One piece of the puzzle to returning to a life of joy and fulfillment for Men and Women with PTSD who are still in Battle against their own Minds

1. Finding peace again One piece of the puzzle to returning to a life of joy and fulfillment for Men and Women with PTSD who are still in Battle against their own Minds

2. You’ve seen it all, been there through the worst, and now the past has become a part of your present life.

3. No matter what you do, thoughts and images, anger and depression, keep coming and coming.

4. Nobody can understand what you are going through unless they have been there too.

5. PTSD is a condition that brings the past into the present and follows us everywhere.

6. PTSD is Normal after trauma.Our computer-like minds store events and replay them over and over again, on a loop.

7. So the question becomes, how can we stop the loop and get on with our lives?

8. Mindfulness is a technique, when practiced regularly, that allows us to OBSERVE our emotions without REACTING to them.

9. You may begin with only 5 minutes a day. Five minutes out of 24 hours to teach your brain to stop reacting to these automatic images and feelings.

10. For 5 minutes (set a timer if you like), sit down and focus on your breath as it comes and goes from your nose.

11. As soon as you feel your breath, an explosion of thoughts and feelings may occur to pull you away.

12. You must now use the same strength and courage you used during the past events to discipline your mind to OBSERVE your thoughts and feelings and return to your breath.

13. It takes real strength to not take immediate action on your thoughts and feelings. After all, immediate action in the past may have saved your life.

14. But now it is time to take back control of your life. To have the mental ability to OBSERVE thoughts and emotions, then CHOOSE which ones to act on.

15. Your control is in the observation of your breath. Your ability to return to your breath no matter what you are thinking or feeling, is the key to control.

16. You develop this control through daily practice.

17. Sit each day for 5 minutes and allow thoughts and feelings to come into your mind WITHOUT ATTACHING to them. You DETACH by returning to the stillness and rhythm of your breath.

18. With time and practice, you will soon notice that when emotions arise, you now have the ability to choose whether to act on them.

19. You will automatically have the ability of choice. You will no longer be a slave to the past or continually bring the past into the present.

20. The technique of mindfulness of your breath is simple, but not easy.

21. The discipline that served you so well in the past will now encourage you to extend your practice to 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or more each day.

22. And you will find peace again.

23. Please note that this slide show is not intended to diagnose or treat PTSD. Our intent is to offer one piece of the puzzle to returning to a life of joy and fulfillment.

24. We wish you all blessings on your journey to a new life.Jill and Charlie Henrywww.mountainvalleycenter.com