Amtrak Derailment and How to Help Ease PTSD Before it Sets in
The train derailed just minutes from me at 7:30am. My boys and I are supposed to be heading south to @jewels3, and Amtrak is one of the travel options we were considering, so this is a bit too close to home, and I have been fielding concerned inquiries today from loved ones who weren't quite sure of my actual travel itinerary.
I am not comfortable posting photos here, if you wish to view the disaster you can view it elsewhere online.
This has shaken me up a bit. With us having been considering the train, and this happened just minutes from our home... I am in a little bit of shock, I have yet to process this on a personal level.
After the train derailed off the bridge and onto rush hour morning traffic on Interstate 5, a young couple immediately jumped on board and went through all 14 cars, helping the non seriously injured off the train for 12 minutes until emergency services arrived. As of this writing, 4pm, there are still people on the train. It is a very surreal and there will be many mental and emotional traumas.
My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved.
When my middle son was 10 he was attacked by 3 Bull Mastiffs. He had a long recovery with over 200 bites, and some more serious injuries but I will not be graphic here. He was transported to Harborview Hospital, which has one of the best trauma departments in the country. In conjunction with University of Washington Medical Center, which is the # 1 Magnet School in the nation for med students, he received life-saving surgeries and procedures, then began his long road to recovery.
My son was asked to take part in a PTSD study to see how video games impacted victims of trauma. The study involved full access to non violent video games on Wii and playstation in his hospital bed. He played games whenever he felt up to it, including after he got home for his month long home recovery.
The studies showed that playing non violent video games activates a part of the brain which overrides the part that holds on to the traumatic event. The best results are if the victim is able to begin playing within 4 hours after the event.
My son did very well, he is not afraid of dogs and in fact has been begging me for a Bull Mastiff. He had nightmares but they tapered dramatically the first year. I actually suffer greater after effects than my boy.
Writing about the trauma is helpful as well. I use this a lot. The first time is always the hardest, but you heal as you write.
My heart goes out to all of those involved, including the First Responders. They place themselves in life threatening situations to save lives, and they suffer the after effects too.
Be safe my friends. And hold your loved ones tight tonight.
I can speak about this topic first hand being a shooting victim and survivor with PTSD. In certain cases, especially in my case, PTSD can act as a catalyst for the expression of past traumas as well as the initial incident. It can be hard especially in the beginning when you are just realizing what your triggers are and how powerful flashbacks can be. You can survive a traumatic incident without developing PTSD (I think most likely your son's case) the person driving the car I was in didn't develop the disorder, nor the other two passengers. It is really hard to say what can help immediately after a truly devastating trauma, as I have a hard time remembering what all happened after mine. It's cool to hear about video games and I'll be interested in hearing what developments can be made further in this area.
Sign up on the University of Washington medical page for updates on the studies, they are continuing.
PTSD is unique to each person, that is true. Have you tried EMDR? I was introduced after my attempted murder and it worked extremely well for me.
What is EDMR? I will have to look it up and also sign up on the Udub website thank you so much for sharing!
Its a specialized technique for trauma and ptsd, yes- look it up. There should be a licensed practitioner near you.
You are very welcome. Thank you for sharing as well :) Please talk with me anytime, I'm on Discord and Steemitchat- same name.
Be well my friend <3
It's nice to meet someone local. For sure, SO happy to make a new friend.
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I'm so sorry to hear this has affected you so much. I would of course feel the same way. You're the second Steemian I follow that was close to this horrible accident. @ilovedietcoke also wrote about this. I suffer from PTSD so I'm glad to see another proponent out there trying to help those who might suffer. Sorry to hear about your son and can only imagine how that impacted YOU! Glad he seems to have made a pretty good recovery though. That's really interesting about the use of non violent video games within 4 hours being helpful. I always found them to help me feel better of course I didn't have or know that would help after my tragic events. That's some very good info. You got my 100% upvote here & resteem. Take care during this difficult time & I am glad to know you and your are safe at this time. Definitely makes you think twice about the little things we all sometimes take for granted.
It's shocking how many people suffer from PTSD. I sometimes think it's because the internet has brought people together to communicate so much but sometimes I wonder if it's more than that...
Thank you hun <3 I hope you have a peaceful and Merry Christmas :)
I'd have to say there's probably a lot of hidden combat related PTSD. Anyway, it's good people have the internet because that's the only way some will even discuss it.
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU as well =)
There's a lot of people who are silently suffering from PTSD and it is a serious problem.
It is. It's an epidemic
Really an epidemic
I think that seeing something traumatic happen to someone you love can often be more traumatic for you then them, iv had some first hand experience with that. With time, the mind heals. It is interesting that some nice video games actually really helps! That is pretty awesome!
I think so too, depending on the trauma, and the age. I think a child, in general, can heal faster. Perhaps because they cannot process it from as many angles as us adults do.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I carry rescue remedy with me everywhere nowadays, as well as arnica and aconite. Wishing you ease and peace. 100% upvote and Resteemed
I've been hearing about Rescue Remedy a lot lately... I'm going to check it out.
Thank you so much <3 Be blessed
So glad you were not on that train. I have been avoiding pictures. It must be awful.
And so close to Christmas. It is very sad.
I am very say to what you wrote down here without looking at the photo I know what has happened. Thanks for sharing me the story.
Regards
Thank you <3
SteemPower gives you voting power, so the more SteemPower you have, the more weight it has when you upvote or downvote things; however, SteemPower is not transferrable so you can't send it to someone else or sell it like you could Steem. You can Power Up to turn Steem into SteemPower (this is instantaneous), and you can Power Down to turn SteemPower back into Steem (but this takes a long time).
If I remember the rules correctly, you can Power Down and not claim the Steem that is powering down until it's all done, in which case you'll get it all in one year, but every time you claim some of the powering down Steem before it's all powered down, it makes the rest of it take longer to finish powering down, so if you're constantly claiming every bit as it powers down, it'll take 2 years to get it all. So basically, you can power down quickly (1 year) by being patient, or slowly by being impatient (2 years) but you get some of it sooner.
Ah, yes, that is pretty much almost accurate as far as my understanding as well... Except when you power down you get a little every 7 days...
However, did you mistakenly post this comment to my article, but it was meant to be on someone elses? I do not understand the relevance...
Very sad indeed. It amazes me how inner intuition changes things, mostly for the better. Many of my coworkers travel that route, where it happened, and everyone checked in eventually. There is a blood bank set up in Tumwater Albertsons (I believe), to help those in need of blood. My heart goes out also, to all involved with this traumatic event.
I'm glad your son is doing so well. What a brave kid you have. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. You be safe also.
I have a loved one who travels that route every morning, I didn't get a response until after 2pm due to poor cell service. It was nervewracking.
Bloodworks has a few blood donation sites set up, they worked so fast, it is amazing how people come together when something happens.
Thank you my friend <3
Yikes, yeah I bet it was very nervewracking. I wish I could donate blood, but I'm borderline anemic from low iron. Idk how anyone could have kept from going insane, waiting to hear from friends and family. Glad they ended up being ok. God help those people.