Page 285 - Total War on PTSD

support person. Because the Veteran’s PTSD always affects their relationships with those around them, it is important to include the partner, who will also be struggling with the situation.
The retreats are a week long residential in-depth immersion in healing and coping strategies. They have education classes in the mornings, in which they learn about the science behind PTSD, what happens in the brain and body during trauma, and how that causes changes over time. The participants learn to recognize it in themselves, what triggers them, and how they react. Then they are taught a variety of tools to cope with it, and have opportunities to explore and practice those tools in a safe and supportive setting. Communication skills are also taught and practiced, with help from other group members and staff if needed. In the afternoons they have a counseling session every day, and then they have a couple of other therapies, such as massage, acupuncture, Tai Chi, chiropractic, or energy work (such as Reiki or other types). They can wind down at the end of the day with a gentle, individualized Yoga class. By the end of the week they have had a chance to experience all of these healing modalities that they might not have ever tried before, and so can discover what they might want to pursue when they return home after the retreat.
At our retreats, we omit the “D” in PTSD, and refer to it as PTS, since what are considered symptoms in civilian life were often an appropriate survival response during the traumatic situation, and become inappropriate only when those situations are no longer present. Then their reactions can become harmful and not useful. Labeling them as having a “disorder” can cause feelings of helplessness, but our goal
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