PTSD Patrol Changing Your Purpose

Types of vehicles have different purposes

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 28, 2018

We choose vehicles based on what we like and what we need to do. If you need to clear snow, then you would want to have a snow plow. While a plow will clear snow, it would not be good to put one on a race track. That is, unless you plan on clearing other cars by shoving them out of the way.

On the other hand, a race car is meant for speed, and could clear snow very fast with a plow attached to it. The trouble is, it would not be able to do it very long.

When I was young, I wanted to be a writer. I always thought that I would be writing horror novels, instead of surviving horrors. Now I write about horrors in a much different way.

I could look at my life and think that it went off track, because while I wrote three books, I have not finished one of the several horror books I started. I am not sure what to even find the manuscripts now. I did not choose this work. My life did.

Most of us think we are supposed to do something and it sucks when we cannot do them, for one reason or another. You may think that because your job caused you to be invaded by PTSD, you cannot save anyone anymore.

That is because you are not looking at how many you can still save by letting them know there is hope for their lives too. 

Think about the group of veterans in TEAM RUBICON. They are no longer in the military, but used their training and desire to help by responding to disasters. They put their lives on the line all the time because they put others first, just like they did in the military.

Find what you do best and then find a different way to do it. Being of service to others comes in many different ways. You can still be true to the core of who you are, even though how you do it changed. #TakeBackYourLife

PTSD Patrol #TakeBackYourLife and beat the demon

PTSD Patrol Beat the Demon

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 21, 2018

Spreading "suicides awareness" has met a dead end. It makes no sense to keep going down the road you do not belong on! 


Whenever someone reminds you there are veterans taking their own lives, start thinking about how to #TakeBackYourLife.

You already survived what caused PTSD and the demon to come into your life. Do it again! Only this time, give him the finger and tell him he cannot defeat you now!

More pictures from this video!

This is the video that inspired the battle with the demon! This is a battle you can win if you #CombatPTSD and #TakeBackYourLife

Bonus PTSD Patrol Post

I stopped by Rock and Brews in Oviedo today to thank them for having the POW-MIA Table with the Point Man Veterans Bible on it. You have no idea how touching it was to see it there after discovering my buddy Sgt. Dave added it to the table.

Sure enough, there was another car show, so I figured I'd just do a bonus post today. Good food as always but what makes this place even better is how much they love those who put their lives on the line, as First Responders, current military and veterans.

They are so patriotic that 15 minutes before they open, every day, the entire staff meets for the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem.

Sgt. Dave of Never Forgotten Memorials installed this at Rock and Brews a few years ago. He is also the one who supplied the POW-MIA Table.

Consider this one as the Heaven sent air filter!

PTSD Patrol: Owners Manual and Your Air Filter
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 14, 2018

The owner's manual frustrates me! I was looking up how to check the air filter. Sure enough, I found the page to tell me what to do with it, but it DID NOT TELL ME WHERE THE HECK TO FIND IT!

CARS.COM — The cabin air filter, a feature found on most late-model vehicles, cleans the air that comes into the interior through the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system. It catches dust, pollen and other airborne material that can make riding in a car unpleasant, particularly if you have allergies or other respiratory problems.

Some signs that you need a new cabin air filter are reduced air flow through your climate control system, such as when you crank up the fan too high and get more noise than results. Another is persistent bad odors. Even if you don't have these warnings, however, you should have the air filter checked at least once a year, and you may be able to do that yourself.

How can you fix anything if you do not know where it is? You cannot do it until you find it. Then again, how can you know fixing something is even possible unless someone figured out how to do it?

Have problems with your vehicle that you cannot fix yourself, you turn to a mechanic with more training and tools than you have. New cars go to owners with owners' manuals, so we can figure some things out on your own.

People are not born with owners' manuals. Well, that does not mean we cannot get our hands on one.

BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth

Some people survive something horrible and end up thinking God did it to them. Other people think that they survived for a reason and they make sure they use the rest of their lives to make a difference in the world.

So, how do you change the rest of your life if you think that God is punishing you? How do you ask God for help to heal your soul, if you think He sent the misery to you?

The answer is in the Bible itself. No, this is not to get you to go to church, or convert you into something you are not. The vast majority of veterans I talk with are Christians but left the church a long time ago. They believe in God and Jesus, but not in people who are supposed to be representing what Jesus was sent to teach.

There are different air filters. Consider this one as the Heaven sent air filter!

There is love, and there is power in the Bible. The knowledge that you are loved no matter what you did and can be forgiven and keys to use the power you have within you, to not just heal, but spread the healing out!

While you may be thinking that all the negative thoughts getting into your brain belong there, they do not. They just snuck in because your filter was clogged. Time to clean it out and let the positive thoughts in. Yep, and then you can #TakeBackYourLife

Burn the Ships

King and Country

[Verse 1: Luke Smallbone]

How did we get here?

We're cast away on a lonely shore

I can see in your eyes, dear

It's hard to take for a moment more

We've got to

[Pre-Chorus: Joel Smallbone]

Burn the ships, cut the ties

Send a flare into the night

Say a prayer, turn the tide

Dry your tears and wave goodbye

[Chorus: Joel and Luke Smallbone]

Step into a new day

We can rise up from the dust and walk away

We can dance upon the heartache, yeah

So light a match, leave the past, burn the ships

And don't you look back

[Verse 2: Luke Smallbone]

Don't let it arrest you

This fear, this fear of fallin' again

And if you need a refuge

I will be right here until the end

Oh, it's time to

Getting help on the road with a push of a button

Flash for a healing chance
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 7, 2018

When your vehicle is having trouble, there is a simple button you push to let others know you need help. It turns on your hazard lights.

Everyone behind you sees those lights. They will either pass you by with caution, or they may try to help you.

This is from WheelZine
When to Use Hazard Lights
Though most people use hazard lights for mundane and unimportant things like speaking on the cell-phone while in traffic (which is illegal, mind you) or lighting a cigarette or adjusting the music system, the actual purpose behind the installation of these lights is to communicate a possible danger to the oncoming or passing traffic. Given below are some of the occasions when you can and should use hazard lights.

• When you are experiencing a sudden car problem in the middle of traffic, switch on the lights and slowly pull over. Keep the lights flashing till the problem is solved.
• In case of dense fog, you can switch on the hazard lights to warn traffic on both the sides of the road.
• When traffic on a usually traffic-free road is slow or stalled for some reason, you can turn on the hazard lights to indicate to the traffic behind you that traffic ahead of you is stalled.
• Another situation in which you can turn on hazard lights is when you are moving up a steep slope, which has caused your vehicle to slow down considerably. The blinkers will tell the vehicles behind you to proceed with caution.

In the 70's we had Mood Rings that were supposed to let other people know how we were feeling.

Chart of Mood Ring Colors and Meanings This chart shows the colors and meaning of the usual 1970s style of mood ring.

This chart shows the colors of the typical 1970s mood ring and the meanings associated with the mood ring colors:
Amber: Nervous, unhappy, cool
Green: Average, calm
Blue: Emotions are charged, active, relaxed
Violet: Passionate, excited, very happy
Black: Tense, nervous (or broken crystal)
Gray: Strained, anxious
The color of the warmest temperature is violet or purple. The color of the coolest temperature is black or gray.

Wouldn't it be great if all you had to do was push a button or show a ring to let people know you needed help? It would make life easier. The thing is, in reality, no one will come to help you if they do not know you need it!

You do have to do something to let them know you need help to get up that steep slope to #TakeBackYourLife. 

The first step is finally accepting the fact that you are not a victim. You are a survivor. You survived the event that set PTSD off in the first place. 

Second step is understanding that while about 7 million Americans have PTSD, and most of the time, from one event in their lives, you faced multiple times on your job, plus what could have happened just living as a simple citizen.

Thirdly, possibly the most important thing to accept is, that while you would have sacrificed your life to save others, the others you were with decided to dedicate their lives to saving as well. How much you want to bet they would do the same for you? After all, you'd do it for them. Wouldn't you?

The only risk you are taking is trusting them enough to let them know you need help. If you trust them with your life, then trust them all the way!

PTSD Patrol and Wounded Times in Top PTSD Sites

Top 75 PTSD Blogs and Websites in 2018 

(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

PTSD Patrol has only been up about a year. Already it is in the Top 75 PTSD Sites from Feedspot!

And for Combat PTSD Wounded Times, it is number 10!!!!

Considering this has all been accomplished by hard work and LOYAL READERS LIKE YOU SHARING THAT WORK, 

THANK YOU IS JUST NOT ENOUGH TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH PEOPLE LIKE YOU MEAN TO ME!!!!