What is a good response for this discussion?

I found this class and its readings to be interesting as I am a veteran who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It is always intriguing to read about others experiences with this disorder. There were some instances where I had to take a step outside of my own understanding and receive new perspectives of some of the readings of this course. This was a challenge but has aided into my growth and better understanding of PTSD, brain injuries, combat stress, and the perception of others.

My first take-away was gaining an in-depth understanding of "shell shock." Dr. Charles Myers and his colleagues paved the way for many mental health professionals in gaining a broader understanding of combat related traumas. Learning that he did not have a large backing in his theory but continue to go forth his studies was very inspirational. This has taught me the lesson of never giving up, no matter if the masses do not agree with you. My second take-away would be learning about the PIE (proximity, immediacy, and expectation) method. After reading that segment, it led me to do my own reading on whether the "Expectation" in P.I.E was the contributing factor great results. When humans have high expectations placed on them, we tend to dismiss our true feelings and emotions. I will be doing further research on this after this class. My last takeaway would be the extensive reading on Prisoners of War (P.O.W). This was a personal week for me as my great uncle was a P.O.W/M.I.A/K.I.A. I knew, at a surface level, what some prisoners of war went through during captivity, but learning about the torture techniques used, and hearing personal stories really put things into perspective for me. I was able to get a deeper understanding of how trauma, such as torture and captivity, can cause physiological challenges just as much as psychological.

There were a few meaningful discussions we had that stood out to me, but three main discussions were on treatment options, multigenerational trauma, and the SERE training perspectives. For the treatment option week, it was interesting to learn about many different options everyone chose. It seems quite a few of us selected the traditional form of therapy, CBT, as a great option for long term success. I did enjoy reading about the equestrian form of therapy one of our classmates brought to our attention. I knew of emotional support dogs, but it never occurred to me to look into horses! That was pretty interesting. The multigenerational trauma made me really think about my own personal life. Hearing how my classmates, who suffer from the same condition, have the same feelings that I do was really comforting. The last meaningful discussion was regarding the SERE training. The different perspectives on how the trainings are conducted made me take a step back and consider the many views before I posted my initial response.

I feel like as a society, we are getting closer to finding better treatments for PTSD and combat stress. Being that we are in a high technological age, I feel that the use of virtual reality devices for therapy sessions could be in the near future. I also feel like more holistic approaches such as EMDR, micro-dosing, and engram therapy will be in "close runnings" with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.