Page 283 - Total War on PTSD Final

The truth is almost every life-threatening injury or situation will have a component of PTSD attached to it. The intensity of the PTSD is dependent on a number of factors, but each individual has a different personal experience. It was during this early stage of my injury that I learned my most valuable lesson. Regardless of the type of injury, or its level of damage, the tools we use for healing are the ones we develop before we become injured. All our adversity skills: dedication, determination, perseverance, optimism, and strength, do not mysteriously manifest themselves during our healing process, they are developed by our experiences, teachers, leaders, and parents throughout our lives. It is during our rehabilitation when we reach down and draw upon them to help get us through, but first we must get over our fear and anger in order to access them. We could avoid a lot of future emotional struggles if the individual were assessed immediately after the life threatening event with PTSD, and even if there were not any symptoms present at that moment, there were some follow up appointments made at six month intervals for a two-year period to assess if there were any delayed manifestations of PTSD.
Additionally, I have discovered, it is the same process with intimacy, sexuality, and trust. As individuals, we do not lose our sexual drive because we have endured damage to our bodies. We may lose our self-esteem, self-worth, and our self-confidence thus preventing us from having romantic and sexual moments with our partners, or even worse, initiating any type of romantic engagement with our spouses, but the sexual drive is still within us. Unfortunately, I have seen it manifest in some individuals with PTSD in an unhealthy manner, from inappropriate interactions between hospital staff and caregivers, to solicitation, and an unhealthy amount of time spent pursuing sexual online activities, unfortunately whether married or not. Please do not misunderstand. I support
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