe Chi Minh Apr 2015 #34
might be a possibility Locrian Feb 2015 #3
They are powerful agents libodem Feb 2015 #6
world Locrian Feb 2015 #26
^^^ THIS ^^^ Duppers Feb 2015 #33
+1000 DeSwiss Feb 2015 #9
I so agree with this Richard D Feb 2015 #14
When I had the opportunity I took liberty caps. Phlem Feb 2015 #25
Have you read Aldous Huxley's essay on his experience Joe Chi Minh Apr 2015 #35
A profound article, very important. annabanana Feb 2015 #7
This is a facinating topic. midnight Feb 2015 #8
Survivors of childhood sexual abuse chervilant Feb 2015 #10
... BlancheSplanchnik Feb 2015 #13
Thanks for sharing your story. The abusers words of twisted denial & blaming you are horrible. appalachiablue Feb 2015 #20
He is right padfun Feb 2015 #15
I`m so sorry about your daughter`s passing, padfun. democrank Feb 2015 #17
I consider it mental injury too. polly7 Feb 2015 #19
Beautifully said, thank you. appalachiablue Feb 2015 #21
Thanks for posting this, UHC. democrank Feb 2015 #22
same here Duppers Feb 2015 #29
great article! brilliant comments! Duppers Feb 2015 #28

duhneece

(4,104 posts)
30. Amen to that-why we have a V-Day play, event
Tue Feb 3, 2015, 12:06 PM
Feb 2015

This weekend we produce A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer. We've had plays of local stories, The Vagina Monologues. Won't stop until rape, domestic violence, war stops.
Please support a V-Day production or event in your community. In our small fundamentalist, republican community, if WE can stage an event and get enough community support (mostly survivors) and create a resource book/program, then YOU CAN DO SOMETHING. Maybe that something is put yourself first in a loving, healing, creative way so that you go out and help heal the world. Somewhere along that spectrum, surely you can find yourself.

libodem

(19,288 posts)
31. Very Awesome
Tue Feb 3, 2015, 12:15 PM
Feb 2015

That you that you are speaking truth to power in a real, solid and tangible way.

Thank the Goddess you are out there manifesting freedom through discipline.

Actions speak louder than words. Blessings be. Merry Meet.

BlancheSplanchnik

(20,219 posts)
11. yes....many women are survivors, often traumatized as little kids.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 11:54 AM
Feb 2015

Mine began as a baby and continued into adulthood. Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

With so many people abused in childhood--physically &/or emotionally &/or verbally &/or sexually, ---with so many rapes---the PTSD focus shouldn't be so exclusive to veterans.

We all serve our country too, just by trying and trying and trying again to function well, give back to our friends, work, community, family.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
32. well-stated, Blanche
Fri Feb 13, 2015, 09:08 AM
Feb 2015

I'm in your same boat, having a deep scar that goes back to my toddler-hood. Some people should not have been parents!

Thank you for speaking up for all of us!

Phlem

(6,323 posts)
24. My PTSD thanks you.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 01:09 PM
Feb 2015

early childhood trauma and I still can't shake it off @ 50. My Hyper Vigilance is exhausting but helpful sometimes.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
2. As I often say, Post - Traumatic Stress is not a "disorder."
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 10:46 AM
Feb 2015

It is an entirely normal reaction to a stunning event.

MADem

(135,425 posts)
27. It's the obvious and understandable reaction to trauma. I'm glad that understanding of it is
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 01:46 PM
Feb 2015

improving...~

Joe Chi Minh

(15,229 posts)
34. It's a psychological affliction, isn't it? A naturally occurring one in a healthy person,
Thu Apr 30, 2015, 06:29 PM
Apr 2015

under conditions of extreme stress.

Locrian

(4,522 posts)
3. might be a possibility
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 10:47 AM
Feb 2015
LSD, ecstasy (MDMA) and other psychedelics are powerful, mind-altering drugs that, as described by former Washington Post Magazine editor Tom Shroder, “intrinsically [challenge] the rationalist, materialist underpinnings of Western culture.” For most of a century, our society has struggled to come to grips with these “profoundly threatening drugs,” largely without success. They’ve all been made illegal. For decades, the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration have strictly banned scientific investigations into their potential benefits — which is unfortunate, since these psychoactive drugs also seem able to do incredible good, particularly in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/book-review-acid-test-on-lsd-as-therapy-for-ptsd-by-tom-shroder/2014/09/11/fc43f954-23c2-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html

libodem

(19,288 posts)
6. They are powerful agents
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 10:55 AM
Feb 2015

With the right safety and guidance it might produce permanent healing through a special kind of understanding.

The world seems to all fit together, in a way that was meant to be, under the influence of psychedelic agents.

Locrian

(4,522 posts)
26. world
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 01:12 PM
Feb 2015

I am absolutely convinced that there could be AMAZING uses of these compounds. And not just for PTSD. I think these are potentially the only keys left to surviving because they might allow us to change our current self destructive path.

If we cannot find a common empathy, understanding, of the planet, animals (humans included) - then we will not be able to survive the challenges of climate change and aggression that are experiencing. If we cannot understand that we are all connected to each other and the planet - not just as words but as core feelings - then we will not make it.

Richard D

(8,692 posts)
14. I so agree with this
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:19 PM
Feb 2015

Psychedelic therapy for PTSD is showing great promise. MAPS (Multi-Disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) is doing great work in this field. Also, many are finding that traditional plant remedies such as Ayahuasca and Sad Pedro Cactus when used in a correct and traditional manner and setting are incredibly healing.

Phlem

(6,323 posts)
25. When I had the opportunity I took liberty caps.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 01:11 PM
Feb 2015

Last edited Mon Feb 2, 2015, 11:27 PM - Edit history (1)

The peace I felt after the high was awesome and lasted quite a while. You just feel like one with the universe.

Joe Chi Minh

(15,229 posts)
35. Have you read Aldous Huxley's essay on his experience
Thu Apr 30, 2015, 07:17 PM
Apr 2015

with either mescalin or LSD, under laboratory conditions. It was published quite a while back, and is called: The Doors of Perception : Heaven and Hell. He anticipated that it could be useful in the treatment of schizophrenia. Here is an old article from the Guardian on Aldous Huxley, the psychonaut(!) :

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jan/26/doors-perception-huxley-mescaline-reading-group


annabanana

(52,791 posts)
7. A profound article, very important.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 11:24 AM
Feb 2015

Thank you so much for posting. Also, investigating the value of the "hallucinogenics" in the treatment of PTSD would surely do some significant good.

midnight

(26,624 posts)
8. This is a facinating topic.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 11:29 AM
Feb 2015

It makes me think of the time element via Albert Einstein theory of time being relative.

chervilant

(8,267 posts)
10. Survivors of childhood sexual abuse
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 11:31 AM
Feb 2015

experience a pernicious PTSD. Some survivors don't recognize this until they're adults, or until the menacing memories come flooding out of the dark mental cauldron in which they were ensconced--with the lid screwed entirely too tightly in a futile attempt to sustain sanity.

My abuser is still alive, father to two of my nieces and a nephew. He is old and frail, and still insists that I "seduced" him. One of my best therapists advised me to find a picture of me from an age when I KNEW he had been abusing me (the abuse started before, but I just can't remember exactly when...), so I found a picture of me at twelve. I was a pudgy, nondescript child--not a seductive bone in my body. Yet, because it's easier, many of our family still believe his disgusting lies, and I am an outcast, a stranger in a strange land in my own family of origin.

I am grateful for my family of choice. They help me honor my innocence and silence the chattering that comes when the PTSD is bad.

BlancheSplanchnik

(20,219 posts)
13. ...
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:02 PM
Feb 2015

There are PTSD support groups online. I'm in one on FB.

I didn't realize what C/PTSD really meant, in a day-to-day sense, until reading other women's experiences, trigger symptoms , etc. Helpful--another tool in the collection.

Message me if you want the name. It's a closed group.

appalachiablue

(41,052 posts)
20. Thanks for sharing your story. The abusers words of twisted denial & blaming you are horrible.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:55 PM
Feb 2015

What you've endured shows incredible strength. It gives me hope for some of the ugliness & pain in this world. A sociopath in-law caused great harm, yet many relatives & friends still view them as innocent. This happens unfortunately, and as you say it's easier to believe the abuser so as to not to expend any effort getting upset or involved. I recently learned that a relative who grew up in a comfortable home with a judge step father was abused as a child, supposedly by a non-family member. I don't believe that remembering the step father & the family. The news explains more about her personality. Take care & stay well survivor.

padfun

(1,780 posts)
15. He is right
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:28 PM
Feb 2015

It never leaves you. the hurt gets less since you have to adjust or die, but it is always there in the background.

(My trauma is my daughters death a year ago.)

polly7

(20,582 posts)
19. I consider it mental injury too.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:37 PM
Feb 2015

"I'm not the same soul I once was.

A lot has changed.

A lot had to change.

So you shouldn't expect of me what I embodied in the past.

For that part of me no longer exists."

sun-gazing.com


It's like believing a person with a leg amputated should be able to run a race and win.

democrank

(11,052 posts)
22. Thanks for posting this, UHC.
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 12:58 PM
Feb 2015

First, I hope for peace for all veterans with PTSD who have suffered life-altering trauma.Bless each and every one of you.

My PTSD is from prolonged childhood trauma. Awful trauma. Over the years I`ve given a lot of thought to childhood trauma and truly fought hard against the "it stays there forever" idea. I wanted to get over it and tried thinking things through, therapy, informative reading, ignoring it.....but it never, ever went away. Now I accept that it`s part of who I am, but it has changed me forever.

Something good thing came of it.....empathy and compassion.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
29. same here
Mon Feb 2, 2015, 02:19 PM
Feb 2015

Although at one time I found a tentative inner peace, so I know it's possible to move passed most of that darkness that hovers above us.
(My peace was not found through religious, btw, but through therapy and drugs mentioned in the article. I'm an atheist.)




Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Veterans»“There is no cure for tra...