PTSD Patrol Respect Yourself

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 22, 2020

RESPECT YOURSELF is the message of today and the feature video. That is something I had to learn the hard way. In June, I freed myself from all constraints that limited what I could do and say. I stopped trying to prove myself to the veterans community after 38 years of fighting to deliver messages of healing and knowledge about what power they had over PTSD. It became one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

My buddy Gunny and I were talking yesterday and he said he couldn't believe how much I've changed...how much happier I come across on these videos. He's right. People noticed that I learned to respect myself to the point where I was tired of not respecting all I had to give.

If you have PTSD, the chances are pretty great that you lost a lot along the way. Maybe you lost family and friends who turned their backs on you when you were clearly in need of help. Maybe you walked away because you didn't want them to see you as someone to pitty. The thing is, the price you were paying as being a survivor, would have been so much easier to carry if you had people standing by your side. Unfortunatly, that is the way it is most of the time because people cannot open their eyes, or become invested in discovering why you changed. Even if they were, then you were probably limited on what you could explain to them. You'd think with over 8 million Americans going through this, there would be a lot more information to help you do it, but there isn't.

Set all that in your rearview mirror now because you are moving forward. The past is behind you and it is time to learn how to respect yourself. Take a look at all your qualities and abilities. Look at your weaknesses and see what you can do to change them, even if you cannot get rid of them. For me, that is my temper. I have to work on that all the time, but I manage to keep it in control most of the time.

It is time for you to be true to yourself, but the only way to do that is to respect yourself enough to know you are worthy of it! Life is full of surprises when you reach that point and you can end up a lot happier too. If you don't believe how much I've changed, take a look at some of my older videos that I shot down in Florida and see what is poaaible!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Yes this is Bruce Willis and he sings in this video~

If you disrespect anybody that you run in to

How in the world do you think anybody's s'posed to respect you

If you don't give a heck 'bout the man with the bible in his hand, y'all

Just get out the way, and let the gentleman do his thing

You the kind of gentleman that want everything your way, yeah

Take the sheet off your face, boy, it's a brand new day

Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself

If you don't respect yourself

Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na

Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself

If you're walking 'round think'n that the world owes you something 'cause you're here

You goin' out the world backwards like you did when you first come here yeah

Keep talkin' bout the president, won't stop air pollution

Put your hand on your mouth when you cough, that'll help the solution

Oh, you cuss around women and you don't even know their names, no

Then you're dumb enough to think that'll make you a big ol' man

Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself

If you don't respect yourself

Ain't nobody gonna give a good cahoot, na na na na

Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself

Respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself, respect yourself

Respect yourself, yeah yeah respect yourself, respect yourself yeah, respect yourself

You oughta you oughta respect yourself yeah, respect yourself

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Luther Thomas Ingram / Mack Rice

Respect Yourself lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Bruce Willis and June Pointer - Respect Yourself (1987)

PTSD Patrol God Save The People

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 21, 2020

In 1971 the play Godspell came out and was such a huge hit, they turned it into a movie. The Vietnam War was still going on and there were protests, along with a lot of turmoil. One of my favorite songs is God Save The People. 

Right now, things suck all the way around, and it can seem hopeless, if that is all you focus on. If you open your eyes and see what else is going on, then you regain your faith in your future.

Some people say when things are going wrong and you are suffering, "God only gives us what we can handle" which is totally false. It isn't just false it is harmful because that means God sent the sucky stuff to you, which makes it impossible to pray that God helps you out of it. If you have PTSD then the chance of you praying if you thought God did it to you is just about zero, instead of knowing you survived for a reason...whatever that reason was.

If you left the church, it is OK because a lot of churches left Christ a long time ago. They removed what He taught, what He showed and what He died for. Love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness, charity, the list goes on. He totally gets why you don't go to church because frankly, He prayed outside most of the time.

God still saves us and you will see that the next time you go out and look for people doing good things for someone else. Go into a grocery store and watch a clerk taking someone right to what they were looking for. See a fellow shopper reach up to take something down for someone else simply because a stranger needed help. Go to see the donations boxes for food around Thanksgiving. See all the Halloween candy in carts so that the shopper can make some kids happy with tiny treats in their bags.

God's love is all around you and you'll see it if you look for it no matter where you are.

When wilt thou save the people,

Oh, God of Mercy, when?

The people, Lord, the people,

Not thrones and crowns but men!

Flowers of thy heart, O God, are they.

Let them not pass, like weeds, away.

Their heritage a sunless day,

God save the people!

Shall crime bring crime forever,

Strength aiding still the strong?

Is it thy will, O Father,

That men shall toil for wrong?

'NO!' say thy mountains,

'NO!' say thy skies.

Man's clouded sun shall brightly rise,

And songs be heard instead of sighs.

God save the people!

When wilt thou save the people,

Oh, God of Mercy, when?

The people, Lord, the people,

Not thrones and crowns but men!

God save the people, for thine they are,

Thy children, as thy angels, fair,

Oh, save the people from despair!

When wilt thou save the people,

Oh, God of Mercy, when?

The people, Lord, the people,

Not thrones and crowns but men!

God save the people, for thine they are,

Thy children, as thy angels, fair,

Oh, save the people from despair,

God save the people!

Source: Musixmatch 

The Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

PTSD Patrol it's good to be alive

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 20, 2020

With some of my friends on Facebook, lately no matter what I plan on doing for the day on PTSD Patrol, it gets changed because one of them puts up a music video that gets my heart pumping and my feet moving, along with my chair....(yep, chair dancing again!)

Today the song was BORN TO BE ALIVE! There are two great videos with clips from old movies with people dancing, enjoying their lives. The thing is, most of the movies came out when the country was in turmoil. Wars, the heals of the Great Depression, protests and illnesses. Much like what we are living with today. 

Still the writers, directors, composures, choreographers and actors managed to find so much joy in what they were doing, fabulous things came out and made the audience happy for at least a while. There is so much power in changing even a tiny part of someone's life...and they knew that.

The lyrics of Born To Be Alive are empowering too because you can feel as if "it's good to be alive" again, even with PTSD. You can find moments of happiness turn into hours. Hours turn into days and days become a happier "normal" experience for you. 

That doesn't mean you will never be sad or angry, or depressed, but those days will happen less than what you may be living with right now. 

You are going to find what you look for, so if you look for what supports your misery, bingo, you found it for far too long, Isn't it time to look for what makes you happier?

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

We were born to be alive

We were born to be alive

Born, born to be alive

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born

Born

Born

(Born to be alive)

People ask me why

I never find a place to stop

And settle down

Down

Down

But I never wanted all those things

People need to justify

Their lives

Lives

Lives

Yes we were born, born,

Born to be alive

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born

Born

Born

(Born to be alive)

It's good to be alive

To be alive

To be alive

It's good to be alive

To be alive

To be alive

It's good to be alive!

Time was on my side

When I was running down the street

It was no bind,

Bind

Bind

A suitcase and an old guitar

It's all I need to occupy

A mind like mine

Yes we were born, born,

Born to be alive

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born

Born

Born

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born, born,

Born to be alive

(Born to be alive).

Yes we were born,

Born

Born

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born, born,

Born to be alive

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born

Born

Born

(Born to be alive)

Yes we were born, born

Born to be alive

(Born to be alive).

Yes we were born,

Born,

Born

(Born to be alive)

Born born to be alive...

Source: Musixmatch 

BONUS video with newer movies mixed in....

PTSD Patrol Remember what happiness was?

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 19, 2020

How many times have you heard "misery loves company" and wondered what that was supposed to mean? It isn't as if people love to be around other people. For some, it does mean they are so miserable, they want others to feel the same way. We have to face the fact that there are very selfish people in this world. For most people, it is more of wanting to be around others who know what it feels like.

Healing PTSD is like that. When you are around others who have experienced something few others do, you can find comfort being with them and gain strength from the pain you share. You gain a new understanding and inspiration from hearing about someone else who struggled but stands as an example of what is possible when healing happens.

Today's song was one I almost didn't use because it is a sad song. Barbra Streisand Memory is beautiful and her incredible voice gets into your soul, but I thought it may be too sad. As I listened to it, I found comfort in the lyrics. 

I can smile happy your days (I can dream of the old days)

Life was beautiful then

I remember the time I knew what happiness was

Let the memory live again

You can remember what happiness was too and smile. You can remember what it was like when you were not so sad and can find good memories to hang onto. Nothing will ever be the same as it was before "IT" hit you hard...but that doesn't mean that as to be bad. It can all be different and still be good!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Midnight

Not a sound from the pavement

Has the moon lost her memory

She is smiling alone

In the lamplight

The withered leaves collect at my feet

And the wind begins to moan

Memory

All alone in the moonlight

I can smile happy your days (I can dream of the old days)

Life was beautiful then

I remember the time I knew what happiness was

Let the memory live again

Every street lamp seems to beat

A fatalistic warning

Someone mutters and the street lamp gutters

And soon it will be morning

Daylight

I must wait for the sunrise

I must think of a new life

And I mustn't give in

When the dawn comes

Tonight will be a memory too

And a new day will begin

Burnt out ends of smoky days

The still cold smell of morning

A street lamp dies, another night is over

Another day is dawning

Touch me,

It is so easy to leave me

All alone with the memory

Of my days in the sun

If you touch me,

You'll understand what happiness is

Look, a new day has begun

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Andrew Lloyd Webber / Trevor Nunn / T.S. Eliot / Zdenek Hruby

Memory lyrics © Songtrust Ave 

PTSD Patrol Pick Yourself Up

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 18, 2020

I had another song and message picked out for today, but I was on Facebook a little while ago and a friend had posted a link to a video with Diana Krall from 2009. It changed the mood I was in. Listening to it, made me remember other versions of the song "Pick Yourself Up" and one of them was with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Songs like this last this long because they speak to being human and needing to "start again" many times in our lives.

We are all humans, doing the best we can and sometimes we fail. If we do not give up, then we can succeed at whatever it is we are trying to accomplish.

When you are down, don't look for stuff that will make feeling that way worse. All that does is keep you in the mood of doom and gloom. Look for something that makes you happy, makes you chair dance, brings back good memories and yes...even chair dance.

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Nothing's impossible I have found

For when my chin is on the ground

I pick myself up, dust myself off, start all over again

Don't lose your confidence if you slip

Be grateful for a pleasant trip

And pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again

Work like a soul inspired till the battle of the day is won

You may be sick and tired but you'll be a man my son

Don't you remember the famous men who had to fall to rise again?

They picked themselves up, dust themselves off and started all over again

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dorothy Fields / Jerome Kern

Pick Yourself Up lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Reservoir Media Management Inc 

Pick Yourself Up - Swing Time (1936)

The song was written for the film Swing Time (1936), where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Diana Krall

BONUS VIDEO: Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy (Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand)