Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) happens to soldiers including Major Generals like John Cantwell. It also happens to people who aren’t soldiers and suggests a damaging psychological dynamic that’s relevant to us all.

Now retired, Cantwell served in the 1991 Gulf war, then again in Iraq following the 2003 invasion, then finally as commander of Aussie troops in Afghanistan.

His story includes a litany of horrors. He helped kill of thousands of Iraqi soldiers by burying them alive. He speaks of being haunted by the image of an Iraqi soldier’s dead arm reaching out of the sand. He’s faced the tragic enormity of farewelling ten young Australians who died on his watch in Afghanistan.

Symptoms Cantwell described include “a constant sense of agitation, short temper, outbursts of anger, emotional outbursts, jumping at loud noises. Being afraid to go to public places and looking for the exits in case something bad happened”. I would add to that list a debilitating and exponentiating emotional exhaustion that diminishes the sufferers’ resilience.

PTSD is an extreme input of stress, but follows the same dynamic as more ordinary stress and as such is important for us all to understand.

Stress is as real as a punch in the face. You get it by being frightened but you can also get it by seeing someone else doing badly.

Hiding the pain from yourself and from others empowers stress to accumulate within you, growing like lantana. Without active effort this weed can take over your entire garden until you’re lost in a field of thorns where nothing else can grow.

Stress and its accumulation can be nipped in the bud. Don’t stick your head in the sand, it’s deadly. Instead face each fear as it confronts you. As you feel the fear, it’s finishing.

John Cantwell is a very impressive man with the love, courage and heart to finally face this enemy within. He’s a leader worth following.

E-mail me when people leave their comments –

You need to be a member of Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community to add comments!

Join Ashtar Command - Spiritual Community

Comments

  • Thanks Hunter, PTSD is underdiagnosed! Also seeing it a lot from rampant workplace bullying and in activists. People are too upset to talk about it.

    Peace On Earth, Soon, Forever :)

     

  • yes

    and without wanting to diminish the potent horror of the extreme version, i reckon we all have a touch of it to discharge

    loved

  • It's a very said story.  PTSD can also be caused by abuse growing up.

This reply was deleted.

Blog Topics by Tags

  • - (955)

Monthly Archives

Latest Activity

Love & Joy posted a discussion
 The Medicine of Joy  What if laughter itself was medicine? Not just a quick distraction, but a way to shift the whole energy of a moment. Let us give you an example out of our daily life. We will never forget one of our first nights in the house we…
14 hours ago
AlternateEarth posted a blog post
 KaliArticleTalkReadView sourceView historyTools  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the form of Mahadevi. For the Supreme goddess of time and death, see Mahakali. For the auspicious form of the goddess, see Bhadrakali. For…
16 hours ago
AlternateEarth posted a blog post
  41  0 Read Time:14 Minute, 39 SecondIrish Goddess, the Mórrígan —When we look at Irish mythology, it is the Morrigan whose name appears most often… but she is also perhaps the most misunderstood of the ‘Celtic’ Gods and Goddesses. She is of the…
17 hours ago
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Germany;
4 AfD Candidates Have Died Suddenly Before Key State Election
https://www.infowars.com/posts/4-afd-candidates-have-died-suddenly-..."
21 hours ago
rev.joshua skirvin posted a blog post
 Greetings in the Light and Love of our Infinite Creator.We enjoy the moments we share with all of you. Thank you for this Transmission.The Force of Light surrounds you completely, resonating within the very core of your being. You are spirit, a…
23 hours ago
Edward posted a status
Galactic Federation
yesterday
Love & Joy posted a discussion
  Decree For Living By Steven HutchinsonI Am my Divine Presence residing in my Divine Center Point in every now moment, and Divinely Breathing with God's Great Compassionate Light, and Witnessing Mother God's Presence Enveloping me in Every Now…
yesterday
AlternateEarth left a comment on Comment Wall
"Top Labour MP Bridget Phillipson admitted during a recent Sky News interview that she believes the rights of “asylum seekers” are more important than the rights of her own constituents.…"
yesterday
More…