I HAVE PTSD (Review)

 I have PTSD – Reorienting after trauma by Curtis Solomon is a very helpful little book. It is written in three parts covering ten chapters – Part 1. You Are Not Alone. Part 2: Dealing with Your Past. Part 3:  Learning to Reorient Your Past, Present, and Future.

As we go through life, all of us suffer from various traumatic experiences. Therefore, everyone would benefit from reading this book. However, as alluded to in its title, the book deals with helping those who suffer from the condition now commonly known as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The following are a couple of short quotes that may help you to get a feel for the book:

 “[M]any people, especially those in the first responder community, don’t experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder until they quit, retire, or switch career fields … I tell retiring police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and combat veterans to be on the lookout for things to start popping up as they slow down. It is helpful to prepare for change and not be caught off guard with it.” p. 4.

“…God can use your trauma to help others. To get a sense of what I mean, read 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 slowly:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

“Our suffering can be a catalyst that makes us turn to God for comfort, which we don’t tend to seek when everything in life feels just fine. And the comfort that he provides when we go to him doesn’t just help us to cope with a particular moment or situation. Rather, it prepares us to be able to pay it forward when we encounter others who suffer.” p. 114.

The book has a list of helpful resources, a many source endnotes, and a full bibliography.

 I Have PTSD constantly points the reader to the God of all comfort while explaining and applying in a remedial way what He says in His Word.