This is a useful introduction to the Gordian knot of a life lived in the grip of anxiety. For those who have never experienced anxiety to a debilitatiThis is a useful introduction to the Gordian knot of a life lived in the grip of anxiety. For those who have never experienced anxiety to a debilitating level ( be patent our culture is pushing us all there) the difficulties that sometimes just accompany a days journey are incomprehensible. The approach taken in this book is based on a medical model and therefore in my view suffers from inherent limitations. Namely, the basic assumptions upon which we in the western world live our lives. The default position created by centuries of evolution of the precious, all demanding, all commanding self has left our society crippled and the direction into the chambers of self reflection created by social media will not alleviate the problem. The cultural shift necessary to halt this accompaniment to the demise of western civilization is probably too great to affect much societal change but we as individuals can change it all for ourselves. For me the answers were all laid down by the Buddha a couple of thousand years ago, and all the lessons of this book he covered. Meditation, serious meditation not the ersatz "mindfulness" that has become a recent buzzword, provided the doorway and reading and immersion in the thoughts of the great Buddhist thinkers of the western world, and there are quite a few, guided me through that knot. Suffering all my life from the effects of an abusive childhood and combat in two wars it was quite a knot, accompanied as it was by all the dysfunctional coping mechanisms all combat veterans seem to find, including long term substance abuse there was a lot to work through. In the main I found the efforts of the so called mental health professionals to be next to useless, with a couple of exceptions. Those exceptions had me begin to see the way and their efforts were so aligned with Buddhist thought, it was natural that I would head down that path. In the end, we are all our own physician, and it is truly a case of "physician heal thyself". Others can only guide we must walk our own path with forbearance, courage and above all willingness to do whatever must be down, and to suffer whatever comes forth in that process. The key is without doubt the absolute surrender of the self with all the consequences that surrender carries with it. By all means a good beginning here but I encourage anyone who struggles with anxiety to look further afield and for myself the way of life, (and it is a way of life as opposed to a religion), suggested by the Buddha has held all the answers for me....more
One of the things that continues to amaze me as my practice and investigation of Buddhism goes forward is that almost anything I have come across in mOne of the things that continues to amaze me as my practice and investigation of Buddhism goes forward is that almost anything I have come across in my exploration and experience of western psychology is to be found somewhere in the canon of Buddhist practice, always in a far more thorough and accessible form than what western mental health practitioners have ever put to me. This book is about a Tibetan Buddhist practice which is similar to so called "chair work" that often turns up in psychologists offices and in groups in mental health facilities. The Tibetan model may seem a little strange and foreign to a western mind steeped so destructively as we so often are in the realm of the intellect. It provides a means for a person to approach and interact with those parts of their own psyche which are troublesome in some way; and it works if it is approached with willingness and an open mind. It often seems to me that in the process of developing modern western psychiatry we are not only reinventing a wheel already so thoroughly canvassed by Buddhist practice but we are doing it in a fragmented and less than efficacious manner. Tried and true for 2 millennia, Buddhist psychology has a track record where the bulk of that accruing to western psychiatric practice as it stands now seems to be one of consistent failure more than anything else. Band aids and no resolution though lots of money changes hands in the process. Ultimately we are all alone in the journey, the map has already been drawn for us,we have but to follow the prescription, pretty much as the Buddha indicated. This is a very useful little book, I find myself being consistently drawn ever more towards the tradition that gave rise to it....more
This is an outstanding piece of work. Probably the best treatment of Complex PTSD I have read, written in language that anyone can understand and fullThis is an outstanding piece of work. Probably the best treatment of Complex PTSD I have read, written in language that anyone can understand and full of material that can be brought into use to effect. Much of what he outlines here comes from his own personal experience and accords with my own. Many of the approaches he outlines I have had to work out for myself through trial and error and they've worked for me. the great benefit was the additional clarity he could offer and some new insights that had not before occurred to me. Am essential companion for anyone dealing with this debilitating illness and for anyone helping them on the way....more
A really useful book for anyone dealing with the effects of childhood trauma, or even the consequences of later "shock" trauma. With a small groundingA really useful book for anyone dealing with the effects of childhood trauma, or even the consequences of later "shock" trauma. With a small grounding in these techniques some decades ago, I have by instinct worked out ways to process much of the traumatic experiences that have been so much part of my life, both childhood abuse and combat related ptsd. This book just formalized my own approach and provided reinforcement of my internal sense of conviction that this is the way forward and of my sense of trust in the process. It has been so validating to see my own experience recounted by someone with a professional background and understanding.
In my experience what is pointed to in this book as an approach to the resolution of trauma is the only comprehensive way forward. It's a must for clinicians and if they haven't read it and understood its message their effectiveness in helping those who have so suffered is highly suspect....more
This is the best book I have read on PTSD, its symptoms and potential for treatment. The issue with much of the therapeutic strategies currently beingThis is the best book I have read on PTSD, its symptoms and potential for treatment. The issue with much of the therapeutic strategies currently being offered is that they totally miss the point. OTSD is about the destruction if identity and to get a good grip on that fact people need to be taught about the theories of personality and identity development. Only once that information has been absorbed can they then see how their own sense of identity has been affected by their trauma. Contrary to perceived wisdom I don't consider PTSD as a pathology it is simply an adaptation. People need to be able to come to terms with that adaptation, the limitations it imposes and then learn how to function in whatever circumstances they find themselves with the sense of their present operating identity.
That does have tha capacity for change since indue tity is something that is constantly evolving. The management of their condition will bring about change that may or may not bring them closer to the accepted norms in their own society. Whatever the case it is pointless to do anything other than to operate on the basis of identity as it stands, taking into account the assumptions that are its foundation.
For those suffering from complex PTSD those are assumptions are based on:- a) a sense of betrayal b) a sense of a foreshortened future c) a sense of contaminated identity d) a sense of what is to them a counterfeit universe within which others live, their values and judgements just carry no weight.
For those of us who have to tend to the effects of complex ptsd the most difficult challenge is to connect with our own deeper felt sense of self becaFor those of us who have to tend to the effects of complex ptsd the most difficult challenge is to connect with our own deeper felt sense of self because it carries so much pain. Yet without that connection and the experience of what flows from that there we will remain trapped always in the circularities that our minds design to keep that felt sense so distant and intangible. The work of Gendlin represents a breakthrough in the process of therapy whereby we can work our way through these layers of entrapment, the felt sense is the only key. All the talk therapy in the world, in my experience shifts nothing, resolves nothing. Excruciating though it may be we must go through again all that set up in us so much pain for the light to become evident to us in our lives. The great benefit of this book is that a person can venture into this space of their own volition in their own way and it will unfold. There si hope here for those of us who have lived our lives in hopelessness...more
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