Instinctively, we react to threats to our safety with a fight or flight response. It ramps up our adrenaline and sends us into a temporary high.
It can, at times, help us to literally move mountains to remove ourselves and those we love from peril.
For those of us who have experienced abuse, it can also ruin our health (see 4/29/09 post). We can end up with health concerns like complex PTSD (C-PTSD), auto-immune disorders, and cardio-vascular problems.
What is PTSD? Post-traumatic stress disorder was called “shell shocked” after World War I and “battle fatigue” after World War II. After the Vietnam War, it was further sanitized to “post traumatic stress disorder.” Complex PTSD (C-PTSD) is diagnosed after a person has experienced multiple life-threatening traumas.
Approximately 160 million people have PTSD.
A “protection circle” of friends and family can take us only so far. If we’re smart, we’ll know when it is time to bring in a “posse” of professional people who are trained to deal with bullies, abusive people, and gang members.
Did I fail to pay my rent? Nope. My crime is feeding the squirrels and stellar jays who light up my life each day. My crime was escalated to a capital offense because I decorate my balcony with beautiful flowers.
Anne Caroline Drake 