hurting runs off my shoulders...

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
January 1, 2021

A new year begins with hopeful hearts across the world after a horrible year. How do we know that? The people around the world joined in to sing Neil Diamond's iconic song Sweet Caroline!

"2020 has been a tough year for everyone, so we wanted to bring people together the best way we knew how: Through music," a message at the top of the video reads.

"To inspire people to come together, we challenged fans all around the world to sing along to 'Sweet Caroline,'" it adds.

The videos feature people alone and in small groups, as well as larger ones such as a baseball game and what seems like a wedding party, where the song can often be heard. USAToday

Emotional pain is not limited to nations or races, or sexes. It is not limited to the greedy or the needy. It hits all humans. The question is, what do we do about it? How do we respond to the needs of others or ourselves?

With hope because we do more than just feel sorry for others and others do more than just feel sorry for us. WE DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Sweet Caroline

Neil Diamond

Where it began, I can't begin to knowing

But then I know it's growing strong

Was in the spring

And spring became the summer

Who'd have believed you'd come along

Hands, touching hands

Reaching out, touching me, touching you

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

I've been inclined

To believe they never would

But now I

Look at the night and it don't seem so lonely

We filled it up with only two

And when I hurt

Hurting runs off my shoulders

How can I hurt when holding you

One, touching one

Reaching out, touching me, touching you

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

I've been inclined

To believe they never would

Oh no, no

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

Sweet Caroline

I believe they never could

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Neil Diamond

Sweet Caroline lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Hurting doesn't just rub off the shoulders of anyone without help. Understanding with empathy, leads to inspiring empowerment action. Hope is fueled by the knowledge you matter to someone. Your outlook changes and hope shoves hurt off your shoulders! The thing is, hope is a very jealous thing allowing no room for anything else. It wants to spread out take over everything in your life, and is contagious. It wants to spread to everyone you know, everyone they know and even to strangers you encounter everyday.

Think of it this way. The cashier you smiled at, could have been having a rough day, but your smile and kindness changed their mood, and they changed the mood of hundreds of others shopping that day. Other cashiers noticed and their mood changed. They in turn, changed the mood of the shoppers in their line. Soon the manager notices and makes a happy announcement to everyone in the store. Then the managers of other stores are made aware of what is going on, so they do the same and thousands of moods are changed for more and then they pass it on.

This is the reason I do what I do. I know what it is like to be hurting, lonely, hopeless and not wanting to get up out of bed. On the flip side, I also know what healing is like because I found what I needed to so that I could heal the cracks in my soul. I found what I needed to change my husband's life and give him hope. After that, it seemed only natural to share what I could to change the moods of everyone I could reach, knowing they would reach others and change their moods too. 

Last night as I was praying, I thanked God for the mission He set me on way back in 1982. I thanked Him for the inspiration of these daily videos for everyone, even while lamenting about having to walk away from just working with veterans and their families. They couldn't find me anymore because the internet got too crowded. With over 8 million others dealing with PTSD in this country alone, topped off with a raging pandemic, isolation and loneliness, it seems the right time to shift. I don't regret it. 

The only way this work gets shared, like the smile given to a cashier, is for you to share it. Other people didn't know who started the chain reaction but it still changed their days. If you are reading this, then please share it. If you are watching the videos, please share them too. Give me credit or not, that doesn't matter. The mission is to change lives not to take credit for what God put in my heart to do.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

Andra Day - "Imagine" (Live From Times Square NYE Ball Drop 2021)

Renew hope for New Year

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 31, 2020

Did you get up out of bed this morning because you had to, or because you wanted to? If you got up because you had to, then that is a rough way to start a new day. If you did it because you wanted to, then that means you have hope left in you, and that is a great way to begin a new experience. 

There was a time when I got up because I had to. I had a daughter I needed to take care of. I had a job I needed to do, because I had a daughter to take care of. It wasn't the job I wanted to do and I didn't have the marriage I thought I'd have, but it was, what it was....sucky!

Then things changed. I changed the way I thought about a lot of stuff in my life and got hope back. Things got better all the way around and I wanted to get up in the morning. Life was better!

Having hope makes a lot of difference. Believing that, whatever you hope for can happen, makes things worth doing.

If you are dealing with PTSD, then have hope that you can heal and believe it will happen, Then make the changes in your life to make it happen. No better day to start than tomorrow...for a whole New Year!

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

If you wake up and don't want to smile

If it takes just a little while

Open your eyes and look at the day

You'll see things in a different way

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Don't stop, it'll soon be here

It'll be better than before

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone

Why not think about times to come?

And not about the things that you've done

If your life was bad to you

Just think what tomorrow will do

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Don't stop, it'll soon be here

It'll be better than before

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone

All I want is to see you smile

If it takes just a little while

I know you don't believe that it's true

I never meant any harm to you

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Don't stop, it'll soon be here

It'll be better than before

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow

Don't stop, it'll soon be here

It'll be better than before

Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone

Don't you look back

(Ooh)

Don't you look back

(Ooh)

Don't you look back

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Christine Mcvie

Don't Stop lyrics © Universal Music - Careers 

Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’ (UNICEF Won’t Stop) 

Just a small town girl

Livin' in a lonely world

She took the midnight train goin' anywhere

Just a city boy

Born and raised in South Detroit

He took the midnight train goin' anywhere

A singer in a smokey room

The smell of wine and cheap perfume

For a smile they can share the night

It goes on and on, and on, and on

Strangers, waitin'

Up and down the boulevard

Their shadows

Searchin' in the night

Streetlights, people

Livin' just to find emotion

Hidin' somewhere in the night

Workin' hard to get my fill

Everybody wants a thrill

Payin' anything to roll the dice

Just one more time

Some will win

Some will lose

Some were born to sing the blues

Oh, the movie never ends

It goes on and on, and on, and on

Strangers waitin'

Up and down the boulevard

Their shadows

Searchin' in the night

Streetlights, people

Livin' just to find emotion

Hidin' somewhere in the night

Don't stop believin'

Hold on to that feelin'

Streetlight, people

Don't stop, believin'

Hold on

Streetlights, people

Don't stop believin'

Hold on to that feelin'

Streetlight, people

Source: Musixmatch 

and for those who like the original one better

Journey - Don’t Stop Believin’ (Escape Tour 1981: Live In Houston)

We'll get through this. 

We've made mistakes,

But we've made good friends too. 

Remember all the nights we spent with them?

And all our plans,

Who says they can't come true?

Tonight's another chance to start again.

It's just another New Year's Eve,

It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve

Don't look so sad,

It's not so bad you know.

It's just another night,

That's all it is, it's not the first,

It's not the worst you know,

We've come through all the rest,

We'll get through this.

We've made mistakes,

But we've made good friends too.

Remember all the nights we spent with them?

And all our plans,

Who says they can't come true?

Tonight's another chance to start again. 

It's just another New Year's Eve,

Another night like all the rest.

It's just another New Year's Eve,

Let's make it the best.

It's just another New Year's Eve,

It's just another Auld Lang Syne,

But when we're through this New Year

You'll see, will be

Just fine.

We're not alone, we've got the world you know.

And it won't let us down, just wait and see.

And we'll grow old, but think how wise we'll grow. 

There's more you know, it's only New Year's Eve. 

It's just another New Year's Eve, 

Another night like all the rest.

It's just another New Year's Eve, 

Let's make it the best. 

It's just another New Year's Eve, 

It's just another Auld Lang Syne,

But when we're through this New Year, you'll see, will be 

Just fine.

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Barry Manilow / Martin Panzer

It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

wonderful way to end this horrible year

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 30, 2020

UPDATED 
This morning I woke up to a fabulous video from Boston Dynamics. It has been such a shitty year, they decided to do something to lift people up. The video had me chair dancing and I had to share it.

I couldn't get it off my mind because it also speaks to the fact that after this shitty year, people will be celebrating it coming to an end. (Hopefully in their own homes with their own families.) That is what people do when something horrible ends. 

They will be celebrating even more when the vaccine is given to most Americans and people can get back to work, going to movies, games, concerts, shopping, or whatever else they did in their "normal lives." They will celebrate even more. 

Most of them now understand what trauma is now, sadly. The question is, why aren't you celebrating surviving whatever cause PTSD in you?

YOU SHOULD BE DANCING TOO! You should be celebrating the life you have ahead of you when you are happier. Just like with the New Year coming, dreams of a better year can turn into reality if you work at it.

The feature video today is The Bee Gees You Should Be Dancing, because you should be dancing and celebrating too!

For now, make sure you have a sturdy chair before you watch these videos. Mine almost broke!

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

When I saw this I thought about how it is a wonderful way to end this horrible year~

watching robots dancing with joy to Do You Love Me!

Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year: Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics.

Now, you are not a robot, but imagine how you just felt joy watching this video. Stunned by what can be accomplished by people with wild imaginations and talent? 

Then imagine what you can do to change your life so that you feel like dancing too!

fueled with that hope?

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 29, 2020

"Me, myself I got nothing to prove." The truth is, the only one you have to prove anything to, is yourself. You are the only one who has lived your life and you alone determine what you want for the rest of your life. That was the message I got from Tracy Chapman's song Fast Car.

It is about having a hard life but having hope that things can get better. That fast car she is singing about is fueled with that hope. You life can be fueled the same way. Hope gives you the possibility of dreams coming true. Nothing will change as long as you stay where you are, doing the same thing you did yesterday. If you think about what you want but don't believe it can happen, then it won't. If you believe it can, then you search for ways to make it come true.

Recovery from PTSD is something to hope for and then work for. It won't come to you. It won't happen if you sit there doing nothing but sulk. You have to get in your car (vehicle you live in) and pick a destination. Plan a way to get there...and go for it. Once you manage to prove to yourself that being a survivor doesn't have to suck, it won't anymore. Everyone else will catch on they were wrong about you, after you prove it to yourself.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it.

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Fast Car

Tracy Chapman

You got a fast car

I want a ticket to anywhere

Maybe we make a deal

Maybe together we can get somewhere

Any place is better

Starting from zero, got nothing to lose

Maybe we'll make something

Me, myself, I got nothing to prove

You got a fast car

I got a plan to get us out of here

I been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

Won't have to drive too far

Just 'cross the border and into the city

You and I can both get jobs

And finally see what it means to be living

See, my old man's got a problem

He lives with the bottle, that's the way it is

He says his body's too old for working

His body's too young to look like his

My mama went off and left him

She wanted more from life than he could give

I said, somebody's got to take care of him

So I quit school and that's what I did

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so we can fly away?

We gotta make a decision

Leave tonight or live and die this way

So I remember we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

We go cruising to entertain ourselves

You still ain't got a job

And I work in a market as a checkout girl

I know things will get better

You'll find work and I'll get promoted

We'll move out of the shelter

Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

I got a job that pays all our bills

You stay out drinking late at the bar

See more of your friends than you do of your kids

I'd always hoped for better

Thought maybe together you and me would find it

I got no plans, I ain't going nowhere

So take your fast car and keep on driving

So I remember when we were driving, driving in your car

Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk

City lights lay out before us

And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder

And I-I, had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

You got a fast car

Is it fast enough so you can fly away?

You gotta make a decision

Leave tonight or live and die this way

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Tracy L Chapman

Fast Car lyrics © Emi April Music Inc., Purple Rabbit Music 

Still standing and being happy about it

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
December 28, 2020

"Looking like a true survivor" means you are happy you did. So why don't you seem happy about it?  The only way to get PTSD is to know what it is like to be a survivor of whatever caused it. The question is, when do you become happy about it?

Is if because someone told you that you are supposed to be miserable? That you are supposed to live in a pit of despair? Time to pick up the pieces of your life without what they said on your mind. They are wrong!

If you haven't guessed it by now, the feature video is Elton John, I'm Still Standing. If you saw the movie Rocketman you know he didn't have an easy life. The thing is, he didn't give up because it wasn't easy. Healing PTSD isn't easy but you can do it. You can change your life for the better if you believe it is possible and work at it.

I love the part of the song with "feeling like a little kid." Kids have wild imaginations, where anything is possible to be true. Watch them play with toys or stuffed animals, pretending they are alive. When we grow up, we lose that sense of wonderment and then imagination dies. Healing makes you feel like a little kid again because the possibilities are only limited by how much you want to fight for it to become reality.

There is not one single person I talked to over all these years, who didn't want to be happy again. Unfortunately they didn't want to work at it. Those who did, did it on their own. All I did was guide them so they could do all the work. They are "still standing after all this time" and better than ever.

Find what works for you and you can be a happy survivor too!

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

I'm Still Standing

Elton John

You could never know what it's like

Your blood like winter freezes just like ice

And there's a cold lonely light that shines from you

You'll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use

And did you think this fool could never win?

Well look at me, I'm coming back again

I got a taste of love in a simple way

And if you need to know while I'm still standing, you just fade away

Don't you know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing (Yeah, yeah, yeah)

I'm still standing (Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Once I never could have hoped to win

You're starting down the road leaving me again

The threats you made were meant to cut me down

And if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now

You know I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing (Yeah, yeah, yeah)

I'm still standing (Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Don't you know that I'm still standing better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life without you on my mind

I'm still standing (Yeah, yeah, yeah)...

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Elton John / Bernie Taupin

I'm Still Standing lyrics © Hst Publishing Ltd., Rouge Booze, Inc.