Discover the powerful techniques to
Turning PTSD into PTG (Post Traumatic Growth) !!!
By: T.J. Smith – PTSD Service Dog Trainer
Are you going to have PTSD or PTG (Post Traumatic Growth)? It’s amazing how PTSD can be greatly improved upon, by using the mindset of PTG (Post Traumatic Growth)! This article is going to discuss the most powerful tools we have seen that are helpful to a person who struggles with PTSD. This is not just about Service Dogs, its about a wide variety of approaches that people use in conjunction together to make quantum leaps of progress in regards to their PTSD struggles.
Here at Companion Training® we have been steadfast on helping people improve the quality of their lives with the use of specialty trained Service Dogs for over 17 years now. We are constantly studying PTSD, as well as noticing patterns in our clients who have drastically bettered the quality of their day-to-day lives. This article is going to share those patterns and techniques that we have noticed in our most successful clients through out the years.
We all hear a lot about PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) these days… the symptoms, the causes and the vast amount of people struggling with this invisible challenge in their lives. But it’s very beneficial to research and find stories about the people who take their PTSD and use it to fuel their personal drive to turn it into Post Traumatic Growth! A good example is Oprah Winfrey, the story about the abuse she suffered as a child and how she used those experiences to fuel her drive to better herself and the world around her. This is a great demonstration of how it’s possible to mentally and emotional use a tragic event and allow it to empower your personal growth. Another example would be Nelson Mandela and his life’s story. Here at Companion Training®, we have witnessed many of our clients bring this attitude into their strategies of improving their PTSD. They are not seeking the Service Dog to do all of the therapy for them, they are utilizing the amazing benefits of a professionally trained PTSD Service Dog as yet another tool in their approach to taking a traumatic situation and using it to push forward into a passionately driven lifestyle, where nothing is going to hold them back in life.
So why is it that many people suffer from debilitating PTSD to the point in which they cannot even leave their own homes? Where other people take their tragic experiences and implement strategies to empower themselves and others? Well the answer to this is that there are so many factors in each individual’s lives and experiences that dictate the differences. Your situation is unique and rare to itself! With that being said, there are patterns of therapies and tools that we have noticed that the most successful people seem to use. These people not only try these techniques, they master them and infuse them with consistency in their lifestyle.
The list of some of the most powerful
Treatment Options/Tools For PTSD
Through years of open discussions with our clients and casual observations, we have learned the following key points about how to strive forward in a life that involves PTSD. Now, of course we need to keep in mind that everyone’s situation is different, but the following checkpoints come up repeatedly with the people that are excelling through life in spite of their PTSD.
• A Purpose Driven Focus – This has been a consistent pattern with the most successful people we have worked with! They seem to focus a big part of their lives to demonstrating to others how they can make improvements with their current situations. A great example is how these successful people always recommend Service Dogs to their fellow veterans or people who they know struggle with PTSD. They use their own personal experience with their PTSD Service Dog to share with others that there are tools that have made a great impact in their life! Empowering other people with support, resources and sharing positive personal experiences has an amazing effect on an individual’s emotional state and wellbeing.
• Meditation – Implement this into your routine! It s amazing how powerful this is in peoples lives. It’s often times skipped over by the masses, but if you study Navy Seals, Top Executives and other categories of individuals who excel in over achieving with their goals. you will see this throughout them all. They all repeatedly use meditation to exercise their mind & body’s peaceful state.
• Getting adequate sleep, Fuel your body with healthy foods and Stick with a consistent exercise program!
• Routinely participate in an activity that you love.
• Service Dogs – PTSD Service Dogs can help adjust serotonin levels, lower blood pressure, improve episodes of depression, calm their handler, prevent people from crowding around and rushing their handler, and help bridge social gaps by opening upbeat conversations with people focused on their Service Dog.
It’s important to train with a highly experienced Service Dog organization such as Companion Training® to insure a positive experience and proper results of how a Service Dog is suppose to behave publicly and properly and to give the support that is helpful.
• Talking openly with a counselor, life coach, church elder or a good friend. Counseling and psychotherapy have been proven time and time again to be very beneficial.
• NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming). A great resource to learn about this technique is the book “Awaken The Giant within” by Anthony Robbins.
• Exposure therapy (re-imaging events in a safe environment)
• Limiting alcohol consumption
In conclusion, we hope that this article has given you some new tools to consider trying if you’re struggling. If you are considering getting a PTSD Service Dog, simply call or email us here at Companion Training® and we can set up a private consultation to discuss all of the ins & out’s of any questions that you may have in regards to getting a Service Dog trained for yourself.
By: T.J. Smith
www.CompanionTraining.com
© Copyright – Companion Training llc – 2014