PTSD does not only affect servicemen and women – in fact, people with life-threatening illnesses experience it too. If you are suffering with PTSD, cry out to God with your thoughts and feelings! He hears you.
Go to joniradio.org to ask for your free copy of the booklet "PTSD: Healing for Bad Memories."
PTSD is not just something that affects our servicemen and women. No.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and people living with life-threatening illnesses often experience PTSD. It happens when the trauma of constantly living in crisis mode – you know, always living in a high level of pain – when living at that elevated state starts wearing on your mental and emotional health, you are ripe for PTSD. And I’m thinking of Mireille. Ten years ago, she was diagnosed with a blood clotting disease, and she did not even know she had this disease until she started taking acne medication and it, in turn, gave her blood clots. Mireille tells us what happened next. She said, “I thought I had a really bad cold. I was laying in my bed, and my mom came to check on me, I was 18 at the time. [And] My lips were completely blue… I wasn't breathing… so they rushed me to the ER. It was pretty grim. They couldn't find anything at first; it's not common for an 18-year-old to get blood clots… [but when] my scans came back, my lungs just kind of lit up like [a] Star Wars intro… [they counted] more than 36 blood clots.”
Well, immediately, doctors put Mireille on an aggressive treatment plan. The treatment made her hair fall out, it bleached her skin, caused extreme vomiting, pain, and a shortened lifespan. Even now, Mireille lives with intense pain every day. And all of it has worn her down. Living in constant crisis mode, this young woman feels utterly depleted. She said, “Even just having a functional conversation with someone can be [so] taxing.” Okay, so here’s a woman who lives with posttraumatic stress syndrome, but Mireille clings to the Lord. She says there are times she couldn’t even read Scripture because she was just so exhausted, but she found worship music to be super life-giving. Mireille told me that she just lets it wash over her and she absorbs the truth and she hears Scripture in a different way.
Wow. What a great prescription for anyone living with a constant state of unending pain and trauma. You know, worship and the reading of Scripture is a prescription that Dr. Timothy Lane offers in his booklet “PTSD: Healing for Bad Memories.” He encourages people like Mireille to focus on, well, on Psalm 27 for starters. Referencing that Psalm, he tells those who are hurting to literally cry out; lift your voice; wail if you must, only go to God with your thoughts and feelings, what David did in this Psalm. Tell your Lord all about your fears and anxieties, cry out to him about your guilt and struggles. It’s what he did. And God hears and acts when the weakest of his children offer up the most feeble cry for help. Our cries send God into action! And maybe I’m speaking to you here; maybe, maybe you’re feeling weak and overwhelmed and doing your best to survive in a crisis mode that seems never-ending. Well, look through Psalm 27 and write down all the things David says that are true about God. Then pray through that list, one by one talk to the Lord about things that are true; thank him for who he is and what he’s done. I know that Mireille has found this to be her path for hope and healing.
You know, Dr. Lane has many more practical strategies and truths from God’s Word. As we recognize Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month, I’d love to send you his booklet, “PTSD: Healing for Bad Memories.” Just go to joniradio.org and ask for your free copy. It’s all there for you at joniradio.org. God bless you today, and thanks for listening.
© Joni and Friends