A World of PTSD?
Gone to the dogs
Shocking experiences are all too common, and unlike in the popular version, they don’t necessarily happen in a single moment, and can also be results of prolonged and inescapable exposure to stressful or dehumanizing conditions. As a matter of fact, I wonder how much human dignity is left in those who succumbed to being muzzled for months after months and were constantly threatened with a variety of penalties in case they would refuse to comply, which must have felt like living under the sword of Damocles.
When the term of PTSD was coined, its textbook version was first assigned to rape victims and to soldiers returning from wars. That limitation didn’t last long, because psychiatrists need to make a living, and their “diagnoses” solely rely on symptoms. As a result, the diagnosis of PTSD was easy to extend to areas and behaviors that can apply to just about anyone, making the “condition” either generally applicable or a great opportunity for hypochondriacs:
After taking a look at the list, one can conclude that anyone can have nightmares without being a cinical case, and 5G radiation and applicable technologies have greatly increased the occurrance of insomnia, irritability, depression, “numbness,” difficuties with concentration, while antisocial distancing1 and the muzzles must have also encouraged reclusive behavior. As for me, I’ve never been raped and serving in the army was a vacation compared to the neighborhood, where I grew up. Also, two gangs wanted me to join them, and I got a sound beating every once in a while, because I refused. I’m still considering a miracle that nobody involved got killed. How about having to take care of others who depend on you, and protect them for decades, while you are also under constant threat? I sure didn’t have much attention left to admire the sunset or to feel elevated by watching the first snowfall of the year. Did I have PTSD? Hell, no.
Some say that being loved protects you. True dat. What I have also found is that caring for others works even better, assuming one is prepared for failing on all accounts. That part has always been easy for me, because I consider it an integral part of the human condition.
What is PTSD?
Being petrified to act or feel anything can happen after traumatic experiences, and the resulting disposition can be labeled PTSD. However, PTSD is not a “disorder,” because it’s a normal response to something terrible, so addressing it must remain within the confines of recognizing normal human reactions and behavior. PTSD is only a “syndrome,” because in the “medical” profession, the word “syndrome” is usually preserved for a pretty random bunch of symptoms that can be detected, but their origin and their presiding mechanism stay out of reach. There is not a single objective test for any of the approximately 400 mental “disorders,” and all types of doctors embrace the term “syndrome,” when they next to no idea what they are talking about. In order to justify their “expertise,” all “professionals” sometimes resort to inventing technical terms for old phenomena, albeit “Medicine” is probably taking the lead among them with all its invented illnesses2. If you care to peruse the “bible” of Psychiatry3, you can see that there is not a single objective diagnostic method for the about 400 “disorders” in it, and the “disorders” are usually a bunch of symptoms, selected from a wide range of symptoms and tied together in order to provide grounds for “diagnosing” a disorder. I’m not sure how many symptoms are considered by the authors4 altogether (moreover, new ones can always be invented by combining lesser factors), but the theoretical number of “disorders” amounts to the factorial or the number of symptoms, which creates an option for a practically unlimited number of “disorders,” depending the way they are combined into unique groups. Diagnostic failures cannot be underestimated:
From an entertainer’s point of view, George Carlin observed, PTSD is a euphemism for shell-shock (9:01 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEQixrBKCc
For saving time, here is the brief version (2:44 minutes):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpVtJNv4ZNM
What works for PTSD?
Everyone who has had anything to do with the VA (I volunteered for a psych ward for a couple of years before) knows that the system manifests all the failures of public health, except on an enlarged scale. Psychiatry can pump people up on legal drugs that, nevertheless, can cause irreparable brain damage, except its pushers (much like the vaccinators) enjoy full indemnity, and often wield enormous power over their patients’ lives. In a best-case scenario, their victims are medicated out of their minds to act like zombies and stop being a nuisance, much like hyperactive children who are bored to death at school and cannot stay put are “diagnosed” and drugged up. (The regimen of “childhood vaccinations” seems to seriously contribute to the phenomenon, but school is bad and boring even without those.)
So what works for PTSD? Being considered normal and given time to heal are certainly needed, but is life long enough for these to kick in? Remembering the veterans I have encountered, it tends to be, but not always. It is a problem, when the mental disposition is considered an illness that must be treated, because once the victim (aka. patient) believes that (s)he is sick, it’s next to impossible to get away from lifelong “treatments.” The debilitating effect of feeling ill and accepting treatment can also result in forced retirement, difficulties in getting a job, or a disability pension that is hard to give up. I have encountered psychiatric patients who first pretended to be sick, but later fully assumed the role and seemed truly ill). Also, “mental illness” can have legal consequences that can call for a guardian, which affects the scope of independent choices and legal eligibility to inheritance.
Dogs help the “eligible”
After all the psychiatric visits and toxins mislabeled as medications, there is only one method that always works: dogs. These are not strays, but highly-trained service dogs, whose training costs up to sixty grand5, so they are not offered to everyone. Who is deemed to be eligible to receive one and who is actually granted the privilege of the ownership? According to https://spendonpet.com/ptsd-service-dog-cost/
Eligible individuals must be able to…
Confirm an official PTSD diagnosis.
Establish a history of dealing with PTSD (e.g. 1-year therapy).
Secure witness testimony of PTSD-related incidents.
Participate in the service dog’s training.
Financially support the basic needs of the service dog.
Independently issue commands to the service dog.
Most importantly, a diagnosis is needed to confirm that the patient is “disabled,” which is explained in “Service Dog Training 101”6:
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/training/service-dog-training-101/
Psychiatric service dogs assist individuals with disabilities such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, post–traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions. Examples of work performed by psychiatric service dogs could include entering a dark room and turning on a light to help with a stress-inducing condition, interrupting an individual’s repetitive behaviors, and reminding a person to take medication.
As I noted before, being diagnosed ill can seal a patient’s fate, service dog or no service dog. Moreover, according to regulations, only disabled people are eligible to have a service dog, which is in case or the patient’s recovery, not ownership, and being deprived of the companion can easily cause a relapse. The training of the dog is financed by the VA or some charities7, but once the patient recovers, (s)he must reimburse the the payee for the training, or the dog can be transfered to someone else, who is eligible.
The sources of paying for a dog are limited:
https://www.finder.com/service-dog-costs-and-financing-options
The most cost-efficient way to have such a service dog is having to train it on one’s own budget, assuming something like this is available in the area:
https://www.servicedogtrainingschool.org/online-school#service-animal-training-courses
Notice that receiving a certificate for a dog can be still a long way from having a dog that can perform the job well. Also notice that not every dog is capable of becoming a PTSD service dog, although some breeds have been found more suitable for the task:
https://pettable.com/blog/the-8-best-service-dog-breeds-for-ptsd
How to pick a puppy to be trained?
https://www.psychdogpartners.org/resources/getting-a-dog/pick-puppy-service-dog-prospect
Thinking about training yourself? That might be a decent source of income for you even if you don’t need a dog for a friend or in the family:
https://trainyourdogblog.com/special-situation-training/how-to-train-a-ptsd-service-dog/
How effective are PTSD Service Dogs at treating PTSD?
According to
https://www.servicedogtrainingschool.org/blog/service-dogs-ptsd
PTSD service dogs are a type of psychiatric service dog. Psychiatric service dogs are just as legitimate as any other type of service dog, such as a guide dog, a hearing dog, a mobility assistance dog, or a seizure alert dog. These dogs have full public access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
A PTSD dog is mainly trained to provide relief from emotional overload. But when a PTSD sufferer cares for a PTSD dog, he can also become more confident and consistent in everyday life, which then acts as a buffer against low mental energy levels.
With the help of PTSD Service Dogs, their partners:
• report feeling protected and loved unconditionally
• often return to work or school
• are more capable of caring for family and friends
• start to think better about themselves, others, and the world
• are learning ways to cope if any symptoms arise again
• have the risk of violence, alcoholism, and drug abuse reduced
• increase their ability to manage daily living
What are PTSD Service Dogs trained to do?
PTSD service dogs have a wide variety of abilities that can benefit people who deal with post-traumatic stress disorder on a daily basis. Their PTSD service dogs can be trained to perform any number of PTSD-mitigating tasks, including:
Assistance in a medical crisis
• Retrieve medication and beverages
• Fetch a phone in an emergency
• Answer doorbell
• Open and close doors
• Carry medical supplies
Treatment-related assistance
• Remind partners to take medication on time
• Help in coping with medication side effects
• Alert to an emergency such as a smoke alarm
• Wake up partners from flashbacks and nightmares by licking, nudging, or pawing
Support in dealing with emotional overload
• Provide tactile stimulation to disrupt overload
• Wake up for work or school
• Prevent panic in the public
Security enhancement tasks
• Support in coping with the fear of an intruder
• Lighting up a dark room
The healing process
It’s not only about being able to have an unconditional friend. It’s also about a friend, who needs care and attention. Having such a partner can renew the experience of being alive in a non-threatening environment, and offers something to do that looks more meaningful than being overwhelmed by the past. After all, being engaged in performing meaningful tasks can occupy one’s attention and generate new experiences that can gradually replace the memories of the original overwhelming horror.
What’s not in the books?
Dogs can surprise even those, who have had plenty of canine friends before. Here is, for instance, what happened to this couple, whose dog’s market value went up by $4,500 for a day or two:
https://www.lex18.com/family-dog-eats-4000-in-cash-off-the-kitchen-counter
The initial shock must in such cases certainly presents a chance to be overwhelmed, but eventually, the remaining impact most likely elicits a smile that overrides the mild trauma of the first encounter with the banknote-filled domestic friend.
Dogs have become so successful at helping people to recover from traumatic experiences that even a puppy-raising program has been developed:
Any concerns?
Concerned about the dogs, too. The dogs themselves must resilient in case an owner passes away or recovers, but cannot afford to pay for the dog. The breeds used for the purpose are good at accepting their next owner, who will have to comfort the new friend after its losing its previous owner.
Healthwise, these pups, just like most human babies and children, are fully “vaccinated” against invented illnesses. After the “covid” circus, that might be of some concern for humans, but shedding from a dog is only is not any worse than shedding from another human. These days, the loss of being human itself is at stake, and the focus must be preserved for eliminating the concurrent global bombardment by nanoparticles and by microwave exposure:
https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/targeting-and-controlling-individuals
The impact of microwave radiation is not limited to these symptoms, but these are certainly applicable under the circumstances.
What is illness and what is health? A new medical paradigm is sorely needed to answer those questions: https://rayhorvaththesource.substack.com/p/what-makes-people-sick-apart-from
Somewhat embarrassingly, many of the authors have received sometimes copious financial and other forms of support from pharmaceuticals, but there is nothing new about “doctors” being paid bonuses by the industry even for mundane prescriptions and, of course, for every toxic needle they drive into little arms in the “childhood vaccination” program.
For more exact figures, check out https://spendonpet.com/ptsd-service-dog-cost/
Please, notice that I am not endorsing any of the sites in this article, but using them for specific purposes
There are various sources that offer service dogs: https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/ptsd/how-to-get-a-ptsd-service-dog/
Here are the details of the VA grant program: https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/va-grant-program-provide-service-dogs-veterans-ptsd/
There are legitimate service dogs for disabled owners, but there are far more illegitimate service dog owners with untrained dogs, that stink up the entire industry. There are far more effective therapies for somatic symptoms from unreleased trauma than canines for most people. For some a dog is a traumatized human's best friend, for others dogs are the traumatic trigger. After being bitten three times, (not counting nips) I'm shy cubed of strange dogs running at me. I just don't like barking dogs, yelling owners, crotch sniffing hounds, shit on sidewalks, Pomeranians in purses.
Ptsd here. A cat is my healing modality. And medication. But the adrenal dysfunction and associated biochemical physiology feedback loop appears a stalwart in presentation. Twice a week the mind trips in cascade of hyper arousal. This is why those advocating for fierce action, be it re Gaza. WEF etc would do to be considerate.