I do not get along with the world. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and I understand how that works but how do I change it without drugs, or religion? I have read that the neural pathways in my brain are to blame for the way I see the world. I see the world in a very negative light. So how do I get rid of the old neural pathways and form new ones. How do I change myself at the core of who I am?
2007-02-01 18:36:21 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Social Science ➔ Psychology
As Shakespeare said, "assume a virtue if you have it not". We can use our conscious minds to create new mental habits which will, with patience and persistence, overcome old bad ones. So you could choose to practice positive thinking. At first this will take many acts of will, much conscious effort. As time goes by it will get easier, because the new "neural pathways" you create will be etched deeper each time you "walk along them".
You may find that abundant repetition of a simple, true affirmation to yourself helps. For example, "I am Light, I am Love."
You may want r e l i g i o n like a hole in the head, but personally I couldn't get there without s p i r i t u a l i t y. Spirituality that KNOWS that love is our true Self, our true essence, and fear is only a shadow, playing on the wall of appearance to our mind. Rationally, you may even know that whatever you experienced traumatically is not likely to happen again, but to be free from the fear of it you have to convince your subconscious. This requires an "anti-venom" such as courage (to do what feels scary, especially when your head tells you it's OK) and trust (that you are OK no matter what happens, because you are..... what can you hear? You are Life, you are Love Itself, there is God within you, the Inner Buddha, the Higher Self.... can you find the words that resonate for you for who you ARE as distinct from your scared (sub-) personality?
2007-02-02 05:49:28 · answer #1 · answered by MBK 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
you are on the right track. i believe this is the premise for cognitive therapy. my suggestion to you is start to do things that are different. your thought will create your world. so change your thoughts. lets say you think something is stupid, like an entertainment show where people are happy. go to the entertainment show and open your mind. try to enjoy things you never tried before. try new things. if you dont like art, go to an art museum. try new foods. do things you have never done before. go hot ballooning. include new experiences in your everyday. do you stay in your home a lot? start to take walks. distract your mind and do new things. i think these create new neural pathways. they will distract you. you will start to become a new person. every time you think of something negative replace it with a positive thought. also start praying to the lord. no im not trying to push religion on you. just pray 5 minutes a day. tell god everything youre grateful for even if you dont have a lot and it is trivial. thank him for the orange you ate that day. feel connected with the universe. you will feel glad that you did. a lot of people have experienced trauma. youre not alone. and i think the difference between them and people who dont recover very well is that they develop ways of coping? how? by entering new experiences. dont sit in a mud puddle with all your problems. go out and face the world. feel good. fake it until you make it.
2007-02-09 10:42:14 · answer #2 · answered by wcarolinew 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't suggest religion but I do suggest therapy, meditation, a higher power, your own concept of God or a power greater than yourself.
I suffered from PTSD and kept repeating the same traumatic events out in my adult life. I could not stop myself and I hated the world. My "reality" was tainted with self infflicted abuse because I didn't know how to behave otherwise.
My path to healing and my psychic change occured because I was desparate enough to let go of how I was going to get cured. I didn't care about the method as long as I got a positive result. I asked the universe for help and I received the right people in my life to help me get out of my personal hell and as a result I began actually living in my skin and enjoying life for once. I had to stop running from the pain and learn to feel and deal.
This is only written to share with you the hope that because it happened for me it can happen for you also. Your path may look very different than mine; to each his/her own. The important thing is that you get healed.
Healthy neural pathways can be fed with positive thought and reinforcement. Perhaps try affirmations to reprogram your wiring.
2007-02-01 19:02:43 · answer #3 · answered by S. Schaefer 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Personality changes looks :)
2016-05-24 04:29:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although you can't actually change your personality, you have all the power within you to change the choices you make and your attitude about life. I believe that life is about those two concepts. If you make positive choices for yourself and try to keep a healthy and positive attitude, you really can't go wrong.
My twin sister used to suffer from PTSD. It was a difficult time for her, as I'm sure it must be for you. One day,however, she got so sick of herself sitting on her "pity pot" that she changed everything she did.
She loves older people, so she started going to a nursing home that was fairly close to her house and volunteered by reading to those precious souls who had no family. She'd take them for a walk or a ride in their wheelchairs, brush their hair, or just sit and visit for awhile. She quit taking her meds two weeks after she started helping others and she never slipped back into the cold empty world of chronic negativity.
I think if you could also find a positive outlook, you would find your life would be more content. We honestly do choose how we view life. I hope you can find a positive outlet for the emptiness that must surround you. Everyone deserves to be happy in life, but we are generally our own worst enemy.
I hope things start going well for you! Annie
2007-02-01 19:21:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
To do this you must take a good look at yourself. You must find that not all in the world is bad, deserving negative thought. You must see the bad and the good in every thing. In order to change your personality you must first take small steps. It cant happen over night. Put yourself in what would normally be an uncomfortable situation for you. Then try to thrive in that situation. Once you do that it will get easier, but once that happens you must put yourself in an even more uncomfortable situation. That is how I did it at least. I hope this can help you.
2007-02-09 16:09:26 · answer #6 · answered by Grant H 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a myriad of ways to change yourself, but they all take time and commitment.
If you're not willing to try drugs or religion, the best I can think of is a commitment to discipline. For example, join the armed forces or become a disciple of a martial art.
2007-02-01 18:47:36 · answer #7 · answered by tedhyu 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In theory, you cannot change your core personality. However, behavioral modification therapy can change the way you relate to people - IOW you may not change how you feel but you can choose to change how you react. In turn, you may find that this is a significant mood lifter all by itself.
2007-02-01 18:44:36 · answer #8 · answered by dukefenton 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if this will help or not, but try working with what you enjoy. Hobbies or anything else. Find people with those same interests. Maybe it will help you think more positively.
2007-02-01 18:46:42 · answer #9 · answered by A dad & a teacher 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well you don't want help from the first 2 , all that's left is a long road of cognitive therapy with a psychologist
2007-02-01 19:08:02 · answer #10 · answered by iammoza 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋