Weight Training and PTSD (Post Tramatic Stress Disorder)

[ripka]

First of all, I should introduce myself to you all. My name is Chris Ripka. I am in the Army National Guard. I am A retention NCO, so yes i am active duty. May 12th 2005, I returned home from a 12 month deployment in Afghanistan. The worst experiences I can say that I had were the continous rocket and motar attacks we encountered on what seemed like a daily basis. I am Married and have 2 beautiful daughters. I was diagnosed with PTSD about three months after I came home. Some of the signs that were noticed were very minor. Symptoms such as inability to sleep, disturbing dreams, losing interest in past hobbies etc. It became more pronounces one afternoon when my wife kissed my cheek while I was sleeping and I reach up startled and broke her neck. I literally fractured her neck.
This article is being written in hopes that PTSD or Post Tramatic Stress Disorder can be better understood and delt with in more natural way rather than relying on doctors to prescribe meds that dont often work. PTSD is not a new condition and it is not restricted to returning war vets. Any one who has been in a life changing event may have PTSD. It does not mean that you are crazy or that you are disabled, but it can cause severe mental problems if it is not handled correctly. PTSD resembles Anxiety more than Depression. The signs and symptoms are very similar to Anxiety and even Psycosis in some cases. There for is often misdiagnosed.
Recently doctors have become more and more aware of the condition due to the high number of Vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Treatment of PTSD has been limited to Anti Anxiety and Anti Psycotic medications. Few studies are being done to find alternate methods of treatment. While I was taking the medications I gained nearly 40 pounds of fat. I was doing cardio to keep my endurance up for my yearly Physical Fitness Test, however it was doing little for my overall body fat. I went from 19% BF up to nearly 40%. My answer was to take action and do my own study.
After taking the Medications for two months I decided to come off the meds. I just stopped taking them. My doctor advised against this, but it was after all my body and my mind that was being affected. I went to the local Wal-Mart and bought a note book. I designed a 24 week work out program that I felt would help me lose the body fat and gain muscle. I set a goal for my self that I would get in shape to compete in a local novice body building competition. So now I have a plan and a goal in fact I have a road map for success. I started my program writing down how I felt before I started for the day and how I felt after my work out and how I felt before I went to sleep. After the first week the changes in my mental state was unbeleivable.
Day 1:
Mourning. I was feeling a bit restless this mourning. I didn't sleep well.
Post work out: I feel jacked, I think I am on to something. I have not felt this good about myself in a long time.
Before bed: I am exhausted. I hope I sleep well tonight.
Day 2:
Mourning: I feel good today. I had a dream about lifting. cant make sense of it, but I feel good.
Post work out: It is even better today than monday. Holy ****. I know im on to something here. I am a bit sore though. Damn im a Puss.
Before Bed: Good day today. I think that if I can keep this up, things will work them selves out.
Day 3:
Mourning: Friday, end of the first week. All is good today. I slept like a baby.
Post work out: This is going to take getting use to. I am sore as hell. WOW! I am a Puss. Any ways, I had a great work out today. I accomplished my goal of establishing my program.
Before bed: It is 10 pm and I can barely keep my eyes open. I love this. I had Sex with my wife for the first time in 2 months today. Im Back!!!
This was just my first week. While taking the medications, I was unable to get or maintain any kind of erection. The meds were destroying my life. My wife and I were unhappy and there was no end in sight. When I started lifting weights, my self confidence and my hormones started to rise again and things were coming back and becoming normal again. I am currently in my 6th week of my program and I am getting ready to start Phase two of the program. I will be adding Suppliments to my diet and changing the intensity and scheduling of my work outs.
I have discovered through friends and family that the change in my personality has been for lack of a better word, EXTREME. I feel much better, healthier, and I must say happier with my life then ever before. I have since the beginning of this program, quit smoking, limited my drinking habit to about a drink per week, and I have lost 35 pounds. When I started I weighed 245 pounds, now I am down to 210.
PTSD has not become the disability that the VA or the Military doctors have labled it, but a motivational factor to break out of a shell of a life and has helped me become stronger and healthier then ever before. Like I said ealier, PTSD is not only a war vet issue. Many people have it. From rape victims to people who have suffered a tramatic experience in their lives may have symptoms of PTSD. The positive mental side efects of weight training or fitness training can and does combat PTSD.
If you would like to talk about these issues or my work out program, please post here or PM me if you would rather keep these issues private. I would be happy to write more articles about this and my progress as the time goes on and intrest is up. Let me know how YOU feel. Thank you. And Thank you to Bodybuilders.com for giving me a forum I can share my experience with people and the enless amount of motivational information that keeps so many of us going from day to day.

[nooner]

white coat needed asap!

[utjock12]

Congrats on dealing with a tough but common problem. World needs more heros like you during the war and after the war! Keep us updated with results.

[jpippy]

Good to hear your doing much better, and best of wishes to you bro. It sounds like you are doing much better, and PTSD really sounds like something hard to cope with. I hope you keep motivated and stay on track to living a healthier normal life which you had before your duties in afghanistan.

[NYItaLIan]

Good luck with everything, and I wish the best for you. Think positive.
-Chris

[NYItaLIan]

Good luck with everything, I wish the best for you. Think positive
-Chris

[hrb4life]

Is there any info on how a spouse or others can help a PTSD victim? Are there certain things that they can do to help the situation. I have PTSD and it drives me crazy.

Terry
herbalife63@hotmail.com

[user25891]

First of all, I should introduce myself to you all. My name is Chris Ripka. I am in the Army National Guard. I am A retention NCO, so yes i am active duty. May 12th 2005, I returned home from a 12 month deployment in Afghanistan. The worst experiences I can say that I had were the continous rocket and motar attacks we encountered on what seemed like a daily basis. I am Married and have 2 beautiful daughters. I was diagnosed with PTSD about three months after I came home. Some of the signs that were noticed were very minor. Symptoms such as inability to sleep, disturbing dreams, losing interest in past hobbies etc. It became more pronounces one afternoon when my wife kissed my cheek while I was sleeping and I reach up startled and broke her neck. I literally fractured her neck.
This article is being written in hopes that PTSD or Post Tramatic Stress Disorder can be better understood and delt with in more natural way rather than relying on doctors to prescribe meds that dont often work. PTSD is not a new condition and it is not restricted to returning war vets. Any one who has been in a life changing event may have PTSD. It does not mean that you are crazy or that you are disabled, but it can cause severe mental problems if it is not handled correctly. PTSD resembles Anxiety more than Depression. The signs and symptoms are very similar to Anxiety and even Psycosis in some cases. There for is often misdiagnosed.
Recently doctors have become more and more aware of the condition due to the high number of Vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Treatment of PTSD has been limited to Anti Anxiety and Anti Psycotic medications. Few studies are being done to find alternate methods of treatment. While I was taking the medications I gained nearly 40 pounds of fat. I was doing cardio to keep my endurance up for my yearly Physical Fitness Test, however it was doing little for my overall body fat. I went from 19% BF up to nearly 40%. My answer was to take action and do my own study.
After taking the Medications for two months I decided to come off the meds. I just stopped taking them.

What meds and in what doses?

[Radok]

I know a man who did some very rough missions in south america a while back, and although he's undiagnosed, he's obviously very disturbed and suffers from the same condition. It's good to see someone handle it so well, because this guy gets hammered every day, he literally drinks a 24 pack in one sitting every day, and he's had some serious heart attacks, and some violent episodes. Congradulations on avoiding such a sad state, and I hope you keep it up.

[napoleon_complex]

congrats on the sex

[Hollf1]

hey man it's good to here how weight training has changed your life. it's done the same sort of thing for me. i'm only 20, but all throughout high school i was picked on because i was tall and lanky and different than other people. well i started lifting senior year and now i have filled out somewhat and feel alot better about myself. keep it up.

[Kylong]

Ripka,

Long time reader, first time poster. I wish I had found your post earlier so I could have replied sooner. I respect that you posted here though and would just like to give you some thoughts.

You are right that PTSD is not just a war related disorder. It is the result of extreme and usually life-threatening events that stress the mind and body that can come in a range of situations. I've worked with Vietnam vets with PTSD and can't tell you how common it is for returning soliders to end up hurting loved ones and family members. It isn't your fault - you were conditioned and adapted to a high level of stress and constant danger. Those conditioned responses are hard to extinguish.

Still, I think you are taking your life in a positive direction. Many vets use substances to escape their memories and the feeling of being "keyed up." Unfortunately, combining the alcohol/drugs with the difficult adjustment back to civilian life makes for an even worse period of confusion and a delayed recovery to pre-service levels of functioning. I think your efforts to lift weights and learn about PTSD are very important. Your resiliency and ability to cope with stress is going to be greatly improved by maintaining a positive focus, exercising, and maintaining good nutrition.

The other piece of advice I would suggest is that you talk with your friends and family members as much as possible to explain what you are experiencing. People without the background in mental health or knowledge of your particular stressors may just not realize what you have been through in the past. Keep your communication open and keep trying to maintain those relationships. Social support is one of the best predictors of improvement following traumatic events.

Thank you for your service in Afghanistant, Sir. We need guys like you and I wish more people had the awareness of issues related to PTSD. The more people who understand how it affects our vets, the more support troops will have upon returning to their families and lives here. It is the least that could happen given the sacrifices that you and others like you have made.

I wish you the best,

-Kylong

[TheAdlerian]

Hi!

I've been a therapist for 18 years now, and think that you're on the right track!

I suggest that you just make sure that you don't overtrain and get an injury. Sometimes this can happen to people that find comfort from working out. Their mind wants to keep working out while their body wants to rest.

Also, I would strongly consider actively thinking about disturbing things while you work out. That does the following: it takes the old feeling associated with a bad event and couples it with the new good feeling of working out. Since you're doing something proactive that feeling will also be there too.

At other times, you can think about nothing but working out while working out. That will be kind of like meditation, and a vacation from thinking.

The overall thing that's happening is that working out becomes a type of behavioral therapy.

http://www.creativelifetherapy.com/PTSD.htm

The above is an explanation of PTSD from an Adlerian perspective, but I have a better one.

What is Trauma:

All humans are alive "NOW" and only NOW, but we, with our minds, invent a past and a future. Humans do this for survival reasons of all varieties. One reason is to limit anxiety by creating plans and philosophies that help us believe that life is fairly predictable.

It's really hard to imagine a person that thinks there is only "now" and claims that they can't imagine what could happen next.

The reality is that people can get used to anything. If you took a baby and had it make friends with someone, and then blew their brains out every day for twenty years, the now man would view such activity as routine. If good people discovered this and told the guy that normal people don't see friends get killed all the time, he might go crazy. His world would become unpredictable.

Most of us have just the opposite kind of life in the west. We expect certain things to happen of a positive nature and expect that people will behave in a certain way. We also tend to believe in concepts such as personal safety and old age. Lots of women are really invested in this type of thinking, and tend to have bad reactions when beaten or raped. The fact is that this could happen to 99% of women at any second. It doesn't because men don't want it to, and that's it. It's not a confidence builder for the ladies though, thus the denial.

So, PTSD is caused by a complete disruption of one's expectations about life. Knowing this can help you get a handle on what has happened. Many PTSD sufferers say, "that SHOULD not have happened," and ignore that it did. Once they admit that their conception of reality was faulty, not allowing for the trauma, then they feel better.

Albert Ellis wrote a great book called A Guide To Rational Living that covers how words like Should, Ought, and Must are irrational concepts that can severely upset people. He goes into much more than just that.

Basically, he promotes a Stoic philosophy where one is always acknowledging reality as it presents itself instead of wishing for things to be different. That's a lot thinking, of course.

I wish you luck, and if you have any questions I'll check back.

[xaaronthomasx]

Hey thanks for serving our country,

Im going in the marinecorps, so i expect to go to iraq/

[OneO]

I work in Forensics
we had a Client of mine tear his testicle out (bare handed ), write on the wall in blood" el diablo satanico" in blood all over the walls . I had to go in wade thru 1/2 inch of blood to reach this guy , subdue him in order to assertain wether or not we could save his life . it was like a scene out of SAW III
by far the worst thing ive ever seen . i too was diagnosed PTSD , suffered SEVERE mood swings , anger , hyperstartle reflex, depression , more anger , isolation , sleeplessness/oversleeping ect ect . the list goes on and on . i was lucky , i never had the violence that is all to often seen with PTSD
i lost my fiance and unborn son over this incident , due to the drastic effect it had on my world view and self image .
Some people believe that PTSD is a " excuse" . a way to Differ blame on to others, and "skate", to avoid responsiblity for your actions
its not .
its hell itsself...
To watch your whole life go up in flames and feel helpless to stop , or even understand whats happening . you become a stranger to your loved ones , and worse , to yourself . i wouldnt wish the last year of my life on my worst enemy .
Been in therapy for about 9 months now , doing 100% better , almost back to normal , so thank god for that .
if you read this , and are involved with someone with a PTSD diagnosis , i would ask that you research it before you assume that the person you loved is gone. or has changed beyond your wildest imagination
chances are they are as scared , and are feeling as confused as you are .
i lost everything due to PTSD , dont allow yourself or someone you love to pay for something that is treatable .
In the long run its not worth it.
As Ceaser's Slave would whisper in his ear in moments of great Victory or Crashing Defeat " this to shall Pass...'
truer words were never spoken

[jason1052004]

I know this was written a long time ago, but awesome. I'm dealing with the same issues being an Afghanistan and Iraq vet. The gym is about the only thing that keeps me sane. Good post from awhile back.

[thejock74]

I have had PTSD since 2013 and working out seem to help keep me focused.. Ironjox.Com

[Metalmank]

I have those similar symptoms.. Inability to sleep, lack of interest in hobbies and crazy dreams. Anxiety and a bit of social disorder. Maybe I should go talk to the VA.

Going to the gym for me is like my meditation. Helps me refocus everything in life.

[Cjripper17]

Wow. I haven't been on here in quite some time. To be honest I really just checked it tonight to try to get back into my account.
Thank you everyone for the posts. Its amazing to think that there is this kind of support.

I wrote this as part of my own therapy not really expecting any one to read any of it.

Thanks again to all of you who did. Ripper out.