Trauma-related guilt is common, associated with posttraumatic mental health problems, and can persist after posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. Dr Norman is a psychologist with experience treating, researching and training others on PTSD. We discuss moral injuries, survivors guilt and how so often shame and guilt play a big role in PTSD. Trauma-informed guilt reduction therapy focuses on this guilt and shame. Dr Norman goes in detail how targeting guilt appears to be an effective means for reducing posttraumatic symptoms and distress. 

This topic in particular was one that caught my eye. I have tried different therapies and one session my therapist asked me to look for hotspots. This really worked for me. So I just thought of all the chaotic moments that I experienced while deployed. Through meditation I have been able to identify when I first feel my triggered trauma in my stomach. It feels like I just ate a jar of ghost peppers. My stomach feels on fire from the inside. I processed all the situations I could think of and noticed I did not have any “hotspot” related to combat. All of my triggers were attached to the innocent people I saw murdered. The ones without weapons. Dr Norman mentioned something that is so very true for me. She mentioned some veterans hold on to that guilt or shame. I didn’t want to let go of some of that shame because I felt I deserved that pain. I hate that this episode's description went a bit dark. My take away from this is that there are wonderful people, like Dr Norman who are always looking for new and better ways to reach us who are struggling and help us find a path to raising our quality of life. Don’t give up, and don’t wait to make positive changes. 

Resources Mentioned:
Therapy
Support structure
Honest communication and feedback

Please share and like on IG, FB, Youtube and Twitter. I am always looking for veterans or first responders who have battled PTSD. Additionally if you support,  provide services for these groups, or have extensive knowledge of benefits available for these groups please reach out. I would love to have a chat and share that knowledge with the community.

If you are looking for an awesome social media management team I’d highly recommend: https://adoredigitalmarketing.com