What's Your PTSD Recovery Program?

Being a self-empowered survivor means taking responsibility for your posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) recovery plan. Healing will not progress simply because you think it should. It will not move forward just because you want to reach the end (don't we all wish that it would?!). It will not occur just because you present yourself in a professional’s office. Unfortunately, posttraumatic stress disorder recovery only happens when you actually engage in a PTSD recovery program.

Why You Need a PTSD Recovery Program

Why do you have to have a program for PTSD recovery? Because you have to be conscious of what you’re doing, who you’re doing it with, and what goal you’re trying to achieve.

For many years my attitude toward healing my PTSD was, "Here I am. Now, do something." I expected all of the practitioners I saw to do the work for me. My recovery finally turned around and took off when I realized the proper thing to say was, "Here I am. Show me what to do."

What’s your approach to healing (Healing From Abuse: Decide What You Want)? Perhaps it’s time to check in and make sure you’re not sabotaging your efforts.

Develop Your Own PTSD Recovery Program

Today, a short pop quiz to gauge your self-empowered attitude. Answer the following questions as true or false.

1. I approach every therapy appointment with the conscious determination that I will do my very best to communicate, listen and dig inside myself for answers.
2. When I get afraid of something in therapy I take a deep breath, center myself and plunge into the unknown.
3. I know my job in my recovery is to follow the lead of my practitioner and do the work he/she deems necessary to resolve my posttraumatic feelings.
4. I know I need to deal with things in my past and even though that makes me feel anxious, I focus myself and do what needs to be done.
5. Even on bad days, I know that I have deep healing potential and I remain committed to tapping and using it to find my freedom.
6. When I stop making progress I sit very still and figure out what is stalling me.
7. When I figure out what is stalling my progress I take steps to remove the obstacle.
8. When I feel uncomfortable with a practitioner I listen to my instincts and find someone else with whom to work.
9. I am very clear about my healing goals.
10. I research, strategize and plan how to strengthen, support and empower myself throughout the recovery process.

Add up how many truths you have and rate yourself on this scale:

1-3 Truths: You need way more self-empowered healing attitude. Based on the falses you marked down, focus on each one and figure out what you would have to do in order to turn them into a true. Slowly attack the list.

4-7 Truths: You’re on the right track. Take a look at the falses you marked down. What do they have in common? Figure out their similarity and decide what you can do to eliminate that from your approach.

8-10 Truths: You’re already hip to the self-empowered healing attitude. Each week give yourself a challenge to refine that approach. Track your progress. See how when you bring your attention to this area your work deepens.

Your PTSD recovery program will be unique to you. The more you pay attention to who you are and how you show up in recovery the more effective you will be at reaching your PTSD recovery program goals.

Michele is the author of Your Life After Trauma: Powerful Practices to Reclaim Your Identity and Heal Your PTSD: Dynamic Strategies that Work. Connect with her on Google+, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and her website, HealMyPTSD.com.