These Are The Tools That Helped Me Overcome My PTSD

For me, actually getting diagnosed with PTSD was a turning point that led me in the direction of healing. Here are the holistic tools that finally helped me overcome my PTSD:

I took the medication that I was prescribed because it allowed me to dip my toes back into the pool of life, and it helped to lift the fog that had been hanging over me. Eventually, I started looking for a different, more sustainable path to healing. Medication provided a bridge and helped me begin to feel better, but in order to fully overcome my PTSD, I needed to take an integrative approach that addressed my mind, body, and spirit. When we care for all parts of ourselves, our healing can be holistic and transformative. For me, it was. By detoxifying my mind and my body through meditation, yoga, and nutrition, I was able to find a long-term solution to deal with my trauma.

Meditation taught me to prioritize myself, and a consistent meditation practice can have life-changing effects that alter the way we react to unavoidable negative events. Instead of panicking and retreating, I have come to a place of calm, acceptance, and gratitude that allows me to make healthy decisions and deal with obstacles—instead of freaking out. Meditation has cleansed my mind of fear, self-bashing thoughts, and dread. I now have a much more positive outlook.

Nutrition is a key component in any healing regimen, but it’s especially important when we’re trying to help our bodies deal with stress and trauma. Make incremental changes, including less-processed foods, fewer toxins, and no hormones (check all labels in the grocery store). I recommend an anti-inflammatory diet that boosts immunity, because reducing inflammation in the body actually helps to reduce stress on your brain. If a radical change in your diet seems like too much right now, start small by cutting back on foods that don’t support healing, and include as many more natural, whole foods in your meals as you can. You’ll soon notice a difference in the way you feel and that will motivate you to make more and more healthy changes in the way you eat and live.

Eating well and meditating regularly can make a huge difference, but our bodies also crave exercise. We were designed to move, and when we don’t, we can’t fully heal. Any kind of exercise helps; do what you most love, whether it’s swimming, working out at the gym, or simply walking in your neighborhood, but incorporate yoga into your weekly routine as well.

Many people think they can’t do yoga because they aren’t flexible, or they feel like it’s too complicated, and they feel self-conscious, but the magic of yoga is in its adaptability. You get to make your yoga practice suit you. There are no prerequisites to yoga. Anyone can do it. Start small, do exactly what you can each day and no more than that. Yoga is more than just exercise. It’s a moving meditation that was designed thousands of years ago to both heal the body, and to retrain the brain, putting your mind, body, and spirit back into balance. The benefits of a consistent yoga practice to all areas of life are numerous and dramatic.

One of the most important things you can do when you have PTSD is disconnect from stimulation. Make quiet time for yourself a major priority, even if it’s just five minutes a day at first.

When you’re on fire, they say to stop, drop, and roll, but with PTSD and anxiety disorders, it’s like your brain is on fire, so you have to stop, drop, and breathe! Our breath is a built-in stress reliever. Take long, slow breaths to bring yourself out of fight-or-flight mode and bring your nervous system back into balance.

In a journal, write five specific things that you are grateful for today. What did you see, smell, hear, experience? Work on creating a gratitude mindset. Appreciation for the many blessings in your life will give you a sense of peace.

Ever wonder why breathwork is so great at calming anxiety? Well, it has everything to do with the vagus nerve.