A path takes shape through too much walking of travelers. To open more roads, one has to turn to where there is no track. While in Canada, a couple witnessed a horrible accident, as they were trapped in their own car. A girl was trapped in a car and screaming, “Get me out of here—I am on fire!” Helplessly, they saw her die as the care she was in had been consumed by flames. Justin’s wife, Britney was sitting there frozen in fear. They were rescued from the car later that evening and taken to the hospital. While in the emergency room, they were assessed and besides a few cuts, they were found to be physically healthy. At the house that night, neither Britney nor Justin wanted to go to sleep. They felt that if they let go, they would die. As a result, the couple was irritable, jumpy, and nervous.  #RyanPhillippe 1 of 6

That night, and for many nights to come, the couple drank copious quantities of wine to numb their fear. They could not stop the images that were haunted them or the questions that went on and on: What if they had left earlier? What is they had not stopped for gas? After three months of this, they sought help from trap therapy. The trap therapist, at the Trauma Center, was a student at the time and told Britney and Justin they she wanted to have their heads checked and also recommended they have Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) done which is a noninvasive scan of the brain to check for damage or activity, and changes to blood flow in the brain. #RyanPhillippe 2 of 6

The medical student thought it would also be nice to form a script of what had happened at the accident and replay it, along with using sounds they might have smelled, images they may have seen, sounds they may have heard and other experiences they may have had while trapped in the car. Justin went first and immediately went into a flashback, just as a professional would expect. He came out of the scanner soaking wet from sweating so much, with his heart racing and blood pressure as high as the Empire State Building. This is just the way I felt during the accident. I was sure I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to save myself, reported Justin. Instead of remembering the accident as something that had happened three months earlier, Justin was reliving it.  #RyanPhillippe 3 of 6

Dissociation is the essence of trauma. The overwhelming experience is split off and fragmented, so that the emotions, sounds, images, thoughts, and physical sensations related to the trauma take on a life of their own. The sensory fragments of memory intrude into the present, where they are literally relived. Having a human body brings an undeniable sense. When the trauma is relived and on purpose, separation is experienced, and changes in the status quo of life are experienced as threatening and fearful. We feel limited when we live only one dimension of life. Fear limits life, but also signals that we are refusing one-half of the equation. In order to heal suffering, we must recover our transcendental nature are Presence, which refers to the aspect of God’s nature and power that is wholly independent of man and their labels. #RyanPhillippe 4 of 6

As long as the trauma is not resolved, the stress hormones that the body secretes to protect itself keep circulating, and the defensive movement and emotional response keep getting replayed. Unlike Justin, however, Britney was not aware of the connection between her “crazy” feelings and the reactions and the traumatic events that were being replayed. She had no idea why she was responding to some minor irritation as if she was about to be annihilated. She collapsed in her fear, and the inner critics of her mind introjected harsh feelings and thoughts and tried to convince her she had no control over her own life nor destiny. Britney kept thinking: If I just do what they say, I will get the love I am looking for. Britney felt small, deficient, worthless, isolated and cut off from herself and the World around her. She wanted to get out of here, but felt lost and incapable. #RyanPhillippe 5 of 6

Flashbacks and reliving are in some ways worse than that trauma itself. A traumatic event has a beginning and an end—at some point it is over. However, for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), a flashback can occur at any time, whether they are awake or asleep. There is no way of knowing when it is going to occur again or how long it will last. People who suffer from flashbacks often organize their lives around trying to protect against reliving these painful memories. They may avoid certain people, areas, or situations, excessively exercise (but no find they are never strong or skinny enough), they may numb themselves with drugs, or try to cultivate an illusory sense of control in highly dangerous situations (like motorcycle racing, sky diving, swimming to the Golden Gate Bridge, or working in life threatening jobs). Constantly fighting unseen danger is exhausting and leave them fatigued, depressed, and weary. #RyanPhillippe 6 of 6