Great Book for those who suffer from trauma, PTSD, etc.

Are you a trauma survivor? Do you suffer from PTSD? I think you might be able to benefit from this book by Claude Thomas, a Vietnam vet who became a Zen monk. Claude has suffered greatly in his life. He was abused as a child, went to Vietnam and entered combat at 17, and lived a long life of anger, fear, violence, drugs, and mistrust. This book tells his story.

More importantly, Claude is really wise. He has a simple but very deep way of talking about the transformation of suffering. On almost every page I see sentences that are zingers- great pieces of wisdom.

I hope you are not scared away from this book because Claude is a Zen monk. There isn't a lot of Buddhist jargon in the book although there are a lot of references to how Claude uses his spiritual practices to deal with his own personal PTSD and other issues.

Check it out, buy it, whatever. Just read it. Claude's Book

From PsycPORT.com-- Test developed for borderline personality disorder

This is important- it looks at the hardware issues that underlie BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. My guess is that the same hardware issues might underlie at least a portion of the people who are suffering from PTSD. Worth a read if you are a brain-behavior-psychotherapy type.


PsycPORT.com | Test developed for borderline personality disorder: "Houston scientists develop test for personality disorder: Malfunction is identified by brain imaging devices during game play
Houston Chronicle - August 10, 2008

Aug. 10--Using brain imaging devices and a computer game, Houston researchers have developed an objective test for borderline personality disorder, a serious mental illness whose sufferers are unable to form and maintain stable relationships.

The brain malfunction found by Baylor College of Medicine neuroscientists is thought to be the first identified for any personality disorder.

'I'm hopeful this will mark a new approach for mental illness,' said Read Montague, director of Baylor's Human Neuroimaging Lab and the project's leader. 'It should provide a tool to diagnose the condition and test therapy's effectiveness.'

The research, published in Friday's edition of the journal Science, is part of an ongoing effort to understand the neurobiology behind mental illnesses and to develop objective diagnostic tests for them, similar to the bloodwork, biopsies and x-rays used to diagnose other ailments. Baylor has been a leader in the effort.

As many as one in five psychiatric inpatients have borderline personality disorder, ..."

Click here to read the rest of the article

Women Vets and Military Sexual Trauma

As a veteran and as a psychologist, I was very interested in and very moved by a lengthy post yesterday at http://www.healingcombattrauma.com on women with PTSD from sexual trauma incurred while on active duty, usually perpetrated by a fellow soldier.

The blog is a good read in general and is full of resources for vets and their families. It helps me think about things as a professional, and I learn a lot from the sources cited on the blog.

I think any type of trauma survivor, combat or not, can learn a lot about healing from PTSD on this blog. Highly recommended.