PTSD Treatment: More Complicated than Just "Letting Go"

For many of us with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), we may be questioned why we just can't "let go" of the past and move forward and live in the present. Such a concept to "let go" and be free of the past would be wonderful... if only it were that simple.

One of the components of PTSD that is misunderstood is this very concept of "letting go." The practicality or logic of "letting go" is not a factor of recovery for PTSD and never has been. If it were that simple, the diagnosis of PTSD would not exist.

To the general population, "letting go" equates with "releasing the hold" on a past occurrence; not obsessing over it, forgiving the perpetrator, or moving on from the unfairness of the event. It is simply a moment in time that can be moved beyond without long-lasting consequences.

Those diagnosed with PTSD can do the exact same thing and still not have it automatically alter their present reality. The diagnosis of PTSD hinges on the fact that when an event of horrific magnitude occurs, a person is unable to process such an event emotionally in context. PTSD therapy is utilized to provide an opportunity to connect the emotional (or internal) experience to the external event itself. The purpose of this therapeutic goal is to integrate the emotional response to the event itself: it enables those of us with PTSD to understand our traumatic experiences for what they are and our continually unconscious emotional response to triggers that occur in present day. When "triggered" we are highly susceptible (if not entirely unconscious) to spiraling back to the original event that created PTSD in the first place, and finding ourselves disconnecting from present reality into a state of helplessness.

If we with PTSD are at the whims of triggers (a sight, a sound, a smell, a touch), the triggers override cognitive awareness in the present and send us back to the emotional response of the original event itself. In these moments, the trigger has greater hold and bypasses conscious knowledge: such swift bypasses dive straight into the depths of the fight or flight response (or anxiety, anxiety attacks or disassociation). Even if what is occurring in the present is a benign moment, the triggered reaction holds no bearing to the present event beyond a reminder or stimulus to the original event.

By integrating the cognitive and emotional context of the original event or series of events, we then become sensitized to triggers and may then catch ourselves before our brain takes over to escalate emotionally. The goal of therapy is to "even out the playing field" so that if a trigger should occur, we may be conscious to it and remain in the present and not disassociate (create a separation of mind and body to carry us through the terror we are re-experiencing).

No matter how much a person with PTSD desires to "let go" of the initial event or series of events, the concept means little to nothing. The event or series of events has become lodged and hardwired. Period. We may no longer think about the event itself, but our sensitivity to the event is ingrained within us. Our brains have become programmed to respond to the extreme.