INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS
No one ever returns from war. We are all casualties, as are the victims of terrorism.
Not just those who are killed or maimed, but those who are there. They saw war in a very small place. Some say that with time they will get over it.
Not true. It fades. Goes out of focus. Takes up less space in your consciousness, but spiritually you have been captured.
Your soul remains a prisoner.
Then days, years, even decades later, one of your senses will be a trigger. A smell, a sound – and instantly you’ll be back there in full color. But only you can see it and, as quickly as it came, it’s gone.
As fast as gunfire – and nothing’s faster than gunfire. It’s past you before you hear it. They’re not flashbacks. It’s not some Rambo-rampage. It’s more subtle, more fleeting. Often triggered by something mundane – harmless and innocent.
They’re just sights, sounds, and smells, that happen to be around you when your world went crazy. They’re like daydreams. The professionals call them “intrusive thoughts.”
I’m not a psychiatrist or a doctor. Hell, I’m not even a good patient. But I’ve been around this block a couple of times. We all have had these experiences.
For the normal people, whoever they are, usually intrusive thoughts are things that come back from childhood.
When you were a kid you had more time to dwell on things. Also, you had less on your mind so things made more of an impression. Colors were brighter. Smells were more pungent. Sounds were sharper. Tastes were stronger. So today you may smell a turkey cooking and for a brief moment it will take you back to your grandmother’s house during the holidays. The sound of wind chimes might bring you back to your uncle’s back porch. Get the picture? We all have had them.
However, for the combat veteran they’re far less pleasant and in a funny way, far more nuanced. For me there were no more beautiful sunsets after Vietnam. It took me years to figure this one out.
I could be sitting completely comfortable on a pleasant deck after a day’s work with a beer watching the sun go down. Tranquil, right? I would become uneasy, uncomfortable, hyper-alert, hyper-vigilant, and there was nothing that I understood that should have caused that. There were no bad thoughts and I wasn’t concerned about anything in particular. I thought I must have been going crazy. But I wasn’t. However, there are those that would argue that point.
I was having a perfectly normal reaction to an abnormal set of circumstances. In Vietnam, the setting sun was a warning of night. Night belonged to Charlie and my platoon would soon be moving into an ambush position. That smoky, hazy, jungle twilight was soon followed by the inky Asian night, and you would lie silent praying for morning or a quick death. It’d been decades since the dust-off helicopter lifted me out of my war.
I thought at least for me the war was over. It was over for me like it was over for others. For anyone who’s been to war, it was over and over and over. Even today, if I hear the sound of a Huey helicopter, I have to stop and look up. The difference is, at least today I know why I’m doing it. Trauma is trauma – whether in Boston or Baghdad, and if you were there your mind becomes a dry sponge, which is thrown into a raging river of sound and fury absorbing all of it – even the seemingly peaceful things.
And they will come back and remind you when you least expect it.
Submitted by:
Jerry Donnellan, Director
Veterans Service Agency of Rockland County
- 20 Squadron Boulevard, Suite 480
- New City, New York 10956
- Telephone (845)-638-5244
- e-mail: jerry@rockvets.com website: www.rockvets.com
ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT FOR PTSD
Complimentary Initial Consultation Is Offered
There are many different ways to help people deal with the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress. Some of you may be interested in the following information about sound therapy as an alternative treatment for PTSD. It just might help. If you have questions or would like further information, please call Rose Marie Raccioppi at 845-359-9056. A free initial consultation is offered.
PTSD ~ A spectrum of pain... A Responsive Paradigm
What is not in this moment, seen or heard, can yet be known and deeply felt. What is felt is the aftermath of an impression, a reference point, a memory. And so as we encounter each moment, we come to live the ongoing effect of our experiences, be they of joy or pain. We live within a spectrum of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Deep within the consciousness lies the sounding call, the vibration that draws to itself the original experience. This vibratory connection within the memory of each cell must be fully understood. This is the paradigm of APOGEE Acu-Tone™ fully applied. To restructure the associated consciousness, to reeducate/rehabilitate the cell signaling, to bring forward a commanding awareness, to reduce the associated stress, to align energies for responsive well-being, this the intent and documented benefits of the vibrational/sound therapy program, APOGEE Acu-Tone™. Your inquiries are welcomed. Your questions will be answered. A free initial consultation is offered. E-mail: rmr@apogeelearning.com or Visit: http://www.apogeeacutone.blogspot.com.
Call: Toll Free: 1- 866-ACU-TONE (1-866-228-8663) Local: 845-359-9056. RMR8@verizon.net
Rose Marie Raccioppi, MS FABI, Founder/Director APOGEE Acu-Tone™ Tappan, New York
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