PTSD Patrol : Family Road Trip

PTSD Patrol Family Road Trip
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
July 29, 2018

Yesterday it was raining when I was getting ready to do the video for today. A song popped into my head and I could not get it to stop playing in my mind. 

Melissa Manchester "Come In From The Rain" is about coming home from a journey and returning to someone who loves them.

I used that song a long time ago because it is what it is like when you come back home to your family.

When you listen to the lyrics, you'll know what I mean. We do not know what you have packed in your memories. We just know you are still packing pain. 

We don't know if it is because you do not love us anymore, or we did something wrong, or anything else that caused what is going on with you. All we can do is guess unless you tell us.

Do not leave your family wondering, because they will only blame themselves. The deployment trip was your journey without them but healing from it, is a family road trip.

Stop concealing what you are trying to hide and include them in on this ride so you can #TakeBackYourLife!

There is another song by Melissa Manchester "Just You And I" that also says a lot about what could go on when you do not choose to fight this alone.

Just You And I

Melissa Manchester

When your heroes go up in a puff,

And there's not enough to hang on to

And the ones you would count on to call

They all fall down all around you

Then you've got to believe there's more

It is the reason we're put here for

It's just you and I

When the legend's over - and we have just begun

We can look to each other to see us through

Just you and I

When a miracle's long overdue

And there's no one who's gonna come to guide you

So you keep looking up to the sky - wondering why

The clouds won't hide you

At the times when you're most afraid

That is the reason why dreams are made

It's just you and I

When the legend's over - and we have just begun

We can look to each other to see us through

Just you and I

Songwriters: Carole Bayer Sager / Melissa Manchester / Melissa Toni Manchester Just You And I lyrics © BMG Rights Management

PTSD Patrol: What drives you?

PTSD Patrol Sunday Morning Empowerment Zone: What drives you?
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
July 22, 2018

Someone sold you a lemon. 

They told you that you were weak. They told you that you need to just get over it and move on. They told you that you grieved long enough. They told you all kinds of things to get you to stop suffering, or so they thought. What they managed to do was to get you to just stop talking.

What good did that do? What good does it do to constantly hear about someone taking their own life after surviving, and wonder why they did not talk to you? Wonder no more about that one. You just read the answer.

You did not choose that moment when trauma hit you. 

You did not choose how it would take over everything.

So why are you making the choice to suffer as its victim instead of fighting to #TakeBackYourLife as what you are? 

You survived it! It did not beat you that time and does not have to win this time.

Jonnie is on the PTSD Patrol Road crew with a mission of making sure that you get on the right road and choose to fight with the power within you.

Jonnie is a survivor and is taking care of every part of the "vehicle" he lives in. 

He is taking care of his engine's brain by seeing the mechanic trained to do the repairs. 

He is taking care of his body by going to American Combat Club. For Jonnie, that is what helps his body along with wisely selecting what he puts into it. 

And he is taking care of his spirit, the very thing that makes his vehicle who he is so he can change how he is.

When something horrible happens, people usually say their "thoughts and prayers" are with you. That is all good, but not good enough. When they stop thinking about you, stop praying for you, they are done. Sooner or later we start to feel as if we really do not have anyone to talk to.

This Road Crew is about listening and guiding your way to the road the best road to get to healing. We cleared the road ahead for you to move forward on.

It is time we changed the conversation! No one else can understand what you are going through, unless they have been down that same road. More than likely, you won't know any more about them and their pain, than they know about yours.

Do you want to control the road you take or do you want to be just a passenger with PTSD as the driver?

PTSD Patrol Sunday Morning Empowerment Zone Engine Noise

Engine noise in your skull
PTSD Patrol Empowerment Zone
Kathie Costos
July 15, 2018

On Bell Performance there is an article on sounds your engine should not be making.

Diagnosing Common Engine Noises - James on Engines #3
Posted by: James Dunst

The Common Problem: Engine Noises When an unfamiliar noise starts coming from somewhere under the hood, people get scared. They may not know enough about complex engine systems to know if it’s something to worry about or not. 

Let’s discuss some of the source areas mechanics find to be the most common places for engine noises to originate from.

Some of the causes of this condition are improper fuel octane, engine overheating, improper ignition timing, the EGR valve not functioning properly and problems with the computer or knock sensor. All these conditions can cause the air fuel mixture in the cylinders to ignite before it’s supposed to. This creates multiple flame fronts in the cylinder fighting each other and causing the pinging and rattling noise. Check your owner’s manual to make sure you’re using the right grade of fuel. Or you can switch to a higher grade for a period and see if the noise goes away. If it doesn’t, you’ll want to look at these other possible causes.

When you are not sure about the cause of the noise you hear in your engine, you start to hope it just stops. You want your ride to go back to normal. While you wait for it to stop, more damage is done to your engine.

That is the same thing with PTSD and the engine that is in your skull. Your brain is the engine that drives you!

Sure you can call a friend who knows more about engines than you do. Most of the time, they can guess what should be done by what you explain to them. If you do not have a problem telling them about the vehicle you drive, why would you have problem telling them about the vehicle you live in?

When they cannot figure out what the cause of the noise is, you to a mechanic, trained to repair your vehicle. They know how to diagnose what the cause is as much as they know how to repair it. 

Same thing with going to get the noise in your head diagnosed at the VA. Their mechanics are therapist and they know how to get you back in control of the road ahead.

If you are not seeking help for PTSD, most of the time it is because you do not know what it is. You just assume that there is something "wrong" with you instead of knowing what is "strong" within you. 

You are a survivor of something that could have killed you! Any shame in that? Trauma is Greek for "wound" and there is no shame in being wounded! It hits the strongest part of you and that is your emotional core.

The strongest part of you? Yes, that is what makes you, you. That never changes even though "how" you are does change.

Is it time to see a mechanic?

When the engine in your vehicle makes a strange noise, you hope it will stop. When it doesn't, you either call a friend who knows more about that stuff than you do. If not, then you take it to a mechanic to have the problem diagnosed. So what stops you when that engine is in your skull? #PTSD happened because you survived something that tried to kill you physically and emotionally. You survived it physically, and can heal the rest of your life. #TakeBackYourLife

Sitting down yesterday getting my thoughts together for the PTSD Patrol video, Murray decided it was time to play again. 

It was over 90 here in Florida, but that doesn't seem to bother him at all. One thing you may have noticed is when Murray is in the videos, I am a lot more relaxed. I hate doing videos! I love filming someone else from the other side of the camera. 

Remember that if you still have a problem understanding the importance of service dogs. Murray is just a regular pet. 

Imagine what a trained service dog can do for someone with PTSD!

When your job is to transition into something better than PTSD

Are you transitioning or surrendering?
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
July 8, 2018

Life is about transitioning from one place to another. In this case, we're talking about the transition from surrendering to something that happened into being a survivor and using your transmission to move you forward.

WHAT DOES A TRANSMISSION DO? 
From Meineke
How Does an Automatic Transmission Work?

An automatic transmission is essentially an automatic gear shifter...Have you ever heard the sound of your engine getting higher, then lower as your car accelerates? A car in a low gear will start struggle as its pushed to higher speeds. A car with an automatic transmission has a torque converter that senses these changes as you accelerate and shifts you to a higher gear. The same process works in reverse as you slow down.

TRANSITION

movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change: the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
Music.
a passing from one key to another; modulation.
a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.
a sudden, unprepared modulation.
a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.

There are things you may have told yourself, that are simply not true!

The first lie is when you told yourself there was something wrong with you. The truth is, there is something strong within you!

If you chose a job where you knew it could kill you, military, law enforcement, firefighting or any of the other jobs protecting others, that choice came from a very strong emotional core.

Civilians can get hit by PTSD from just one event in their lives. When you consider how many events you survived, it should make more sense that you would get hit harder, than escape it because of your training.

You may be resilient, but that does not mean you are impervious to what your jobs did to you.

If you do not have PTSD, then make sure that you keep doing the steps for Crisis Intervention for yourself. That starts with being able to open up about what you witnessed from an emotional level, not just a tactical one.

Every time I survived something that could have killed me, I was able to talk about all of it knowing I mattered to someone. It helped me get out the ugliness of what I was faced with so that good stuff could get back in.

If you already have PTSD, then you can heal too! It is just that some of what you survived has taken hold and cannot be undone. You still have the power to limit the power it has over you.

Most of the time, those with PTSD getting proper treatment, have turned into being better than they were before. 

Do you want to live a better life? Then start by telling yourself you are worth it instead of telling yourself you deserve to suffer. You put your life on the line for the sake of others and YOU DO DESERVE TO LIVE A HAPPIER LIFE! 
UPDATE

I Am Changing

Look at me

Look at me

I am changing

Trying every way I can

I am changing

I'll be better than I am.

I'm trying

To find a way

To understand.

But I need

I need

I need your help.

I am changing

Seeing everything so clear.

I am changing.

I'm gonna start right now right here.

I'm hoping to work it out.

And I know that I can

But I need you

I need a hand.

All of my life I've been a fool

Who said I could do it all alone.

How many friends have I already lost?

And how many dark nights have I known? Walking down that long road. There was nothing you could buy.

All those years of darkness

Could make a person blind.

But now I can see that

I am changing

Trying every way I can

I am changing

I'll be better than I am

But I need a friend

To help me start

All over again.

That would be just fine

I know it's gonna work out this time

Cause this time I am,

This time I am

I am

Changing.

I get my life together now.

I am changing

Yes I know how

I'm gonna start again.

I'm gonna leave my past behind

I'll change my life.

I make it up

And nothing is gonna stop me now.

Songwriters: Hendry D. Krieger / Tom Eyen I Am Changing lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

PTSD Patrol Road Crew Fueling Hopefulness

PTSD Patrol hope on a tank full
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
July 1, 2018

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 New International Version (NIV)

Yesterday out at the Orlando Nam Knights, Tony "NK Jeans" Johnson wanted to know why I was so against the "awareness" raisers. The answer is a simply one. It does not give hope to those searching for it.

 When people say "it is just a number" they show they did not take enough interest to know, the known number represents people and were not just a number that is easy to remember.

We need to change the conversation into what will stop them from being stuck with an empty tank of hopelessness and fill them up with hopefulness!

I explained the difference between what is actually known and what is just assumed. The point of this effort is to change from awareness that people are committing suicide into what will help them want to live! That begins with knowledge of what PTSD is, what being a survivor is, and the power behind the simple fact that they can heal if they work at it!

Tony is a Gulf War veteran and has been working hard to take control over his life, but has also been reaching out to help others fill up with hope they can do it too!

Tony joined the PTSD Patrol Road Crew!