Sep

23

The Teeter Totter Journey

Filed Under Life, PTSD 

tetter-totter-1by Janet Seahorn 

           

 

Ever think of life as a “teeter totter journey”?  Sometimes you’re up, sometimes your down, and when everything is in perfect balance, you are somewhere in-between.  

The biggest challenge on a teeter totter is keeping that perfect balance.  The certainty of teeter tottering is that equilibrium doesn’t last very long. As soon as the tiniest shift occurs on either side, the mechanism moves. 

When you were a child playing on the teeter totter, the fun wasn’t keeping the slab of wood in balance; it was the fast ups and downs as you tried to give your partner a very exciting ride. 

Life is a bit like that teeter totter.  Some days we are up, some days down, and, every so often, we are within the perfect balance.  If we really examined it, however, we would notice that most of our time is spent in the process of moving between the ups and the downs. 

This is not good or bad.  It just is.  Post-Traumatic Stress can be life’s ultimate teeter totter. The ride is faster, quicker, and more unpredictable than the average, and those times of stability may seem shorter. Those individuals on the PTSD cycle are there for good reason; they have experienced life at some of its highest highs, and it very lowest lows.  The speed of change, therefore, tends to be faster, more unpredictable.  At times it can make one queasy from experience. 

Playing on a teeter totter requires at least two people; you can’t get up without someone on the other end helping you there.  It’s a push, pull, and bumps boogie. 

 Those living with Post-Traumatic Stress and family members who become part of the journey often experience the same unpredictable, sudden change in highs and lows.  Yet, perhaps, the most important message in this blog is simply this: if either rider decides to abandon the wooden slab, the remaining rider can be at peril, depending on where they sit.   

And herein lies both the gift and the tragedy.  Those of us who live with the after effects of combat trauma (or any trauma causation) make a choice every single day to continue the journey together. 

Yep, life is a teeter totter journey.

Comments

2 Responses to “The Teeter Totter Journey”

  1. Cricket McRae on September 23rd, 2009 11:52 am

    I’ve looked at your book, and was wondering if you would mind if I pass it onto a friend of mine who is returning from tour 3# in Iraq at the beginning of the year. I think he would benefit from a looksee at your experiences.

  2. Greta Perry on September 23rd, 2009 12:02 pm

    I read your book and wanted to see if you and your wife could come on my radio show this Saturday. It would be from 9:05-9:20

    Angel hugs,

    Greta