Post Traumatic Stress and Addiction

Written by Ted W.


Post Traumatic Stress and Addiction The consequences of Child Maltreatment: “early use of drugs/alcohol and substance abuse/dependences”* Despite my parent’s attendance at church, my home environment was not godly. There was a war between Mom and Dad and I became a casualty. One morning when I was 5 years old, my younger brother and I were playing with wooden blocks in our bedroom. Mom and Dad had been fighting. Dad went to work and we continued playing. Mom came intorepparttar bedroom screaming, “I told you kids not to play with those blocks”. My brother said, “run” and we both ran into different parts ofrepparttar 126532 house. Mom cornered him inrepparttar 126533 service porch and I heardrepparttar 126534 screams as she beat him. Then she came flying intorepparttar 126535 living room in a rage “Now, its your turn” she said. She held me tight with one arm and hit me with full force as I looked into her face. And it was a look of hatred I saw there. The beating seemed like it lasted forever. Every time she hit me my hate started to grow .Her face was burned into my memory with hate. Finally, it was over and I crumpled torepparttar 126536 ground.

That evening Dad came home. Mom met him atrepparttar 126537 door and said: “The children have been really bad today”. Dad pointed to my bedroom and shouted,” Go to your room”. In my room I thought ofrepparttar 126538 injustice and I was filled with a consuming hatred toward my father.In one day Mom had introduced me to injustice, corrupted me with a spirit of hate, and turned me against my father.

These traumas change a persons life. This is not blame but an understanding of causes. The traumas were repressed out of my conscious mind in order to cope.In later yearsrepparttar 126539 drugs would obliterate all memory. I was 15 when I first started using drugs. It was weekends first and got progressively worse. At age 18 one judge said to me,” I don’t know where you’re going but your getting there fast” On reflection I thinkrepparttar 126540 traumatic incidents in my life, especiallyrepparttar 126541 root trauma with my mother, set me up forrepparttar 126542 addiction/acoholism.I explain it like this: If you have a burnt finger and place it in a cool glass of water it feels “good”. Similarly, my conscience had been burned by hate and felt “good” when immersed inrepparttar 126543 chemical high of drugs and alcohol. My drug use eventually led to heroin.I was arrested and sentenced to a 7 year civil commitment torepparttar 126544 California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, California. While there I wrote an autobiography. I could only see that my desire for acceptance wasrepparttar 126545 cause of my addiction.The early traumas were completely buried in my subconscious .Psychology calls this repression.I believerepparttar 126546 incidents were so traumatic ,especiallyrepparttar 126547 root trauma, that I coped by blocking it out of my conscious mind. After release I started using drugs again and was sent to another program:repparttar 126548 Family Program atrepparttar 126549 Tarzana Psychiatric Hospital (Therapeutic Community).I was shocked when I arrived. My first view ofrepparttar 126550 “Family” was inrepparttar 126551 cafeteria and it looked like a line of carnival sideshow freaks. The men had shaved heads and wore dresses. The women were wearing men’s clothes. Some were wearing paper bags over their heads. All were wearing cardboard sandwich signs with crayon marked messages on them.It was a weird menagerie of bizarre design. It is amazing what can be done to human beings inrepparttar 126552 name of “Therapy” The first therapy was to stand onrepparttar 126553 wall. If you were ever punished with your face againstrepparttar 126554 wall then you understand. Sometimes it was for 10 minutes, sometimes 20 hours. This is cruelty and not therapy.Honestly, I don’t know if this goes on at Tarzana now, but it certainly did then. Sleep deprivation, shaving heads, wearing dresses for men, standing in uncomfortable stress positions: all this was considered “therapy”.If you are wondering what all this had to do as “treatment” for drug Addiction, you are not alone. 30 years later I’m still wondering

How to Feel Safety, Not Terror

Written by Paul Griffitts


Atrepparttar present time our nation continues inrepparttar 126531 war on terror. We recognize, of course, that both 'war' and 'peace' during a time whenrepparttar 126532 world largely rejectsrepparttar 126533 Son of God can be but relative terms. There was much real enmity duringrepparttar 126534 days of so-called 'peace', and, conversely, there may be enjoyed, inrepparttar 126535 middle of this war, a peace whichrepparttar 126536 world can neither give nor take away.

It would never be my intention to 'meddle' with political ideas of those who are so inclined to have theses thoughts (Deut. 2), orrepparttar 126537 consciences of yourepparttar 126538 reader, but my work is to pursue truth which when discovered will belong to a realm entirely removed fromrepparttar 126539 things of earth, leavingrepparttar 126540 reader withrepparttar 126541 Word asrepparttar 126542 sole director for his or her actions. Nevertheless it is mostly true that we may learn fromrepparttar 126543 things around us.

The government because ofrepparttar 126544 threat of terrorist attacks has provided, among other things refuges forrepparttar 126545 protection ofrepparttar 126546 people, this inrepparttar 126547 form of new laws likerepparttar 126548 Patriot Act and various other security changes at airports, courthouses and even schools. It is this fact that providesrepparttar 126549 theme of this study. God also has foreseen and provided refuges, and He has set forth Himself inrepparttar 126550 Word in this capacity.

I would normally have felt compelled to present you with a structural analysis and other commentary, but as this article is intended to minister torepparttar 126551 'present necessity', I will in this case approach our subject more directly. The refuge is, so to speak, intended for immediate use, not to be examined in pieces.

Deut. 33:27 The eternal God [is thy] refuge, and underneath [are]repparttar 126552 everlasting arms: and he shall thrust outrepparttar 126553 enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy [them].

This takes us torepparttar 126554 beginning of all consolation, comfort and protection. Moses must have had a reason for usingrepparttar 126555 adjective 'eternal' here. He could have said, as in Psalms, 'God is our refuge', or 'The God of Jacob is our refuge', but he obviously intends to direct our attention, not only to God, but to some type associated with God's character that is of particular importance when connectingrepparttar 126556 need for a shelter, and providing it. The Word 'eternal' represents at least four different ideas inrepparttar 126557 Scriptures, and we will acquaint ourselves with these wonderful uses inrepparttar 126558 Bible.

The Hebrew word Qadam, translated here in Deuteronomy as 'eternal', means 'to precede, to go before', and so at times conveysrepparttar 126559 thought of 'anticipating' something before it happens, as may be seen in Jonah 4:2, 'Therefore I fled BEFORE (qadam) unto Tarshish', which Geseniusrepparttar 126560 Hebrew grammar scholar translates: 'Thus I anticipated (the danger which threatens me) by fleeing to Tarshish.'

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