“The Great Recession” has now given us a domestic product to rival the currently popular foreign cultivated version. Yes folks, you no longer have to be sent to exotic, distant lands and be compelled to participate in warfare to experience a genuine facsimile of its emotional and psychological damage. You can do it right here in the comfort of your own home . . . if you still have one.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is an increasingly popular catch-all for the myriad symptoms that result from severe impacts and disruptions to our status quo. The cumulative damage imposed by the displacement and horror of war, as well as various forms of loss such as death or divorce can be triggers. So too are tragedies such as the 9/11 attack; or displacement, whether to an alien land where people are trying to kill you . . . or as a result of an earthquake, flood or other natural disaster.
In some versions of PTSD where the impact is a definitive, one time hit such as the death of a loved one, the treatment is pretty straight forward . . . access and engage the feelings that result from the loss; grieve; and learn how to move on. Straightforward, albeit not necessarily easy.
The potential impact of “The Great Recession” is more complex. There is the aspect of direct trauma . . . a blurring of personal identity through the loss of work; income and savings; home and relationships. The initial impact can be treated as noted above. Unfortunately, there’s more . . . perhaps like our soldiers (and civilians) in a war zone, the trauma is not just an event, it is an ongoing process . . . the disruption of a way of life. I call it “Ongoing Traumatic Stress Disorder . . . or, OTSD!”
Greed and deceit perpetrated in an environment where illusions and excitement precede intellect and intuition are dangerous. That, combined with massive collateral damage has contributed to the current situation. Our collective OTSD is characterized by fear, rage, resentment, anxiety, stress, depression and helplessness. Many people are virtually stunned . . . staggering through each day only partially present and consequently impotent to effectively address their demise. They inadvertently block access to their natural resources such as intuition and creativity, thus exacerbating their condition.
Many people are in survival mode severely altering life-styles and emotional nourishment. Feeling compelled to forge ahead they unwittingly forgo their potency and other internal resources in favor of a primal willfulness. It becomes a desperate attempt to overcome their overwhelming sense of helplessness. They acquiesce to the struggle, and in so doing lose touch with their natural rhythm of forward motion.
Although I’ve always maintained a policy and commitment to find a way to work with someone who genuinely wants to engage in my form of growth and discovery oriented therapy (i.e. through barter, deferred and/or reduced fee), the number of my clients currently requiring such an arrangement has clearly increased . . . a definitive sign of the times. I decided at the onset of my private practice many years ago to make this accommodation for professional, ethical and moral reasons (i.e. I have natural and learned skills that I can effectively use to impact constructively on the lives of others and I feel a moral obligation to use them). My work, as always, nourishes me emotionally and financially so that I can effectively continue to be available to myself and others . . . while practicing my art form.
So what’s this all about? I’m saying, “Here’s where we are . . . and the best way to get to where we want to go is to be willing to be where we are, fully present in order to genuinely move forward. Addressing PTSD and OTSD is definitely doable. They are, however, not subject to circumvention . . . they need to be owned, embraced and transcended. It’s not about holding ones breath, gritting ones teeth and forging ahead. It’s about being fully present and conscious; nourishing yourself each step of the way so that you are fluid enough to access your internal, natural resources to facilitate the next step.
Survival is a way to living . . . not a way of life!
