Bob…Core man…Iraq Veteran
Disclaimer: Bob’s true identity is protected and he volunteered to let me tell his story in hopes it would help others. (Thank you Bob)
The first time Bob came to see me was after his first tour in Iraq in 2003. I had treated one of Bob’s relatives and he was referred by that relative. Bob came to see me in early 2008 he had been back from his second tour in Iraq for nearly two years. He presented with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The symptoms Bob described were nightmares, flash backs & hyper vigilance. Bob also reported having a traumatic brain injury and a physical injury as a result of his duty in Iraq. Bob requested help from me for the PTSD.
Over the next several weeks I will be telling Bob’s story until we are caught up to present day.
The nightmares were preventing Bob from sleeping. Without going into detail you can only imagine the scenes in his nightmares that were distressing him. Since I had seen Bob before and knew his history we were able to begin treatment fairly quickly. So we began treatment by targeting the worst scenes that were intruding into Bob’s sleep and waking thoughts.
The first step was to define and isolate these scenes so we would not overload Bob with his trauma. Since Bob and I worked together before, it was not a difficult process. So treatment began with using Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT) that I adapted to fit Bob’s needs. TAT is a simple process where the client can focus on the distress and hold a pose with their own hands that puts pressure on points based in the acupuncture meridians. So through a series of steps with the TAT Bob was able to feel some immediate relaxation and relief from the image that we focused on. It always amazes me when I see change in one of my client’s right before my eyes. It reminds me how resilient we are as human beings and that is why I do this work. So in our first step of treatment Bob was able to get relief from one of the most distressing images that were plaguing him.
Bob came back the following week and reported that that image was not as distressing and that he was sleeping better. We were far from finished but were heading in the right direction.
I will be telling more of Bob’s story next week. You can learn more about TAT bye following the web link from my web site http:/eaglespirittherapies.com
Be Well, Lori