Doubt it (on the med bottle overtipping).

This points out something I hadn't considered until now: the energy it takes to be constantly on guard. What else might we use that for?

When I relegate the funds to do so, I'd like to try somatoemotional release. I am thinking if it does work to move out trauma stored in the body, it would free up a lot of energy.

I know you are talking brain and I'm talking body, but I think like Edgar Cacye used to talk about "the gut brain", our minds are stored in many more parts of the body than just the head.

I like your idea because it opens up many possibilities.

Guayaba, body and mind are so heavily integrated that I don't see how it is possible to separate. One isn't much without the other and you can't affect one without affecting the other.

Jen, I'm guessing that "dissociative amnesia" is the latest term for "trauma induced amnesia." American English does re-invent itself constantly, especially in the fast moving industries.

In my case, I seem to have retrieved most of the lost memories. Seem to. It is hard to know, but I seem to have retrieved memories as far back as toddler years. The current dilemma is anxiety, panic, etc. Stuff I am theorating as the work of the "Neuron Guards" in need of re-training.

I know, I know. Medication works, too.

Arfie,

I am very grateful for brain plasticity and that it is becoming more thoroughly understood. I also agree w/ the idea of Guayaba that repressing memories may be an active process that drains energy that might be spent more happily. I don't think memories are like an old box of clothes you can stick in the garage and forget about.

To me the best way to reroute any brain pattern is by actively engaging in the new constructive thing we aim to get good at. Just like Jen practicing her tracing.

Studies say it takes about 6 weeks of daily involvement w/ a new activity before it begins to be reflected in neurotransmitter pathways. Just like PTSD doesn't develop over night, rewiring takes place over time. I just like to think of it as parallel to muscle training. At first we may be whimpy and reach our limit easily, but regular engagement in the new activity is gonna yield results.

I think you don't have to dismiss your guards. They will slowly abandon their posts when they are no longer being signaled to stay that course.

I'm looking at a book titled "Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resiliance and Balance" by Dr. Tian Dayton. There is a connection to twelve step, but it looks like it's primarily about neurobiology.

Using Amazon's "look inside this book" feature- have not bought it yet.

Was just reading a section on how our neural pathways are shaped by the people around us. Okay, not good news in the sense of some of us having been raised in either neglectful or downright abusive homes.

Add to that ideas about neuroplasticity though, I think that's what I mean Letitbe3 by "borrowing your calm"- the book talks about the interdependance of people's neural pathways (this includes our pets). So borrowing calm appears to be something we actually can do.

My counselor does a lot of reading on interpersonal neurobiology. I really feel like just spending time with her has the effect of toning down my anxiety. I guess that's a reasonable expectation to have of therapy (one would hope), but it seems like that framework shapes what she offers in session and probably in her life in general.

So because this is a safe place for people to explore these ideas, we could be able to shape one another's neurobiology to some extent.

I once read somewhere that trauma memories aren't stored in the brain like normal memories, instead they kind of float around in the brain unattached to a narrative. Which is why we are so vulnerable to triggers and flashbacks.
The good news? It is not necessary to" recall" all old trauma for healing purposes, just enough for the brain to turn it into a narrative and store more normally in memory.

John12as- I like knowing that. Since the amount I don't remember is a rather large chunk, it's good to know I don't have to reconstruct that all.

Okay, read some more from that book, and the shaping that occurs between people (or pets) is conveyed through things like eyecontact, the quality of the face to face interaction. So apparently it's my cats sitting around me on the couch who are lending me the calm.

Because so much of the trauma is pre-toddler for me, activated by the psycho behavior before I got my ex barred from my home (I felt trapped and on high alert for 24/7 toooooooo many months) - I am wanting to do brainspotting therapy. I just cannot recall memories. There is alot of anxiety rumbling to the surface in my upper arms and upper chest/neck area and I cannot identify the source!

I've been reading a book written by the guy who claims to have started the neuroplasticity stuff. I think is titled something like "What you can change and what you can't." It's not too heady to read but I put it down two weeks ago because I was having a hard time concentrating and regulating my emotions. I'm feeling better the last couple of days so I will try to read more of it or finish it today. I'll give ya'll the jist of it later. I think the chapter on PTSD is #10. His list of credentials is beyond impressive so we may get some news we can use.

Arfie, re-training neurons sounds good to me too. The hypervigilence inside my head and on the outside is exhausting. As I understand it, the PTSD soaked hippocampus checks out so almost all input hits the amygdala as a percieved threat to safety. The resulting anxiety produces more cortisol that then makes the hippocampus worse. A vicious cycle.

Does anybody know if the military is doing any reasearch on this?

My notions of "Neuron Guards" grew out of my own military training (communications) and VA exposure. I am theoratjng that a neural pathway can be compared to a chain of command. The chain of command will usually out-live its usefulness. Certainly true when I am triggering to something that happened half a century ago. As true as it is for a new vet being discharged today.

You don't want to kill the members of the no longer useful chain of command, nor blow up command central. Re-training time.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. At least till I get bored.

was just recently told that i have PTSD and substance abuser starting my soberity on my own and having some really tough time cause i havent had to feel anything in the past 3 years cause i was using to cope with the pain of losing my son not sure how to deal with all this at once plz help if u will

@nicole: recommend acquire as many tools as you can on processing feelings, assuming you don't have a therapist; eg. Journal, support groups, meditation.... Find a safe place to do the work and make it a habit weekly... No drugs means dealing with feelings, don't run from them, embrace them.
Hard work? Yes; reward? Freedom

That is a very plausable concept. The advent of computers and some knowledge of their working has helped many a lay person better understand the working of the human brain. Still though, computers posess only a fraction of what the human mind is capable of with still a mountain of capabilities we have yet to know of. Exercising and retraining the mind requires commitment and time and time is probably the biggest restriction. Without using the PTSD receptors, the mind has huge resources to achieve the same task, but utilizing those receptors is at least a starting point and most likely a gateway to utilizing more of the brain and it's abilities. Traumatic events are a form of hard dicipline that cause the brain to rewire quickly enough to compensate for a given situation and so my first question to myself would be how would I attempt that for a positive purpose? Notes, reminders with the promise of rewards? Systematic disavowing of all beliefs and preconcieved notions that I now rely on? You always throw Great questions into the mix...........

I think is very possible............It would require constant awareness for a while until it worked but i do think is very possible to physically alter almost any part of your internal biochemistry through awareness and exrecises for it...some visualization can work too....

I wrote a reply to this. Must have been on maintenance day when things got lost. Anyway, I think that a lot of stuff is possible, and I don't think that western medicine holds all the answers. I am pleased to announce that I will soon be seeing an alternative healer, a doctor in wholistic medicine, acupuncture, neuro-science. Let's just see what we can do.

Sorry I didn't post on Seligman's book yesterday. I started reading and remembered it was chock full of triggers. I had to skip the helpful examples. The jist is this, neurotransmitters/pathways and so on can change and you can grow new ones. He has a list of what's hard-wired that is universal for humans (fear of insects, snakes, fire... caveman survival stuff) and what can be changed. At the end of each chapter he has a list of the treatment options, what works and doesn't and how well. He covers depression, BPD, phobias and compulsions.

The bad news is the chapter on PTSD. He starts of by saying, "This is the saddest chapter of all." It doesn't get any better either. His summary table shows two viable treatment options, medication and meditation. Rx. with anxiolytics (the usual roster) you can get some relief from day to day symptoms but it is no cure and symptoms come back as soon as you stop taking them. He recommends 2, 20 minute meditations sessions daily to ease symptoms of PTSD. Effectiveness and relapse are at dissappointing percentages. We can nip at the edges but can't take a bite out of it.

The book was published in 2006 and seems to be the sentinel text on neuroplasticity for non-scientists. So I asked both my PhD therapist and psy Dr. today if there is anything else to add to the list. I got the same answer from both. There is more recent and consistent evidence that aerobic exercise promotes neural generation (not just regeneration) particularly in the hippocampus.
For me this is problematic given a different health concern I have.

I was raised on the medical model professionally so it is still my frame of reference. Alternative 'medicine' is code for "unproven."
I do believe there is a significant placebo effect for many of these. If you can find hope, comfort or relief by any of them, I say go for it. But as far as what science shows according to Seligman and my guys, it's Rx., meditation, and exercise. I desperately want a magic pill but at least all of these are fairly cheap and accessible.