Page 571 - Total War on PTSD
P. 571

 interviewing him, we learn that he escaped Chinese-occupied Tibet one year prior and made the grueling months-long journey to Dharamsala. He walked almost the entire way, which would be almost 1,000 miles. Lobsang tells us of his journey:
"I was with three other people, and we had very little money. We slept, hidden, during the day, and traversed hilly dangerous territory at night, constantly worried about being caught . . . I worried so much about my friends and that if we were caught that we would get the other people who helped us on the way in trouble, too. At the border we all separated. It was the safest way but then we were unable to find one of our friends again, and we have not heard from him since."
When Lobsang arrived in Dharamsala, he was welcomed into one of the local monasteries with a letter from a previous teacher that he had carried with him. While this was comforting, he still struggled to re-establish himself in a new city, as a refugee monk. Lobsang had to work very hard to prove himself and to keep up with his studies. He also had to learn English, do many new chores unfamiliar to him, and overcome the great loneliness that he felt. Lobsang succeeded, yet it seemed to take a great toll on his health. Constant overwork, worry, and denying himself simple pleasures for months on end ultimately led to the worsening of his symptoms.
Lobsang’s physical symptoms are common for rLung Imbalance. He complains of physical pain traveling throughout his body, like small lightning shocks with an odd sensation of numbness in his skin. When he awakens during the night from pain, he is unable to go back to sleep. He also tells us of severe constriction at the nape of his
571 of 1042






























































































   569   570   571   572   573