Fundamentalist Christianity taught them people are bad and God is Punisher/rewarder, Business school taught them that only shareholders count, law school taught them that property is more important than people, politicians taught them that lying works… nobody taught them the power of love….. sick ponds kill the fish.
Many got to Woodstock physically or spiritually. They caught the essence of the movement and believed in it fully. But then the money ran out and they had to get a “real” job. And/or they got married and had children and the nitty gritty complexities of daily life tugged them further and further away. And, because it was still the fact that each generation would do better than the last, they became people staked to property. And, once so seized, it is an almost preternatural impulse to harden one’s shell and so they gradually became more and more conservative in their views. They looked back at the pictures of their youth and the records of a movement that did not exist anymore and felt vaguely embarrassed by it all and ascribed it to childish impulses, when in fact those were childlike and quite clear-eyed reactions to a war that made no sense and a culture of easy injustice.
The AIDS crisis was a caution and some wondered if it was punishment for a licentious society. But there was more and more to be had and bought and a pleasant, easy retirement was in sight.
And Reagan - he was the ticket. He faced down a troublesome union in the most hardheaded way, was shot and joked that he hoped his doctor was a Republican. But most of all he turned on the spigot so that there was more and more money to be made…
And now? They are cruelly taunted by the “OK Boomer” riposte. They thought Trump would be the new Reagan. They hoped for one last vengeful kick at the can.
But not all of them. Curiously, they are a bit of a schizophrenic generation now. Some are so hardened that they are immune to any sentiment about their hippie youth. But many look back, see who they once were and what possibilities existed to change the world. And they grieve.
Hi Diane, I attended the Woodstock Concert in 1969 as part of the film crew shooting the movie, My connection with the concert, the movie and the time spurred my interest in reading the comments on the Forum about it. I was not a hippie or directly part of the counterculture but on the political left flank (not extreme left) in the '60s and early '70s, no flowerchild was I. You may be interested in the transcript of a program/dialogue about Woodstock called, 'Did Woodstock Change America?', which was originally aired on PBS, 8/5/1994. I think the discussion, which includes Kurt Vonnegut, provides a smart sense of that period.
Thank you again, Heather, for another lovely, peaceful photo. You always deserve an evening off, but you're especially entitled after yesterday's Letter. It was so meaningful and uplifting, and we needed that.
I’ve found I need a media diet of only Professor Richardson’s ‘Letter’ and an occasional serving of The News Hour, and a local Maine Public call-in, and On Point w Megna Chakrabarti. Thank you Professor, for the wisdom contained in Peter’s photographs - a breath of fresh “news"
Me too, Frederick. I don't get fox or CNN, and msnbc seems to be devolving recently (understandable). At any rate, under medical advice and survival instinct, and in order to return to all of you, I traded away msnbc. All but Lawrence. Once a week I cheat with an hour of Nicole Wallace. That's it. And the Letter. Books, no mags or TV, unless there is no chance of politics or news. So I leave it off. Losing the sharpness that information enhances; losing the daily grind of trauma, gaining some ah, peace? Or let's call it appreciation of living. Brain tissue regenerating.
That's pretty much my diet too, Frederick. More and more I find myself switching from NHPR (where I live) to Maine PR. So many more local programs which I find interesting even though I don't live there. NHPR seems to have given up on the local at least on a daily basis, and what they do have they tuck away in rather obscure corners of the schedule. Your director of the Maine CDC is a sense voice in the wilderness when he givs a press briefing too.
Have you found “Maine Calling” at 11AM EDT? Her recent feature on the life of Robert Indiana was a treasure, as were her interviews with Jamie Wyeth and the director of the Farnsworth Museum. btw, I love Dr Nirav Shaw, Maine CDC, our very own Anthony Fauci. In a way, I feel I am listening to my late, wise mother, whom I knew as a boy always had in her heart the best of my interest.
I've caught Maine Calling a few times and always enjoyed it. I'm usually at work during that time but occasionally catch it in the car running errands. I should go back in my downtime and listen to past episodes. Thanks for the reminder!
That is a lament I share. Someone, who shall not be named, opened Pandora’s box but not because of curiosity but because they were of the same evil therein.
I do not fly Old Glory anymore. It is the symbol of our land that I have most revered in my life. Still do. But it has been defiled, for now, and to fly it where I live proclaims something totally opposite of my beliefs. She still Flys on Pearl Harbor day, in honor of my father's service in two wars. They are not taking THAT away from me! Very few flags are up then, as if the maga's could care less..
I promise myself that She WILL fly again, when we set things right.
Yes....it makes me sick. I am one who believes there is room for all of us. But when some of us set out to destroy the rest of us I reach the end of tolerance and move to resistance.
'Breakwater Dawn' a good name for Peter's photograph.
1. Dawn
the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise
The photo is filled with sky and the moon is so high that harbor/house ? looks much smaller than when instead actually standing nearby to it. Perspective counts strongly when looking at this photographed scene. The vast sky is not too overwhelming as its colors are muted and dusty in tones of pastel salmon/yellow and shades of gray, a near impossible set of colors for me to relay. A bird, high in the sky with long wings flies below and away from the moon. Ah, the moon, an eye catching bright circle of off-white. I reduced the photo to half its size, so I could see it fully from top to bottom. The photo displays an uncommon view; a perfectly centered and quite dramatic composition of sky, moon, bird, harbor/house? on a jetty, with a slim slice of water all around. I would be happy to see 'Breaking Dawn' again, preferably, hanging on a wall. This exercise was very different than composing a comment about what Heather's Letter may generate. The time has been all about how to see Peter's strikingly unusual picture and then attempt to describe it. An early morning exercise in seeing and descriptive writing. I am not at ease about what I've accomplished and didn't have to do it. I could have looked at 'Breaking Dawn' and then gone on to something else, but the photo seemed to demand more of me. Thank you Peter and Heather for a different challenge. I hope that you both a good September, Monday.
Fern, when I first looked at the picture, prompted by the “Dawn” in the title, I assumed it was the sun struggling through the heavy mist. The house appears to be in shadow whereas if the sun was illuminating the moon it would put the house on light as well.
I’m not sure at all which it is but am trying to defend or make sense of the first impression I formed in my mind’s eye.
I’ll post this before looking at the photo again on a bigger screen.
Christian, Your comment seemed to be another description of 'Breakwater Dawn'. There is something that makes the photo a challenge. I thought, given the photo is at 'Dawn', that distinct circle of light couldn't be the sun as it's so high -- so it had to be the moon, according to me. I am eager to know what more you have deduced, 'Sherlock'.
The more I study the picture the more convinced I am that it is the sun.
Further points:
•we do not know how high the sun actually is without what distance the photo was taken from.
•Being a “Breakwater” and having the lighthouse cupola that would most likely be open ocean behind the house rather than a bay or estuary.
•if it is open ocean on the East Coast the photo is probably facing East.
•if it’s facing east it pretty much has to be the sun in the morning.
What is most interesting is how from a few clues we reach a conclusion without thought to other possibilities. I could be quite wrong in my take of the image but unconsciously filter out everything contrary to my first take. I constantly get trapped in my thinking that way.
I am enjoying our exchange about light, regarding the phases of the sun and moon. On the east coast, NYC, I see the sun rising in the East each morning. Occasionally, a bright moon before dawn appears when I believe the sky is still dark. As my windows face East, my vision may be limited. I have not studied the phases -- astronomy is not in my wheelhouse. Below is a link, which may be helpful with your exploration. I am now off to more mundane pursuits, but would love to hear from you if you solve this riddle. Peter, the photographer would know the answer, but solving this puzzle ourselves is appropriate because contacting him about this would I think be rude. Cheers!
Reread your first comment here Fern to appreciate more your exercise of writing to develop your craft. It is appreciated.
Living in NYC (I’m envious) I urge you to spend some time at the Rose Centre for Earth and Sky at the American Natural History Museum if you wish to get some of that “interplanetary extraordinary” stuff in your wheelhouse. ANHM and MOMA are always center pieces of my trips to NYC.
Christian, I second your recommendations. The Rose Center is a wonder that I will return to. The American Natural History Museum is just 10 blocks away, and I have gone there very often. MOMA used to be a more frequent haunt, but I'm happier in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at exhibitions in galleries around town. My usual routine has been curtailed as result of the pandemic. In terms of writing, 'Breakwater Dawn' challenged my ability at description, which I didn't pass. Your support is much appreciated. I hope that my writing is generally more lively, smooth and informative. Salud!
I just reduced the size of this photo, and it does seem different...all sky, but such muted and soft colors. A single bird (eagle?), a big moon. Actually the reduced size makes it a lot more interesting, although originally it is just fine.
He really hits it out of the park. Exactly, we are so overwhelmed we don't even feel it anymore. Numbness is setting in. But there is a way out. My humble take on it: https://www.stress.org/are-you-languishing
I checked it out, couldn't sign up for some reason but I will be back. You are an accomplished gentleman and I am glad to be with you and learn from you on this group. There is a lot of brainpower and perspective in this crazy family, and I am very lucky to be here!
Gus, Keep pushing. Have your primary care team give you a referral to MHS (Mental Health Services). Request a formal PTSD evaluation. If you get really desperate, contract our local Congresscritter and claim VA isn't providing adequate care. It's amazing how some Federal agencies respond when they get a Congressional inquiry.
Thank you, Charlie. I'm more often outraged than languishing, but neither is good. Good advice, and I responded to Gailee, above, with my sanity methods.
Linda, I have more. "Self Care First Aid Kit" I put together way back over a year ago. If you are interested, let me know. A gift to the community. Nameste.
WOW ! It’s me to a ‘T ‘.Close to 45 yrs of it. Then finding a safe place for about 20 yrs, experiencing a Trauma during it. But losing a part of my safety in a way in 2014.And we know what happen in June of 2015 and here we are ! WOW ! Oddly I had been thinking about this, going back in my mind over the weekend. Now there is no doubt.Not much up for the fight part any longer . But the other 2 yes.
We're with you Marcia. It's all of us. I was told that part of the fight is unresolved anger or rage. When that anger turns inward as it often does (we try to contain it ), it will eat you alive. So, I would guess you do have all three. Watch out for the anger/rage, use the tremendous energy it provides, in healthy ways instead. Then work on where the anger is coming from. We'll pull it off and survive!
I agree with Gus, Gailee. As everyone here knows, this has been a really stressful time. I've taken the initiative and am being selective in what I watch on TV, and the minute I feel my BP rising, I change to something mindless - PBS Antiques Roadshow, HGTV, nature shows, whatever. We all have to decide what we can reasonably do to make things better and stay informed, then tune it out when it's too much. I banned rabid Repugs from my life during TFG's gig, and wouldn't consider "reasoning" with them. So many of us have a lot to be happy with, and we can't lose sight of that. Thanks so much for this link.
We dealt with that for our final two years in SoCal. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have ME/CFS. Now we worry about all or family and friends still there.
Spot on! Consider how many in this world would love to have our "trauma." Yes, it's real, but there are many places where it's truly a matter of life and death.
However, many of those places have experienced trauma from birth. This is a new phenomena for Americans. Beginning with the election of 2016. We now live in Spain where the atrocities of Franco still burn in the hearts and minds of many. My friend, who is Basque, was not allowed to use her Basque name. The U.S. never had war on its soil since the Civil War. 9/11 was the first big shock and so few Americans truly know American history or why it happened. Other countries experience war, famine, genocide, etc. daily from birth. Americans have lived in a cocoon until 2016.
Exactly. While not trivializing it, 9/11 saw 3,000 people killed, but Europe was almost obliterated with 2 world wars, numerous revolutions and civil wars, 6 million Jews and other "undesirables" exterminated, Hiroshima and Stalingrad in WWII, and more. Our losses and trauma can't compare.
Spain is a beautiful country, and like most of the rest of Europe it has recovered its equilibrium. I understand that we have been very fortunate and need to put our very real problems in perspective.
Me too. One therapist tried CBT and I got another therapist. Did a year and a half in a 6 month ptsd group. Saved my life, and continues to right to this day. The VA takes ptsd seriously and they are getting better at it all the time. They need to lose a few lifer therapists who just don't get it, don't get us, but I have high praise for their efforts to keep us from checking out.
This photograph takes all my angst out of my soul this morning.... I am inspired to do nothing but work on my passion: photography! Both Peter and Buddy have become my silent mentors! I believe I feel their visions throughout my being and want to give that gift to as well!
Thank you so much for everything. Have a lovely week....
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
A few days ago, the bearded, long haired baby boomer dressed totally in flowing cotton adorned a t-shirt that emphatically stated:
“The Hippies Were Right”
I say “Amen, brother!"
Fundamentalist Christianity taught them people are bad and God is Punisher/rewarder, Business school taught them that only shareholders count, law school taught them that property is more important than people, politicians taught them that lying works… nobody taught them the power of love….. sick ponds kill the fish.
Tim, “caught in the devil’s bargain.”
And "we are more than half a million strong" but many never got to "Woodstock" and still don't see the need to get there..
Many got to Woodstock physically or spiritually. They caught the essence of the movement and believed in it fully. But then the money ran out and they had to get a “real” job. And/or they got married and had children and the nitty gritty complexities of daily life tugged them further and further away. And, because it was still the fact that each generation would do better than the last, they became people staked to property. And, once so seized, it is an almost preternatural impulse to harden one’s shell and so they gradually became more and more conservative in their views. They looked back at the pictures of their youth and the records of a movement that did not exist anymore and felt vaguely embarrassed by it all and ascribed it to childish impulses, when in fact those were childlike and quite clear-eyed reactions to a war that made no sense and a culture of easy injustice.
The AIDS crisis was a caution and some wondered if it was punishment for a licentious society. But there was more and more to be had and bought and a pleasant, easy retirement was in sight.
And Reagan - he was the ticket. He faced down a troublesome union in the most hardheaded way, was shot and joked that he hoped his doctor was a Republican. But most of all he turned on the spigot so that there was more and more money to be made…
And now? They are cruelly taunted by the “OK Boomer” riposte. They thought Trump would be the new Reagan. They hoped for one last vengeful kick at the can.
But not all of them. Curiously, they are a bit of a schizophrenic generation now. Some are so hardened that they are immune to any sentiment about their hippie youth. But many look back, see who they once were and what possibilities existed to change the world. And they grieve.
And some of us still hope.
And formed communities of hope where we continue to nurture each other.
Our numbers are dwindling as the years pick us off, and still we dare to hope.
Hi Diane, I attended the Woodstock Concert in 1969 as part of the film crew shooting the movie, My connection with the concert, the movie and the time spurred my interest in reading the comments on the Forum about it. I was not a hippie or directly part of the counterculture but on the political left flank (not extreme left) in the '60s and early '70s, no flowerchild was I. You may be interested in the transcript of a program/dialogue about Woodstock called, 'Did Woodstock Change America?', which was originally aired on PBS, 8/5/1994. I think the discussion, which includes Kurt Vonnegut, provides a smart sense of that period.
https://www.pbs.org/thinktank/transcript119.html
I wonder why I am a Democrat socialist boomer and some who actually hit to Woodstock are Trumpets. Strange world
Got to Woodstock are trumpers . I do demonstrate my generation’s ineptitude with a tiny keyboard
So true . Yet many of the right wing are Woodstock generation . How did they miss the message 🤷♀️
Not everyone caught that Woodstock feeling!
We are the garden.
Sis, you are so true! ✌️ 🌷🌷 ( I’ve found the more time I spend in the soil, I become more nurturing, and true)
That was not what I thought I was pasting, but it will do. Pleasant dreams
Thanks, it was great.
But it was great. Reminded me of the 1979 movie, Being There. :)
Being There. One of my all time favourite movies. Loved Peter Sellers, the actor.
A favorite of mine as well!
Thanks! Yes! With the photo.
Joni at her finest.
For some reason, this refrain has been cycling in my brain for the past few days.
I had copied and pasted this into a Facebook post and it ended here when I thought I was posting a picture. I love serendipitous mistakes.
I hear that often in my mind... sweet music... thanks!
What lucky buckarettes and buckaroos we are to have Dr. R living in our time. I am grateful for all of us here in word and image.
Right back atcha Lynell. 🤟
Thanks so much, Gus!
Yes we are fortunate. This is an amazing group.
I ENJOY YOUR ARTICLES EVERY DAY AND ARE REFRESHED BY OCCASIONAL IMAGES.
THANK YOU.
JOYCE
Thank you again, Heather, for another lovely, peaceful photo. You always deserve an evening off, but you're especially entitled after yesterday's Letter. It was so meaningful and uplifting, and we needed that.
I’ve found I need a media diet of only Professor Richardson’s ‘Letter’ and an occasional serving of The News Hour, and a local Maine Public call-in, and On Point w Megna Chakrabarti. Thank you Professor, for the wisdom contained in Peter’s photographs - a breath of fresh “news"
Me too, Frederick. I don't get fox or CNN, and msnbc seems to be devolving recently (understandable). At any rate, under medical advice and survival instinct, and in order to return to all of you, I traded away msnbc. All but Lawrence. Once a week I cheat with an hour of Nicole Wallace. That's it. And the Letter. Books, no mags or TV, unless there is no chance of politics or news. So I leave it off. Losing the sharpness that information enhances; losing the daily grind of trauma, gaining some ah, peace? Or let's call it appreciation of living. Brain tissue regenerating.
I think this so often.🌹
Thanks for your helpful spirit, your gifts are noticed and accepted Galilee. 🦚🧙♂️
That's pretty much my diet too, Frederick. More and more I find myself switching from NHPR (where I live) to Maine PR. So many more local programs which I find interesting even though I don't live there. NHPR seems to have given up on the local at least on a daily basis, and what they do have they tuck away in rather obscure corners of the schedule. Your director of the Maine CDC is a sense voice in the wilderness when he givs a press briefing too.
Have you found “Maine Calling” at 11AM EDT? Her recent feature on the life of Robert Indiana was a treasure, as were her interviews with Jamie Wyeth and the director of the Farnsworth Museum. btw, I love Dr Nirav Shaw, Maine CDC, our very own Anthony Fauci. In a way, I feel I am listening to my late, wise mother, whom I knew as a boy always had in her heart the best of my interest.
I've caught Maine Calling a few times and always enjoyed it. I'm usually at work during that time but occasionally catch it in the car running errands. I should go back in my downtime and listen to past episodes. Thanks for the reminder!
I look forward to the photos, whether from Buddy or Peter. In this latest one, the tranquil seas belie what's happening all around us.
And occasionally one of HCR’s own!
Like your columns which give us facts and history without hysteria your photos are visual respites . Thank you 🙏
Sad reading the news today that at some college football games people are chanting "F Joe Biden",
Note it was a fox article, but there was video.
I guess respect for the office no longer matters.
Sad, sad, sad. So much for common decency.
Beth, the GOP no longer see it as an "Office". It's only something to take from the Democrats.
That is a lament I share. Someone, who shall not be named, opened Pandora’s box but not because of curiosity but because they were of the same evil therein.
We have people holding signs that say that on our Interstate overpasses. Sickening and crude. Oh, they are festooned with US flags too!
The Flag!
Another symbol coopted.
That's how Propagandists work.
I do not fly Old Glory anymore. It is the symbol of our land that I have most revered in my life. Still do. But it has been defiled, for now, and to fly it where I live proclaims something totally opposite of my beliefs. She still Flys on Pearl Harbor day, in honor of my father's service in two wars. They are not taking THAT away from me! Very few flags are up then, as if the maga's could care less..
I promise myself that She WILL fly again, when we set things right.
Yes....it makes me sick. I am one who believes there is room for all of us. But when some of us set out to destroy the rest of us I reach the end of tolerance and move to resistance.
We must be intolerant of intolerance.
It’s is an infectious disease.
'Breakwater Dawn' a good name for Peter's photograph.
1. Dawn
the first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise
The photo is filled with sky and the moon is so high that harbor/house ? looks much smaller than when instead actually standing nearby to it. Perspective counts strongly when looking at this photographed scene. The vast sky is not too overwhelming as its colors are muted and dusty in tones of pastel salmon/yellow and shades of gray, a near impossible set of colors for me to relay. A bird, high in the sky with long wings flies below and away from the moon. Ah, the moon, an eye catching bright circle of off-white. I reduced the photo to half its size, so I could see it fully from top to bottom. The photo displays an uncommon view; a perfectly centered and quite dramatic composition of sky, moon, bird, harbor/house? on a jetty, with a slim slice of water all around. I would be happy to see 'Breaking Dawn' again, preferably, hanging on a wall. This exercise was very different than composing a comment about what Heather's Letter may generate. The time has been all about how to see Peter's strikingly unusual picture and then attempt to describe it. An early morning exercise in seeing and descriptive writing. I am not at ease about what I've accomplished and didn't have to do it. I could have looked at 'Breaking Dawn' and then gone on to something else, but the photo seemed to demand more of me. Thank you Peter and Heather for a different challenge. I hope that you both a good September, Monday.
Fern, when I first looked at the picture, prompted by the “Dawn” in the title, I assumed it was the sun struggling through the heavy mist. The house appears to be in shadow whereas if the sun was illuminating the moon it would put the house on light as well.
I’m not sure at all which it is but am trying to defend or make sense of the first impression I formed in my mind’s eye.
I’ll post this before looking at the photo again on a bigger screen.
It is whatever you see. Like all art once it is done it has a life different for all
Christian, Your comment seemed to be another description of 'Breakwater Dawn'. There is something that makes the photo a challenge. I thought, given the photo is at 'Dawn', that distinct circle of light couldn't be the sun as it's so high -- so it had to be the moon, according to me. I am eager to know what more you have deduced, 'Sherlock'.
The more I study the picture the more convinced I am that it is the sun.
Further points:
•we do not know how high the sun actually is without what distance the photo was taken from.
•Being a “Breakwater” and having the lighthouse cupola that would most likely be open ocean behind the house rather than a bay or estuary.
•if it is open ocean on the East Coast the photo is probably facing East.
•if it’s facing east it pretty much has to be the sun in the morning.
What is most interesting is how from a few clues we reach a conclusion without thought to other possibilities. I could be quite wrong in my take of the image but unconsciously filter out everything contrary to my first take. I constantly get trapped in my thinking that way.
I am enjoying our exchange about light, regarding the phases of the sun and moon. On the east coast, NYC, I see the sun rising in the East each morning. Occasionally, a bright moon before dawn appears when I believe the sky is still dark. As my windows face East, my vision may be limited. I have not studied the phases -- astronomy is not in my wheelhouse. Below is a link, which may be helpful with your exploration. I am now off to more mundane pursuits, but would love to hear from you if you solve this riddle. Peter, the photographer would know the answer, but solving this puzzle ourselves is appropriate because contacting him about this would I think be rude. Cheers!
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/astronomy/chapter/phases-and-motions-of-the-moon/
Reread your first comment here Fern to appreciate more your exercise of writing to develop your craft. It is appreciated.
Living in NYC (I’m envious) I urge you to spend some time at the Rose Centre for Earth and Sky at the American Natural History Museum if you wish to get some of that “interplanetary extraordinary” stuff in your wheelhouse. ANHM and MOMA are always center pieces of my trips to NYC.
Christian, I second your recommendations. The Rose Center is a wonder that I will return to. The American Natural History Museum is just 10 blocks away, and I have gone there very often. MOMA used to be a more frequent haunt, but I'm happier in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and at exhibitions in galleries around town. My usual routine has been curtailed as result of the pandemic. In terms of writing, 'Breakwater Dawn' challenged my ability at description, which I didn't pass. Your support is much appreciated. I hope that my writing is generally more lively, smooth and informative. Salud!
I just reduced the size of this photo, and it does seem different...all sky, but such muted and soft colors. A single bird (eagle?), a big moon. Actually the reduced size makes it a lot more interesting, although originally it is just fine.
What a glorious image! Thank you for all your phenomenal work. Last night's letter was extraordinary. Rest well!
Off topic, but this was posted in my Expats Watching the Shitstorm group. Would it be something to explore on your Tuesday viedo? https://eand.co/american-life-is-traumatizing-americans-but-they-dont-know-it-547889b951a2
There's this:
"When I shut my mouth and walk away, it does not mean you have won.
It simply means you are not worth my time anymore."
I have done that and for the same reason. Thanks. Forgot that one.
If only we were all "wired" the same. Physically walking away for some of us doesn't erase the emotional or mental issue.
He really hits it out of the park. Exactly, we are so overwhelmed we don't even feel it anymore. Numbness is setting in. But there is a way out. My humble take on it: https://www.stress.org/are-you-languishing
I checked it out, couldn't sign up for some reason but I will be back. You are an accomplished gentleman and I am glad to be with you and learn from you on this group. There is a lot of brainpower and perspective in this crazy family, and I am very lucky to be here!
Gus, Keep pushing. Have your primary care team give you a referral to MHS (Mental Health Services). Request a formal PTSD evaluation. If you get really desperate, contract our local Congresscritter and claim VA isn't providing adequate care. It's amazing how some Federal agencies respond when they get a Congressional inquiry.
Doctor in the house.
Thank you, Charlie. I'm more often outraged than languishing, but neither is good. Good advice, and I responded to Gailee, above, with my sanity methods.
Thank you. Being in the red zone, it’s going to be a long journey back but I need to try.
Linda, I have more. "Self Care First Aid Kit" I put together way back over a year ago. If you are interested, let me know. A gift to the community. Nameste.
Thank you, Charlie. I always welcome helpful advice.
Thank you. Just sent an email.
WOW ! It’s me to a ‘T ‘.Close to 45 yrs of it. Then finding a safe place for about 20 yrs, experiencing a Trauma during it. But losing a part of my safety in a way in 2014.And we know what happen in June of 2015 and here we are ! WOW ! Oddly I had been thinking about this, going back in my mind over the weekend. Now there is no doubt.Not much up for the fight part any longer . But the other 2 yes.
We're with you Marcia. It's all of us. I was told that part of the fight is unresolved anger or rage. When that anger turns inward as it often does (we try to contain it ), it will eat you alive. So, I would guess you do have all three. Watch out for the anger/rage, use the tremendous energy it provides, in healthy ways instead. Then work on where the anger is coming from. We'll pull it off and survive!
I agree with Gus, Gailee. As everyone here knows, this has been a really stressful time. I've taken the initiative and am being selective in what I watch on TV, and the minute I feel my BP rising, I change to something mindless - PBS Antiques Roadshow, HGTV, nature shows, whatever. We all have to decide what we can reasonably do to make things better and stay informed, then tune it out when it's too much. I banned rabid Repugs from my life during TFG's gig, and wouldn't consider "reasoning" with them. So many of us have a lot to be happy with, and we can't lose sight of that. Thanks so much for this link.
Per the suggestion from the guys, try mindfulness.
Grateful can't describe my thanks for your link Galilee! Vital reading for all of us. Especially us.
Branching out and subscribing to others on that site. You should post that link again tonight for the early birds in other time zones.
I would do it, but the honor is yours. 🦚🧙♂️
Yes. I am planning to. Thank you Gus. Please feel free also.
Geez! That’s heavy and it applies to folks living with fire and smoke 24/7 too.
We dealt with that for our final two years in SoCal. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have ME/CFS. Now we worry about all or family and friends still there.
Is your expats group open? My brother is one, in Zanzibar of all places. What about others, like us repats? Or just pats? Just asking...
Yes. It is made up of expats around the world. We're in Spain. It is called Expats Watching This Shitstorm From Afar.
Spot on! Consider how many in this world would love to have our "trauma." Yes, it's real, but there are many places where it's truly a matter of life and death.
However, many of those places have experienced trauma from birth. This is a new phenomena for Americans. Beginning with the election of 2016. We now live in Spain where the atrocities of Franco still burn in the hearts and minds of many. My friend, who is Basque, was not allowed to use her Basque name. The U.S. never had war on its soil since the Civil War. 9/11 was the first big shock and so few Americans truly know American history or why it happened. Other countries experience war, famine, genocide, etc. daily from birth. Americans have lived in a cocoon until 2016.
Exactly. While not trivializing it, 9/11 saw 3,000 people killed, but Europe was almost obliterated with 2 world wars, numerous revolutions and civil wars, 6 million Jews and other "undesirables" exterminated, Hiroshima and Stalingrad in WWII, and more. Our losses and trauma can't compare.
Spain is a beautiful country, and like most of the rest of Europe it has recovered its equilibrium. I understand that we have been very fortunate and need to put our very real problems in perspective.
I feel there is a lot of truth there.
Food for thought but certainly not the whole story.
It's a warning that gives us a place to start at least. I'm getting the same thing from the VA and taking it very seriously.
Gus, the one thing that VA got me involved in was mindfulness training. It works to keep from becoming overwhelmed.
Me too. One therapist tried CBT and I got another therapist. Did a year and a half in a 6 month ptsd group. Saved my life, and continues to right to this day. The VA takes ptsd seriously and they are getting better at it all the time. They need to lose a few lifer therapists who just don't get it, don't get us, but I have high praise for their efforts to keep us from checking out.
Thanks for your service!
Great Photo. That must be one of Peter Ralston's trained gulls.
😀
Thank you, HCR and Peter Ralston.
Rest well.
This photograph takes all my angst out of my soul this morning.... I am inspired to do nothing but work on my passion: photography! Both Peter and Buddy have become my silent mentors! I believe I feel their visions throughout my being and want to give that gift to as well!
Thank you so much for everything. Have a lovely week....
Long, heart wrenching, and hopeful