I wrote the following post in September 2015 but never published it.
I'm not going to take the time to read it and edit it, so it may not make sense. But, why not hit the publish button?
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
It became more real to me recently.
One of my closest friends experienced multiple traumatic events, leaving her in a serious state of poor mental health. It was fascinating, because she was able to identify and articulate what was happening, but the symptoms of the stress continued. Some things she experienced were a sense of dread, a lack of excitement or hope about the future, and fear of a catastrophic event happening to someone she loved or to herself. I'm using past tense, because she has already been able to recover from the worst stages of this.
But, at the same time that she was experiencing some of the worst symptoms, both physically and emotionally, I was struck by something.
I felt like there should be a term that could be used as the exact opposite of PTSD. I can't come up with something that would work exactly. But, something like Post Joy Peace Condition. Because, the peace that comes from the depth of my faith and trust in God as my loving creator, savior, redeemer seems to be directly related to experiences that have happened.
Just like a traumatic experience can sometimes affect a person in a way that changes their perception of reality, causes changes in body chemistry and function, and changes their reaction to things that occur - an experience of intense joy can greatly impact a person.
Probably more than anything else, this experience of joy in my life has impacted my faith. In other words, I could read and study and learn and pray and think and discus and read some more...but none of it has the same power as real encounter with the living God and the deep joy of that experience. Once I experience that, I am changed. It's like the opposite of a traumatic experience. I am changed and I can't help but find myself feeling hopeful, at peace, expectant, loving, and without fear. It's not the information that produces that condition in my heart and mind, it is my actual experience with this love of God. Just like trauma does for a person with PTSD, it changes my perception of reality, causes changes in my body chemistry and function and changes my reaction to things that occur! But the changes are for the good!
So interesting.
