Apr

19

THE POWER OF ONE

Filed Under Combat PTSD, Tears of a Warrior, War 

by Janet J. Seahorn, Ph.D

 soldiers-ahead

The title is not totally mine.  It was taken from the book which tells the story about the life of a young boy’s quest to become a champion boxer. The journey is one of trauma, discrimination, and blessings. Its moral defines the force of relentless belief in a goal; a goal that impacts not merely the individual, but the larger world. Such ambition would require determination, persistence, courage, goodness, and an immense sense of faith even when walking through absolute darkness.

 

The Power of One refers to the mind which is the real athlete who primes the body to perform. It is the mind which keeps the individual stable as life becomes fragile. Like walking a tight rope over a raging river gorge, the mind works to convince the body that it is safe even when every nerve cell signals, “You must be kidding”. If you think about what is below the wire your focus will be on falling not on moving forward. So many disturbances fight to invade your concentration, and this is a most dangerous part of trauma… when you lose sight of what you want in your life and accept what you don’t want.

 

Trauma has its own unique composition. That structure, like any challenging illness, can be incredibly complex. It takes the whole of the person to succeed when all you want to do is give in and give up. The numerous types of events that can cause trauma, the support one receives after the event(s), the person’s internal strength and optimism, all contribute to the trauma’s set of symptoms. No two people’s puzzles are identical, because no two lives are exactly the same.

 

For every vet and his/her extended family, healing and moving forward will certainly take the Power of One, and that One is YOU! Trust in you own untried capacity (Ella Wilcox). Every day believe YOU are strong enough to make this journey, humble enough to seek help when needed, and gritty enough to succeed.

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