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The Idiots Guide
Sometimes it's about "ADULTING" enough for the day, and other times it's about Keeping a job, Feeding the family, Educating the kids, and Buying the stuff.
Most of us were taught how to read, write, and math good.
But never taught how to file taxes, change a tire, or cook a meal.
How in the world have we survived?
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We don't know much more about all the stuff but we might be just a little further down the road than you.
Make no mistake, most of our advice is more like don't try this at home.
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The Idiots Guide
PTSD - Unraveling Trauma's Impact on Daily Life Ep61 TIG
Ever wondered why a simple trip to the grocery store can feel like navigating a war zone? Join Adam Richardson and Joe Haslam on The Idiot's Guide as they unravel the complex tapestry of Post-Traumatic Stress, challenging the misconception that it's merely a sign of weakness. We promise you'll come away with a deeper understanding of PTSD and complex PTSD (CPTSD) as natural responses to trauma, not just disorders. Through relatable scenarios, like deciphering an ambiguous text message, we explore how trauma can reshape our everyday interactions and perceptions.
We shift our focus to the brain's fascinating yet intricate mechanisms that underpin symptoms like nightmares, hypervigilance, and dissociation. Our conversation unpacks how these adaptive shortcuts, while protective, can sometimes misfire under stress, leaving individuals in a state of heightened alert. We share personal insights into how PTSD impacts daily life, particularly for veterans and anyone who's experienced significant trauma. This isn't just about the struggle; it's about recognizing these responses as valid and protective, and learning to navigate life amidst the chaos they can create.
To wrap things up, we discuss practical strategies to manage PTSD symptoms, including grounding techniques and establishing safe routines. We delve into the world of therapy options such as cognitive behavioral therapy and EMDR, emphasizing the importance of a robust support network. By using the metaphor of brake failure, we illustrate the significance of self-care and understanding, reminding listeners that patience and empathy are crucial in supporting those navigating the ongoing journey of healing from trauma. Join us for a heartfelt discussion aimed at fostering compassion and resilience for ourselves and those around us.
Today on the Idiot's Guide, we are talking about PTSD. Three of those letters pack a serious punch Stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But don't let the fancy name fool you. It's basically your brain saying, hey, hey, remember that really tough thing we went through. Yeah, I'm not over it, I'm in a glass case of emotion. Anyone who's gone through something traumatic a glass case of emotion. Anyone who's gone through something traumatic, whether you've been in combat or had a bad accident or even experienced a natural disaster. And it's not just about, or it's not at all about, being weak. It's about your brain trying to protect you, just sometimes a little too well. So today we're going to break it down, try to make some sense out of it and even throw in a couple laughs along the way. I'm your host, adam Richardson, aka the Profit Hacker, and I'm joined by the man in charge, mr Joe Haslam. Welcome to the Idiot's Guide.
Speaker 1:I think I need to admit to everyone who hasn't been watching a single episode of ours that I have what they call CPTSD, which some might call it clinical PTSD, which is true. It is a clinical diagnosis, but also complex PTSD, which means that not only is it like a traumatic moment, but complex means layers, layers of it. So it's a lot of PTSD or traumatic situations that really make it difficult to navigate sometimes that mental process and I think it's, you know, the easiest way I can say is you know, there's not really a specific moment that someone would be diagnosed with PTSD or be like have have PTSD not necessarily diagnosed. Most people don't recognize or don't even know that they have it. That's, that's how common it is. But and the other thing is that we had a discussion the other day that we should really just call it PTS because it's not a disorder or it's not a it or it's not some kind of problem issue.
Speaker 1:It is a way of thinking that your brain has learned how to do in thinking about particular scenarios that it continually faces in certain situations. You know continually faces in certain situations and one of those kind of as an example of how it would feel, is if you were to walk into a very, very busy and chaotic grocery store. That is an incredible nightmare for someone with PTSD. That is a situation that honestly, I hate. Christmas time, I hate any time the store is busy over holidays.
Speaker 1:If the like a holiday weekend's coming up and they're like, oh, will you go get some ice, I'll be like don't we have some in the ice maker? You know, like, like I don't want to go. Like I'll go to 711 get ice, but I won't go to a store because it's too crazy, it's too much chaos and I want to avoid that at all costs, because the reality is is that that is an overwhelming environment for me and and it's it's something that that that a lot of people actually have that kind of similar situation, and I think the maybe, maybe the best way to understand why that feels that way in such a such a like a chaotic grocery store is the like, the overwhelming sense of no control and not meaning. Like I'm a controlling person, you're going to have this, but just I don't know what this is. I've been hurt somewhere and now now I'm in an environment where I don't know anything about anyone and there's too many of anyones out there for me to sit here and feel safe, and that's that overwhelm that PTSD can cause.
Speaker 1:I think what's important is that bringing awareness to it in our conversation today isn't about going like you need to identify this and walk on eggshells around it. But the PTSD exists, it is very serious, but most importantly is to meet it with empathy, meet it with hope and and you know individuals that either struggle with it, like myself, or if you're interacting with somebody who has PTSD, you know help, I, you know we're going to. We want to talk about some identifying characteristics that you'll be like okay, you know, maybe this person struggles a little bit with uh, pts, um, because there are some indicators and um, and then also let's talk about how to navigate around that so that you can be empathetic and compassionate to individuals. And you know, uh, like our previous episode, to yourself, to yourself. But, joe, anything you want to add as far as PTSD.
Speaker 2:No, I think the biggest thing to talk about is it is not a disorder. There are rare cases within PTSD where it is a disorder, where the brain is disordered, but most of the time, if not all the time, that is because there's an accompanying most of the time, if not all the time, that is because there's an accompanying brain injury. So TBI, yeah, tbi, so TBI traumatic brain injury, where there's something biologically physically wrong with the brain that causes those PTSD symptoms. That would be then more associative to a disorder. But other than that, a someone who has PTSD is not disordered. Their brains are functioning exactly like they're supposed to. Their brains are functioning to protect themselves or those around them, and so all that's happened is a trauma has rewired the way that the brain's reaction to a given set of circumstances in order to protect. It is not a disorder. It is the brain functioning properly. It's just not to society's normal standards. That's PTSD, not a disorder.
Speaker 1:Right, you know, and, and I think that, um, how people come about having PTSD is is really unique in in its own way, only because there's not really a set of experiences that define, you know, someone, someone other than just the level of stress and anxiety that is caused, and that that impact essentially has created a neural pathway that your, that your brain, continually is working on trying to navigate and respond to. And the brain I think we've talked about this in the past it doesn't have a timeline. So, you know, if this happened to you, something happened, horror. You know, whatever that experience was like, if it happened to you 20 years ago, your brain doesn't recognize that it was 20 years ago. It just says, hey, I have this thing, I'm not over yet, and you know I'm going to deal with it in different ways. It just says, hey, I have this thing, I'm not over yet, and, uh, you know I'm going to deal with it in different ways, like flashbacks, like we always the joke oh man, that took me way back to Nam. You know, you're like, I have a friend who, legit, will flashback back to Vietnam, but, um, but, but it doesn't have to be that, it could be, it could absolutely be this, uh, the situation of hearing a particular thing, smelling a particular smell. I remember actually talking to you about it years ago and I was driving through a particular area and I smelled something in that area and I just went to the moon. I was, I was gone, and it's scary because that's a flashback, that's, that's what that is and it's. You know, we can joke about it, but it's the truth.
Speaker 1:Um, you know, the other thing that happens is nightmares, or night terrors. Um, hypervigilance is one of those where you're just always checking for exits, emotional numbness, so you cut off, or almost. Why can't I think of the word, I can't think of the word Dissociate? So when you dissociate, instead of disassociate, it's dissociate, so you're literally shutting off the social mechanisms that you operate in so that you don't have any. You're kind of a hard crispy shell, that's all you are.
Speaker 1:And then the other one is just random or, most often, difficulty sleeping. Whether that's just trying to get to sleep, you know, my curse is the fact of it's get to sleep and stay asleep. Those are the two very difficult, equally challenging moments in my life, because any bump in the night and I am wide awake because I'm a hypervigilance, so I'm like, oh my God, like all those symptoms I can tell you I have, I have full well experienced, and in in different levels and different capacities and at very unique moments in my life. So it's not, it's not one thing or another, it literally is just um. You know it, it, it can, it can be the entire suite of symptoms you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and there's a whole slew of other symptoms. I mean there are a lot of other things. Those are just some of the common ones that you know with PTS. I want to stop calling it PTSD. It's become common vernacular to say PTSD. I want to try to stop that as much as possible. It will come out as we're talking, just because and that's part of the idea when we talk about common vernacular and when we say something like PTSD, when we mean PTS, that's actually what's going on in someone with PTS's brain. And it's when we function every day.
Speaker 2:We are not sitting down. We have so many things that we have to think about. We are not sitting down and thinking do I move my hand over here? Or do I move my hand over here? When I'm trying to emphasize a point, I am throwing my voice out there. That's become a common gesture in our behavior when we're trying to emphasize something. Now that's because our brain has learned that from childhood that if I want to emphasize, I go like that and it's a training so that I don't have to think okay, I'm about to say something that I want to emphasize, so now I need to stop. Put my hand here so that when I say something, then I'm going to do that, so I emphasize it.
Speaker 2:See how long that process takes. We've got shortcuts everywhere in our brain, everywhere in our brain. That's what neural pathways are. They're shortcuts to allow us to function faster, better. Pts is simply the brain creating new shortcuts given a set of circumstances. Creating new shortcuts given a set of circumstances. So when you have a certain smell that comes in your brain in that moment is triggered, this smell is associated with this combat situation. That's what I need to prepare for, because that's the only time, or the most significant time, where this smell has come into my life. And so the brain shortcuts to say smell, prepare.
Speaker 1:And physiologically you change.
Speaker 2:Everything physiologically, because you're preparing for combat, your breathing becomes more. You have shorter, shallower breaths, but more often breaths. Your muscles tighten, your heart beats faster in order to make sure that you have enough blood going to your muscles. You have all of these physiological things happening as a result of a smell.
Speaker 1:Well, and there's a distinction between like you're like, oh man, like getting ready is not a bad thing, but, you know, mentally prepared, your brain automatically does this and says, oh, I'm going to go over here and I'm going to do this. But to better explain the difference between a normal stress level and what PTS is, let's say hypervigilance. Hypervigilance is a good one because we all do it kind of we, we all, we all do this. You know, imagine for yourself if you got a text message that said we need to talk dot dot dot just immediately.
Speaker 2:I'm getting anxious Right.
Speaker 1:You know, you're like you hear this thundery voice going like oh goodness, I am in so much trouble. What did I do you start? You start going through your mind Like you start stressing about, you're like what did I do? Did I cut that wrong person off? Did I say the wrong thing? Did I swear? Did I not say goodbye this morning? Did I do like you know what is? Did I go to go to work late? What? I don't know what's going to happen with that, you know, and you start stressing well, take that and and like, multiply it to the point where, all of a sudden, you're going okay, um, for me, hypervigilance means that if I hear something in the middle of the night like a cat bumps into my trash can in my driveway, I will just hear the thud of the trash can, not the cat, and then I will check the locks on all my doors, I will look out my windows and monitor.
Speaker 1:I have a. I have a doorbell camera. So I look at my doorbell camera to see if there's anybody passing up and down the street. I, you know, I I'm checking. I have internal house cameras. I'm checking my internal house cameras. I'm going through my house making sure my windows are closed and locked. Those are okay things to think about, maybe right before I go to bed, but at 2.30 in the morning it's not. It's not okay.
Speaker 2:And to explain the process that's going on with someone with PTSD. Military veterans are a good example of how to explain this, because if you do that in a combat situation, you are out boots on the ground and it's 2 30 at night and you hear something outside the camp, yes, and then it is expected that you are up and you are checking everything At home in civilian life. That for me, being a civilian, that would be overkill, because most of the time there's nothing going on. It's a cat that bumped over a trash can, and so my brain is not trained to think that your brain, as a veteran once in combat, always I can't remember exactly the term for that, but I always use once a soldier, always a soldier, but I know that only applies to the Army so I don't want to offend any of the other branches, but or once a Marine, always a Marine, those kinds of things.
Speaker 2:But the idea behind that is when you come home you are not a civilian, you are still a veteran and so your brain is still wired for veteran moments. It just doesn't work in a civilian world.
Speaker 1:Well, and also a misconception, is the fact that PTS isn't just for veterans. You know it affects anyone who has done a tremendous job of pursuing this and recognizing that this has happened to more people than you can count. And like, if you go back historically, I think we have an episode where we talk about this. But going back to the, the history of war and mankind, you think now we're just finally realizing the effects of traumatic experiences in a combat environment and you go like, well, they didn't have these diagnoses even 50 years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, and that was talking about hypervigilance and why you'd be hypervigilant. But when you talk about flashbacks or night terrors, those situations are essentially the brain trying to maybe rework a situation that didn't work out so well. Someone in your platoon got injured or, uh, you yourself got injured, or maybe you thought maybe it could be done better. You know there are a lot of different things and so you're constantly flashing back or having these night terrors back in that situation because your brain's just trying to figure out that didn't work. We need to find out, find out a better way to make that work. And it's and you know people who have been through car accidents, people who have been in other major accidents in natural disasters, who are victims of abuse.
Speaker 2:The brain is either protecting you because you are in that situation your brain is trained that anything that is related to that situation you are going to be back there or you're trying to rework. What could I have done better? What could I have done to prevent this? And so you are constantly reliving those situations until your brain feels comfortable that it has solved the problem, which is likely not to happen.
Speaker 1:Hey guys, if you're enjoying the content, don't forget to subscribe. Join our awesome community. It's quick, it's easy and you'll never miss out on the latest videos. Hit that subscribe button now and let's grow together. So how do you navigate life with PTS? That, that, I think, is I guess I can. I mean, most of this is just going to be a story about Adam today. Okay, so how? Let's talk about like, what, how, how PTS impacts my daily life.
Speaker 1:This week has been a difficulty managing different kinds of triggers and not necessarily hypervigilance but I don't feel like I'm sleeping great but also social exchanges. I think this week it has to do with just feeling, feeling a lot of like deadline stuff, but not getting, not not feeling like I have the space to accomplish it all, you know, and so, and because of that, it heightens my stress levels and then and then normal stresses that exist in my life then add to it, you know. So it just kind of becomes the, the perfect storm because of the fact that my senses are heightened, you know. So say, for example, I, you know, I have a morning routine trying to get the morning routine going with my household and something doesn't work right. Somebody doesn't get up on time and you know that collectively over the week just continues to get more and more difficult. And then you know that collectively over the week just continues to get more and more difficult.
Speaker 1:And then you know that impacts any commitments that I may have, and then that impacts any commitments after the kids get home from school or anything like that, like all of those things. And I feel like you know I have a tremendous responsibility to to handle it all. It just kind of is in my lap but I just didn't handle it. Well, I handled it all. I just didn't do. I did it in this state of mind where don't you dare talk to me because I will rip your head off. And I and I'm pretty sure I put that vibe off because people really started to stay away from me this week and I'm a big person. So when I get that like brooding quietness, you know like it's not, it's not a pretty sight.
Speaker 1:It's terrifying, and so you know it's. It's not an it's not an easy thing for me to one kick myself out of, but uh, but I guess that that's that's kind of the thing is, how do I like that's, that's my week. This last week is just kind of one thing after another. It's not the it's, it's not the same sort of situation every week. It's it's literally how my body responds to stressful environments and if I've hit some things that that impact from PTS, it just overarching everything becomes, becomes a trigger, a potential trigger, and I think the the a good example of that.
Speaker 2:Um, we're using a lot of uh uh think the the a good example of that. Um, we're using a lot of uh uh examples today, a lot of illusions, um. But you think about driving a car and you've got your foot on the gas and then you're trying to stop that car by putting your foot on the brakes, so you've got the gas going and the brakes going at the same time I see no problem with that and I'm talking not like like lightly tapping the brakes, I'm talking like slamming on the brakes.
Speaker 2:They're both going at the same time. Eventually, your brakes are gonna completely burn up, yeah, and you're not gonna be able to stop. And that's what happens when you see people with with pts, when they get to that point where they uh, have a uh for autism. It's called a meltdown. Uh, I'm not sure if there's a specific term, if it's overwhelm or uh, what the specific term for pts would be. Um, I think there's a term. I just I can't remember I would call it an episode yeah, I, I think that is what they call it.
Speaker 2:yeah, call it a an episode. Um, that's essentially what. What's happened is their foot is on the gas and that's just everything going on around them. They've got a lot going on because the hypervigilance, lack of sleep, all these things that are going on in the pts brain that is preparing for potential harm and trying to protect oneself, but, at the same time, cognizant enough that, okay, I need to be hitting the brakes on this, because if I'm going to blow up at every little thing, it's not the best, because I'm in a world where that's not appropriate. And so you're hitting the brakes. And if you've got so many things going on that your accelerator is just all the way to the floor and you're trying to hit the brakes the whole time, eventually your brakes are going to fail, and that's when you have the episode. And so the key to that is I mean, this kind of action is never going to stop Once you have PTS. That is something you're going to have to deal with Now.
Speaker 2:There are ways that you can work on that.
Speaker 2:We'll talk about that, I think, in the next section, about some therapies and things like that, but that'll lessen a lot of this, but the big key here is you have to lessen the accelerator and so you have to be aware that if you start recognizing things get too bad, you got to take your foot off the gas.
Speaker 2:There have been times where we've skipped this podcast because things got too busy, either for you or for me, and it's important to say okay, I got to take the foot off the gas because it's just not going to happen and something has to give. Whether it's family, whether it's kids, whether it's work, whether it's extracurriculars, whatever it is, whether it's work, whether it's extracurriculars, whatever it is, something has to come off the gas. The first step is to recognize I'm pushing too hard on the gas here. That's how you live with. Pts is trying every day to balance out that accelerator and that brake, and sometimes it's okay to let the foot off the brake a little bit, maybe not all the way off the brake, but easing on that break meaning go to a rage room.
Speaker 1:Well, and I like, I like your description. You said you know foot on the gas. Okay, Like I feel like foot on the gas is, is the constant, because it is always there. And then the brake is the one that I'm trying to kind of mitigate how much. You know how much I have to handle. Sometimes I have to hard press on that break just to make sure that I can. I can handle things because my gas pedal doesn't go away. So even when I do need to not, you know, record for whatever reason or anything like that, it still doesn't remove the gas pedal Right.
Speaker 1:No, it's always going, you're just easing up on it and like, for an example of the symptoms that we talked about, you know dealing with like they use the word avoidance and also hypervigilance. They're usually paired. The only reason why is because, with hypervigilance, you tend to avoid these environments because of what they do. So I went to breakfast this morning with my wife, and every restaurant I do this in I always have to face the door. So if I'm sitting in a booth, if we pick a booth, I can't not be, my back cannot be to the door, like I can't not be, my back cannot be to the door. Okay, if I'm in a public place and I'm, you know, and it's generally speaking I won't sit in a table in the middle or something like that I have to be a back against the wall, but most of it's against the wall, which means that I can face an exit, I can see an exit. So all of that's just super hyper awareness of all of that stuff.
Speaker 1:You know, when I go out in the evening with my wife and I see that we go to a bar, a bar is full of all sorts of personalities that I have no idea what they're going to be do or what they're capable of, and it's potentially dangerous. So I sit my back against the wall and I'm watching the entire environment the whole time. Why? Because that's the safest place for me to be, and also the safest place for everyone else for me to be, and and I know where the exits are, I know who all the people are and I see everything.
Speaker 1:So, yes, gas is on all the time, and but, but those things have become so second nature that I don't recognize it until I'm put in a position that is against it and that's usually what triggers it, what becomes so doing that stuff. It's, it's weird, because I would say it enables PTS to exist in my life. But I would say, is it necessarily a bad thing? No, because it doesn't reduce my social abilities. I still have good conversations with people. Sometimes, if they're idiots, I cut them short.
Speaker 2:That's why I say take a little off the break. It's okay to let that go.
Speaker 1:If, in the situation that gets switched and I'm in an environment where I don't have those controls that I can handle, I can't put my back against the wall, I can't identify the exit, I can't see all of the variables, I start having a panic attack, you know, and so that's that's. That's the hard part is it's like you know it's going to these normal environments that are socially okay that everyone's like, yeah, this is great, wasn't that fun? I was like, no, that was hell.
Speaker 2:And that's exactly what I'm talking about. I mean, you're pushing on those brakes so hard to try to act socially acceptable. I I don't like the using the term normal because it's not normal. It is socially acceptable. Social acceptance changes from generation to generation, from culture to culture, from region to to region. What's acceptable down south is not acceptable up in the northeast. What's acceptable in Japan is not acceptable in Mexico. It's not inherently the same. There's no way to say that there is a normal. So when I say socially acceptable, that's what I'm talking about is being nice, not, you know, yelling at someone. They're being stupid.
Speaker 2:And so you've got that accelerator down all the way because you're in this environment and you are trying to pump those brakes throughout that entire thing. And there's always going to be a point where, if you're there a minute too long, that's the minute that it takes for those breaks to fail. Yep, and it's. They just got too red, hot, they're done, and all it takes is that split second and it's over. If you'd left a minute before, you'd have been fine. Stay a minute longer, not fine, and that's why that is. So we see PTS and we see victims of PTS in such a negative light, because we always see is those moments where they lose their brakes, and we have to recognize that there was a lot of effort, a lot of effort put in to stop that whole thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it's just in a split second where those breaks failed.
Speaker 1:And I like that. You said, like, like, don't, don't say that Like, it's the idea of normal, because you know that means that something about PTS is weird. And it's not. It's not weird, it's it's, you know. So a socially, socially acceptable is definitely probably one of those things where, in social environments, I felt like the monster, because if I trigger and I've done this, like you just said I am always gas on, I am trying to do everything in my power to control it with the brake. And then I just met, I met the end of that. I lost the brakes and now all I have left is gas and my, my brain is wired to operate that way, but no one likes it, and that's the that's.
Speaker 1:The scary part is when that happens in like and someone else's, you know PTS is going to be different. Mine is a military response, and so when you get me in a military response and I have lost my brakes and all I have is gas, it is scary because you know I still have awareness of what's going on, full fledged awareness. It just becomes that I gain control. So it means that I will, I will control the environment, I will, you know, and that doesn't mean I'm hurting anyone. It just means that I get everything back in order, and my presence is big anyway, so it's easy. I assert that and all of a sudden I have everyone's attention you know, and again it comes back to you are protecting yourself.
Speaker 2:Your brain is functioning exactly like it should. The brakes are there to make sure that you are functioning socially acceptably for the given circumstance, but you are functioning in an environment that is just different from the environment that you are physically in, and that's for everyone that suffers from PTS. The abuse victim will always be in that environment where their gas pedal is going and they are breaking so that they are functioning socially normal, socially acceptable.
Speaker 2:But in that moment where their breaks fail, they are right back and functioning as if they are being abused yeah and so they are going to do everything in their power because they're no longer those breaks to be socially acceptable and so they are in that environment of they need to do whatever it takes to stop the abuse. That could be running away, that could be capitulating to whatever someone is telling them to do. It could be cowering. There are so many different ways that you could respond to that that they are just always on alert If they hear, if they're at a restaurant, someone who's been the victim of abuse and they hear a cup drop and they are no longer able to put those brakes on they. That could be the trigger for them A cup dropping, something that happens all the time in restaurants that now they are back there and they are afraid that their abuser is just around the corner ready to come out and rip them apart.
Speaker 1:And I like something that our notes say here is it's not weird, it's a valid coping mechanism for managing safety. So I think in all of our pursuit and everyone you know, pts is not anything different than just a normal pursuit. Our minds want to manage to safety and it's just an individual with PTS has an extreme level of that pursuit because of that trauma, and so you know it, it is, it is an amplif of that coping mechanism in order to regain safety.
Speaker 2:It's all about safety. Hypervigilance isn't a problem when you're driving a car. Hypervigilance isn't a problem when you're with your kids at the park. Those are good things. But if you're at home, then you don't need to be hypervigilant. It's socially acceptable to be hypervigilant at the park, not socially acceptable to be hypervigilant at home. And so these different environments, these different behaviors are acceptable. At certain times. It's when someone who's been through a traumatic situation all of a sudden it's functioning in that, outside of what is socially acceptable.
Speaker 1:So life is stressful, life has lots of opportunities for anxiety and it can be pretty overwhelming. But what if you could rewire your brain to handle it differently? Introducing NeuroWarrior it's a series of meditation and visualization techniques designed to guide you through neural remapping or redirection. So imagine walking through your mind turning that anxiety trigger into moments of calm and clarity. Man, I only wish NeuroWarrior isn't a replacement for therapy, but an enhancement. So think of it like tools that everyone can benefit from to master their mental well-being. Start your journey today and unlock the warrior within. That's neurowarriorco, neurowarriorco. So, last but not least, is managing PTS and we're losing the D. So there's lots of techniques, there's lots of different methods and strategies to help manage the elements, the triggers, the opportunities. Help manage the brakes. Well, manage the accelerator.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and early on, when I was dealing with this and really dealing with it, undiagnosed, I I had to. You know my particular stuff. I would. I would have, um, I would have a lot of triggers when I was operating a vehicle. Okay, and because a lot of what I did when I was overseas, I was in a vehicle. So I wasn't, you know, running through bushes and stuff like that. I was, I had a truck, stuff like that. I was, I had a truck, so I have.
Speaker 1:I have moments where that that that can be very triggering. And just driving in even my comfortable car with leather seats and air conditioned, you know, but but what happens is something called grounding techniques. So grounding techniques if I, you know, you know if I'm able to, if I'm driving down the road, usually this is a better thing If you hit that pull over so that you can do this. But you need to find these elements that that remind you of where you are, so that it brings you back to your present. And it's.
Speaker 1:It's about thinking okay, like, I have my hand on the radio dial I didn't have a radio in my truck in a combat zone. I have leather seats that I'm relaxing in, you know, elements in the vehicle that make a big, clear distinction between where I was then and where I am now, to ground me back to the present so that I can continue. And then as well, like the, like other environments, the, the weather outside, the, the, unfortunately, smell is a massive trigger, um, and and so it's. It's. It's not often like you can't be like, oh, you smell the fresh air.
Speaker 2:You're like, maybe, but it's smell is so hard, you know there's a whole algorithm that goes into the neurocognitive process on how we act, and it's it's. It's extremely complex, but it's essentially the combination of all given external inputs in any given instance. So you know and I say instance, it's not even in any second Our brains process visual input at 60 frames per second. So an instant for visual on average would be 1, 60th of a second. It's insane how fast the brain processes.
Speaker 2:But all these things come together and so grounding the whole idea behind it, why it works so well, is because you've got one variable within all of this that fits the danger environment, yeah, what you've got to do. And so, because there's a danger variable in there, your brain immediately goes to danger. You've got to do is then remind yourself, remind your brain, because this is an automatic algorithmic process remind your brain that there are all of these other variables that are safe variables. And that's what grounding is. You look at the things that are safe, that are not danger, and remind yourself that they outweigh the value of the danger variable. Now, that's also why smell is so triggering, because the sense of smell for humans is so not evolved. We don't have a strong sense of smell. We think we do when we get around something that smells real bad but we don't have a strong sense of smell.
Speaker 2:Yeah, real bad, but we don't have a strong sense of smell, and so when we do have strong smells, they make a greater impact on the algorithmic process and all the variables that go in. So that's why smell is so hard, but the more you can tie down to these non-danger variables, that's how you're going to get out of it and that's what grounding is. I like sharing the science of this stuff because everything seems so metaphysical. I don't know how this works. This is just a mystery. You're right, yeah, but understanding what's going on in your brain and why this one thing is suddenly so important all of a sudden, and then knowing that you can look at these other things really helps a lot of people out to understand.
Speaker 2:Okay, this is just a process. This isn't something wrong with me. This isn't some mysterious thing going on. Oh no, I understand, I know what's going on now. That's why I like explaining the science behind this and why it works, because a lot of people it helps. It won't help everyone, unfortunately, but for a lot of people it helps. It won't help everyone, unfortunately, but for a lot of people it helps. So when I get too sciency, I'm sorry, but that's what I'm trying to do.
Speaker 1:I'm trying to help you understand why this works so one of the other things and this is probably a both end or all of the above sort of scenario here but breathing exercises. We have a little short video that I created from a video I recorded standing outside of the ocean in California this last summer, and I just created a little video that's box breathing, just breathing in for a few seconds, holding for a few seconds, breathing back out for a few seconds, and so on and so forth, and that is a way to regulate the oxygen that your brain is receiving. And also, because of the fact that you're oxygenating your brain, you're not hyperventilating it. So you're not that that technically can not. Hyperventilation does not give oxygen to your brain. Correct breathing exercises do, and the reason why is because when you hyperventilate, the air is leaving your lungs so fast that it can't capture the oxygen cells. So this slows the breathing down to a very intentional breath in and a breath out and allows your lungs to take that oxygen and feed your brain. What's necessary for you to calm yourself, for you to relax yourself, and, if applied at the same time of doing grounding techniques, is extremely powerful.
Speaker 1:The other part about this is, you know, kind of a preventative measure is establishing safe routines. You know this is difficult in my home because I have a routine that I can get up at the same time I can. You know I do what I do right when I wake up. And then, when I wake up, my kids, like you know, as they wake up and throughout the house, the whole wake up process is in my brain has a routine. Every day is very dynamically different, and so it sends me to the moon instantly.
Speaker 1:And the problem with that is it's it, it, it impacts my day. So if, if I struggle with that first thing in the morning and I'm like, oh well, like you guys, I'm sure, listener, you're going to be like like, well, like you guys, I'm sure, listener, you're going to be like like you shouldn't let it have that much control over you. You should, you should like just calm down, don't take it easy. I'm like no, I have a gas pedal on, give me a break, you know, but but that's, that's one of those things is having a safe routine, even even when I come home, a safe routine to come home to. If I come home to a chaotic environment, then I'm already gas on. I know that. That's everyone's everyone. My disclaimer is gas is on and I'm using the break. If you throw a freaking chaotic moment at me, I have no breaks anymore.
Speaker 2:The gas pedal goes further down. So every instance of more and more uh, stressful, that's, more and more that gas pedal is going down yeah now, every day, all of us face stress.
Speaker 2:All of us face face stress. Every day we talk about, you know the we need to talk uh, moment, um, that's that gas pedal going down and some things cause it to go down more. Someone with pts, that is really far down. And then when they get more chaotic, that is even more normal levels down here. The brake will manage that. The brake will manage that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, as we get more and more, the brake is trying to handle more and more and more, and so when you get a sudden increase, that brake is going to have to be pushed down and then it fails. That's what's going on. Is that every one of these instances that is more and more? And so these techniques, these strategies that we're talking about the grounding, the breathing, all of that what that's doing is that's helping to ease up on that gas pedal so that that break can be able to handle that better. And that's the key. You've got to find ways to get that gas pedal to decrease. You've got to slow the acceleration and grounding, breathing, safe places, all of those things, safe routines, all of those things help to reduce that accelerator.
Speaker 1:An explanation a therapist told me years ago was kind of like a percentage. If you look at, like, okay, on a chart on a thermometer, you don't want to get to a hundred degrees, Okay, Um, and normally people operate, uh, you know, in a healthy situation they operated about, you know, 80, you know a nice, you know San Diego weather Okay, it's good You're around, San Diego weather's the best but, um, but, but people operate. That that's a, that's a pretty, I guess, socially acceptable. Let's say that because they don't want to use the word normal, Um, but PTS and my like my operation, when they were talking to me specifically, was I operated like 97 and a half. Some days, if I had a bad night, I'm already at 99 and a half and so I'm like it doesn't take anything at all and I am now an explosive volcano. I just I can't and it's not that I mean to, it's just that's. Those are me managing the other things and my brake, even through the nighttime, gave me a situation where I had to deal with managing the brakes.
Speaker 2:Well, and you running at 97 is with the brakes applied. Yeah, if you didn't have brakes you'd be at like 120 that that thermometer will be broken.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my wife almost left me yeah, and so that's what's going on with someone with with ptm is that the accelerator is pushing them above 100 but they're applying those brakes to keep them below 100. But when those things come and it pushes them so close and their brake they're having to push so hard on that, that brake fails and that is the episode. It's not that they're all of a sudden not trying anymore or this came out of nowhere. They had those brakes applied to keep themselves within socially acceptable behavior, even though they were at 120. That's why it seems like they went from 90 to 120 in a split second. It's because they were already there. They were just applying the brakes to keep them below that, to make it look like they were at 90, and that brake's gone and now they're off to the races and I and I I want to encourage people that that that it's, it's an ongoing thing.
Speaker 1:It's okay to have situations where this, this happens and maybe you lose control. Um, it's not something that you know, you want it to be. The most common thing is that you're just an out-of-control individual. But but there's. There's these techniques that we just talked about. There's also other options about looking for therapy.
Speaker 1:I've been through different, different methods of therapy and that's why I'm such a peaceful personality now is that you know, I've been through years of therapy, like, imagine, like through years of therapy is is this is the result so far. I say so far because it's ongoing. It's still there, but I've, you know there's cognitive processing therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. Emdr is a pretty common one. Other other trauma focused treatments there's lots of options out there. Um, and then you know there are other holistic approaches that I I would I would say are are talked about in in areas. So there's things to explore, things to consider to help regulate and some of those best practices to help regulate personally on an individual level, when you're dealing with stuff and then working with another individual or professional to be able to help with that support as well. So it's not just a well, you have it, so you're stuck with it and just deal with it it's. You have lots of different opportunities of uh, you know, to help people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and, and it's easing up of that accelerator, it's strengthening your brakes. So now you're putting aftermarket brakes on your car, uh, so that you get a little bit better, uh, attention on those, and they'll last a little bit longer.
Speaker 1:You know, if you have a loved one who struggles with PTS, one of the things that I can encourage is providing them a safe environment for them to work on this.
Speaker 1:To work through this and also being patient without judgment is really really important is really really important.
Speaker 1:There's moments that, if I have, I feel I haven't done anything overreacting in an environment where I've scared people and yet, because of the way that I feel like a monster, I feel they see me that way and so I'm already my own worst enemy. I'm getting mad at myself, and then I you know, I call a military buddy and we commiserate because they feel exactly the same way. I'm like it doesn't matter if I go to this place and nobody gets me because I'm this crazy combat veteran that freaked out for no reason or just looks like I'm about to freak out. You know, it's enough for people to look at me weird, look at me with, I feel, very judgmental perspectives and I feel like a monster, and the only thing that I can do is leave, because I want to. I feel like I don't want to be there anymore and you know so to your loved ones, that's probably one of the best things that you can do is remove the judgment, be patient and help them find that safe environment for them to heal in.
Speaker 2:And any guy will tell you break, failure happens. Oh wait, I think I just jumped into a different video video. No, brake failure. You know, when we're talking about this environment, brake failure happens. Just be aware of it. Yeah, you know it's. You cannot judge someone because their brakes failed and look at it like that. You've got to look at it as this is simply brake failure. This happens to vehicles all the time. Your cars break down. That's why mechanics exist and so, when there's brake failure, just understand it's a part of the process and don't judge them. Don't make them feel like they're terrible because their brakes failed. It happens.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, practicing these things, practicing moments where you can have small victories, um, or having that moment to decompress, uh, we, we just had an episode last week about uh, uh, about self-care and and a lot of those principles apply in this setting to where you know, we need to focus on that stuff and have take time for yourself, because your response in a in a in a, in a stressful environment is counting on that opera, that, that that sort of habit that you're instilling in yourself of taking care of yourself and having compassion. So it's just, pts is something that it exists. It's actually a lot more common than people realize, because a lot of it. I mean, if you're a veteran, you're diagnosed, but if you're not a veteran, it's not usually as common. You wouldn't see it out there.
Speaker 1:You know, I think somebody told me a joke. You're like, how do you know if a veteran has PTSD? They'll tell you Because they do, like every single one of them. You're like, yeah, I do. Yeah, okay, all right, it isn't like it's a badge on there, but it's more like a warning beacon. I have this.
Speaker 2:Careful. It's the lighthouse, just warning everyone of rocky shores.
Speaker 1:It's a disclosure. I just operate in but navigating the world with it, it comes with its challenges, but it's not impossible. It's challenges but it's not impossible. And you know, probably the most important aspect of it is most important element to to success in in in PTS, is the support that you have around you, the support that you give yourself and you know, if you're, if you have a loved one who who deals with it, the support that you can give to them, in that it's something that really can help somebody heal and I never can say that you're going to be miraculously healed of this but to learn ways to operate so that you're not so much on the gas all the time, is, is, is, is is a goal I think we all want to get to you know, maintaining your vehicle prevents the brake failure.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So or lessens the opportunities for brake brake failure.
Speaker 1:So I think that that's I mean I, I don't, I don't have anything else, I'm out.
Speaker 2:All right, well, let's end it with on a positive. Luckily I've run out of gas, so these are the, these are the danger times. All right, so we'll lighten this a little bit. Okay, why can't Cinderella play basketball? Play basketball? Why?
Speaker 1:Because she always, because she's always running away from the ball I was thinking about, like she can't play in slippers, but you know, like okay.
Speaker 2:She's always running away from the ball. That's true, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Try to keep it lighthearted, well we've reached the end of the show for the day. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to subscribe. Life's too short, so keep laughing, keep learning and remember idiots have way more fun. Check your shoes, bye.