there's no sorrow they can't rise above

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 8, 2021

Did you know there are people in this world who know "there's no sorrow they can't rise above?" Gordon Lightfoot called them Rainy Day People, and yes, that is the featured video of the day.

I remember about 10 years ago, I heard the song and it was the first time I thought of myself as a rainy day person. A lot of the song is the way I feel about things, but this one is one of the major ones.

"Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen till they've heard it all." I wouldn't be able to help anyone if I didn't listen to them, especially if they are dealing with surviving traumatic events. It is a gift when they have that ability, because I learned how to do it from people I met over the years who listened to me until I had nothing else to say.

Rainy Day People are great for many reasons. Other than being there for people in need of help, they also help them find hope. They understand what you are going through, because they've been there too. They also want you to know that you can become one of them too, and help others when they need it.

That is where the passing it on part comes in. Anyone can take their experiences and pass on hope to those struggling with something. And that, that is a beautiful thing delivered from those who love others.

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

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD 

Rainy Day People

Gordon Lightfoot

Rainy day people always seem to know when it's time to call

Rainy day people don't talk, they just listen till they've heard it all

Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell 'ya they've been down like you

Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two

If you get lonely, all you really need is that rainy day love

Rainy day people all know there's no sorrow they can't rise above

Rainy day lovers don't love any others, that would not be kind

Rainy day people all know how it hangs on a piece of mind

Rainy day lovers don't lie when they tell you, they've been down there too

Rainy day people don't mind if you're cryin' a tear or two.

Rainy day people always seem to know when you're feeling blue

High stepping strutters who land in the gutters sometimes need one too

Take it or leave it, or try to believe it

If you've been down too long

Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on

Rainy day lovers don't hide love inside they just pass it on

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: G Lightfoot

Rainy Day People lyrics © Wb Music Corp., Moose Music 

Your career is to help others...but not yourself?

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 7, 2021

We haven't had a video for responders for a while and considering this is Mental Health Month, it is a good time to do it. Put everything you think about PTSD for a few minutes. Your job is to help people. Why wouldn't you want to ask for help for yourself? It makes no sense at all.

Today the featured video is Little River Band, Help Is On Its Way. Those five words give hope that whatever horrible thing you are going through, will stop being horrible.

Think about the people you rush to help. They survived something that could have killed them and many times, they need help to stay alive. Hearing help is on the way, lets them know it is about to get better. They can end up with PTSD from the event you had to respond to. It only takes that one time too many, and sometimes it is just one time that did it, but their lives change. For me, I survived over 10 of them. Most of the time, responders had to come and help me. If you can understand what the event could do to us, then why can't you understand what all the ones you were involved with could do to you?

Your career is to help others...but not yourself? Why? Are you ashamed of being human and surviving all those events? I have to tell you that after all these years of working with people with PTSD, I am not ashamed of any of them. I am not ashamed of what they turned around and did with their lives after they received help. I am not ashamed of my husband. I am not even ashamed of myself, after finally discovering that what I went through was PTSD too, just a different form of it. Why would you be ashamed of needing help when helping is your job?

Don't you think the people you work with would risk their lives to save you, the same way you'd risk your life for their sake? Then how could you doubt they would listen to you when you need to talk? On the flip side, if you don't have PTSD but someone you work with may, why aren't you finding out all you can about PTSD so you can help them? Any idea how they will feel when they know that help is on the way for them and the horrible times will get better? 

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

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD 

Help Is on Its Way

Little River Band

Why are you in so such hurry?

Is it really worth the worry?

Look around, then slow down

What's it like inside the bubble?

Does your head ever give you trouble?

It's no sin, trade it in

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Are you always in confusion?

Surrounded by illusion?

Sort it out, you'll make out

Seem to make a good beginning

Someone else ends up winning

Don't seem fair, don't you care?

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Don't you forget who'll take care of you

It don't matter what you do

Form a duet, let him sing melody

You'll provide the harmony

Why are you in so such hurry?

Is it really worth the worry?

Look around, then slow down

What's it like inside the bubble?

Does your head ever give you trouble?

It's no sin, trade it in

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Hang on, help is on its way

I'll be there as fast as I can

"Hang on", a tiny voice did say

From somewhere deep inside the inner man

Help is on its way

Help is on its way

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Glenn Barrie Shorrock

Help Is on Its Way lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc 

But everyone just runs away

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 6, 2021

Cross posted on Wounded Times

No matter how many times people walked away from you, one day someone will help you. One day someone will show you the way and stand by your side until you get to where you need to be. Then you will become that "someone" for someone else. Don't give up. Don't give in. Fight like hell because you are worth it!

If you were not, then I wouldn't have been doing this work for almost 40 years with all the crap I have to go through to do the right thing. No matter what I faced, you were worth it!

Today there almost wasn't a video. I didn't have it in me to do one. I was actually online looking for something for myself. I discovered my work stolen again. It happens to me all the time and I am powerless to stop them from doing it. Sometimes they will put my name on it, other times they won't but for some reason they think they can just take it without my knowledge or permission.

I found the video that put into words exactly what I was feeling and it helped. It is from Five Finger Death Punch, Darkness Settles In. When I heard these lines, I cried. The thing is, it just got uploaded 15 hours ago!

It's like I'm holding all the aces

But I know I'll never win

Waiting for someone to save me

But everyone just runs away

The people I know who would help me, cannot help me on this. The ones who can help, I reach out to but they are not interested in helping me at all. The thing is, I am on the right side of this, doing the work for the right reasons and nothing is going to stop me. Screw the bastards. I know one day will come and they will be seen for who and what they truly are. I may not be alive to see it but I know I have the power over what I do and no one can take that way.

If you have PTSD then you know what it is like to tell death "screw you" and you lived because your life was worth it to you. You had no control over what happened but have the power to change what comes now. I'll be damned if I let the darkness settle in on my life. Don't let it settle in on your life either.

Remember, it is your life...get in and drive it!
#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

Darkness Settles In

Five Finger Death Punch 

Another sun sets down behind me

Another day comes crashing in

There's a whispering wind that's blowing

There's a storm that's closing in

I can hear the trains, they're rolling

To a place I've never been

And I can feel her breath beside me

With an empty glass of gin

As the darkness settles in

I can hear her voice again

I can hear your voice again

Waiting for someone to save me

But everyone just runs away

Waiting for someone to change me

But no one ever comes

I'm breaking down the walls that cage me

But nothing ever falls in place

Waiting for the end to take me

Blinded by the sun

All the ghosts that live inside me

Always waiting in the wind

I can see through my reflection

What I've become and what I've been

You see, your Heaven doesn't want me

And your Hell won't let me in

It's like I'm holding all the aces

But I know I'll never win

Waiting for someone to save me

But everyone just runs away

Waiting for someone to change me

But no one ever comes

I'm breaking down the walls that cage me

But nothing ever falls in place

Waiting for the end to take me

Blinded by the sun

You can take it away, tear it all down

Spit in my face, pushed to the ground

Look what I've become

I've fallen from grace, bloodied and bound

Taking up space, lost and I'm found

Look what I've become

I can hear the snakes, they're winding

Singing songs of pain and sin

There's an anger overflowing

From this empty glass of gin

As the darkness settles in

And the darkness settles in

Waiting for someone to save me

But everyone just runs away

Waiting for someone to change me

But no one ever comes

I'm breaking down the walls that cage me

But nothing ever falls in place

Waiting for the end to take me

Blinded by the sun

And the darkness settles in

(You can take it away)

And the darkness settles in

(You can take it away)

As the darkness settles in

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ivan Moody / Zoltan Bathory / Kevin Churko / Jason Hook

Darkness Settles In lyrics © Gumpofwump 

What is your reason to fight?

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 5, 2021

What is your reason to fight for something? Are you willing to fight for a cause you believe in? How much do you believe in it? Do you give it all of your free time or do you just do it once in a while? Are you invested in the cause enough to learn everything you can about it? Does that include what others have done, what they did that worked along with what didn't work they knew enough to drop?

The thing is, when you have a reason to fight for something, then you do give it everything you have. All the time you have to spare is committed to it. How about you decide to be committed to fighting for yourself? Aren't you worth fighting for?

There are PTSD advocates fighting for other people to get help, but they never fought for themselves. It isn't that they don't care about other people. It is more about them being the type of person everyone goes to for help, that prevents them from asking for it from themselves. It is almost as if they admit they need help, it will make them look weaker in the eyes of everyone else.

There are PTSD advocates who are fighting, not just because they care, but because they also had the same pain in their lives. The best advocates are those who have all that in their lives, but also know what it is like to need help, ask for it, and receive it. Then they can honestly share their lives with those they are trying to help. They are an example of what is possible to those who feel as lost as they did before.

I am in that category. The reason why people like me do it is because we remember what life was like when we were just suffering. We remember what it was like when we were healing and someone helped us do it. The biggest blessing comes is when we healed and helped others get through the hell so they could be happier. Watching them pass on that healing, being an example of not being afraid to ask for help, is a gift beyond words. We know it does not stop with them, but moves on from them and spreads out. We will never know how many lives changed because we did. I hope those who helped me so long ago know that too because even I do not know how many lives changed because they helped me first!

This is why the featured video today is Disturbed, A Reason To Fight.

Don't let it take your soul

Look at me take control

When knowing to fight this war

This is nothing worth dying for

Are you ready to begin?

Are you ready to begin? Do you finally believe you are worth fighting for too? Then become the example of what you want others to do by doing it for yourself.

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

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD

A Reason to Fight

Disturbed

The image in your eyes

Reflecting the pain that has taken you

I hear it in your voice, so ridden with shame

From what's hailing you

I won't give up so don't give in

You've fallen down but you can rise again

So don't give up

When the demon that's inside you is ready to begin

And it feels like it's a battle that you will never win

When you're aching for the fire and begging for your sin

When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason to fight

Lost in your world of lies

I find it so hard to believe in you

Can it be real this time?

Or just a part of this game that we're playing through

I won't give up so don't give in

You've fallen down but you will rise again

I won't give up

When the demon that's inside you is ready to begin

And it feels like it's a battle that you will never win

When you're aching for the fire and begging for your sin

When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason to fight

Don't let it take your soul

Look at me take control

When knowing to fight this war

This is nothing worth dying for

Are you ready to begin?

This is a battle that we are gonna win

When you're aching for the fire and begging for your sin

When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason

When the demon that's inside you is ready to begin

And it feels like it's a battle that you will never win

When you're aching for the fire and begging for your sin

When there's nothing left inside, there's still a reason to fight

I'll be your reason to fight

Give you a reason to fight

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dan J Donegan / David Michael Draiman / Kevin Gregory Churko / Michael Wengren

A Reason to Fight lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Yes, I have faith in you that you will ask for help because you have invested too much of your heart in getting others to do it. #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD
Bonus video from Disturbed If I Ever Lose My Faith

This is Mental Health Awareness Month. When it comes to PTSD, it was because Vietnam veterans fought for all the reseach and funding on what trauma does. If you are a veteran...consider what you have to fight for, after you fought for those you served with.

Show me the way

PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
May 4, 2021

When you are alone and lost, what do you do? You pray to be shown the way out. If you are with someone, and they can figure it out, that is wonderful. What if they are just as lost as you are? Then both of you need to be shown the way out.

There are things I pray for, that only God can do. There are things I pray for, that I know I have to do. When that is my job, I pray God shows me the way. The fact is, I am not smart enough to do or say a lot of things that come out of me. The only place they can come from is God. That is why the featured song is Styx, Show Me The Way. I found it on YouTube this morning.

Show Me The Way

Styx 

Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there's a heaven

And every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners

All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay

And I feel this empty place inside so afraid that I've lost my faith

Show me the way, show me the way

Take me tonight to the river

And wash my illusions away

Show me the way

And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred

I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred

That I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we've so far to go

And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid that I just won't know

Show me the way, Show me the way

Bring me tonight to the mountain

And take my confusion away

And show me the way

And if I see your light, should I believe

Tell me how will I know

Show me the way, show me the way

Take me tonight to the river

And wash my illusions away

Show me the way, show me the way

Give me the strength and the courage

To believe that I'll get there someday

And please show me the way

Every night I say a prayer

In the hope that there's a heaven

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dennis Deyoung

Show Me the Way lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

When I listened to the lyrics, it was as if God hit the play button. I have no doubt there is a Heaven. I've seen too many miracles in my lifetime to think otherwise. I have seen average people, step up over and over again, changing lives and healing the sick. That drive inside of them, to even contemplate some of those jobs, was in there from the start and was carried within their souls. God showed them the way.

I know there are times when someone needs help and I don't have a clue what I should say to comfort them. All of a sudden, the words come and they know things will get better for them. I know the answer came from God. Does He speak to my soul? I don't know but I do know I am not smart enough to figure it would on my own.

PTSD Patrol started out to show you the way out of hopelessness and how to get to the help you need. To give you comfort so you know that you are not alone and don't have to stay feeling like you are lost. To let you know that you do have the power within you to #TakeBackYourLife from PTSD. 

I knew a long time ago it had to be done by taking care of your mind, body and your spirit. That is how miracles happen. I also learned a long time ago, that when we ask to be shown the way out of whatever mess we're in, we need to get our egos out of the way. I get lost a lot of times too and I don't know what to do. I need Him to guide me, especially, as my daughter says, I get lost getting out of a paper bag.

Pray for the big things you do not have the power to do, like what evil and horrible people do. You will know God is real when they either lose their power to do more harm, or they are changed. Pray for what you need inside of you, and it will be delivered. Pray for God to show you the way and be willing to follow where He leads you.

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

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife from #PTSD