Have you dealt with your stuff, so you are free to make your dreams come true? Some of us have some pretty heavy duty stuff. A substantial segment of our population are walking around with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), but this is not strictly a military issue. Even if you don’t struggle against PTSD, perhaps anxiety and depression threaten to diminish your ability to make your dreams come true.
If you suspect that PTSD may be an issue for you, maybe these statistics will help you know you are not alone, and let you realize that your adversity may actually contribute to what you have to offer the world.
- 7 out of 100 people will have PTSD at some point in their lives
- 5.2 million adults develop PTSD in any given year
- Approximately 10% of women develop PTSD
- 4% of men will wrestle the demon of PTSD
All of these numbers represent people—people who need help, support, encouragement, and healing. What have you gone through that might contribute to a greater good?
Filling Needs:
- Are childhood issues like sexual abuse, bullying, name-calling, or emotional abuse, holding you back as an adult?
- Do you challenge your mental self-talk, refusing to allow old emotional lies to have the upper hand in your mind?
- Have relational issues or grief caused you to give up on your dreams?
Whatever hurt you’ve experienced, after time and practice, you’ve likely learned enough to offer solace and support to someone else. Your purpose may be birthed from your pain.
This episode’s Dream Planting Tips:
- Few if any of us are asked permission before a tragedy strikes. Remember, it’s likely not your fault that you are struggling with emotional weights from past traumas.
- Pay attention and develop awareness of emotional triggers: specific dates, the approach of a month, smells, colors, vehicles, sounds, certain textures or tastes.
- Feel, face, and do something about your emotional triggers.
- Create an advanced plan to help you get through when you hit an emotional brick wall, where you don’t feel like doing anything productive.
- Give yourself permission to take time off to deal with your emotions, or to flex your schedule, so you can feel what you need to feel, face what you need to face, and remember what you don’t want to remember.
- Like anything else, facing past pain gets easier with time and practice.
- Resolve not to allow old wounds to poison your current dreams.
- Offset negativity with positivity—music is an especially powerful mood booster. Music can also lead us into a healing place, where we vent pent-up emotions.
- Use essential oils to help alter your emotional state.
- Be intentional with your food choices to soothe your senses in a healthy way.
- Get outdoors and let nature heal you in her own special way.
- You cannot think of two polar opposite thoughts simultaneously—so focus on what you need to give attention to, so that distracting thoughts cannot steal your dreams.
- Refuse to let pain debilitate your dreams. Don’t become so focused on what happened to you in your past, that you miss what’s available to you in your present, or the opportunities in your future.
- Adversity and challenges provide substance, infusing our dreams with something others can relate to.
- Three predictors for successful healing:
- Faith in something or someone greater than yourself.
- A positive, determined attitude.
- Strong support network—family and friends.
- Get involved with those who can help you, and those you can help.
- What if you allow the past to hold you bondage, keeping your from making your dreams come true, and maintaining them when they do?
- Challenge yourself to do something progressive daily, in spite of your pain.
- Grab the Tending Your Dreams’ free giveaways and discounts from every episode. Go to tendyourdreams.com/freebie10 for your gift, just for tuning in. Don’t forget our product discount—20% off on all autographed books. Enter the coupon code TYD20 to snatch your deal.
Discover additional dream tending tips at tendyourdreams.com.
