Today's blog post is going to be very fun for me, and possibly full of tangents, because I spent a great deal of time investigating PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) in college. In fact, my final paper before graduating was on PTSD in children because it doesn't get nearly enough coverage in the main stream media, and it is a very significant problem. In fact, when most people hear about PTSD they think about military veterans, because we had many commercials for years surrounding the military and this condition. However, PTSD dates back to the beginning of human history, and continues to effect many people from many different backgrounds.
Today's blog post is going to be very fun for me, and possibly full of tangents, because I spent a great deal of time investigating PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) in college. In fact, my final paper before graduating was on PTSD in children because it doesn't get nearly enough coverage in the main stream media, and it is a very significant problem. In fact, when most people hear about PTSD they think about military veterans, because we had many commercials for years surrounding the military and this condition. However, PTSD dates back to the beginning of human history, and continues to affect many people from many different backgrounds.
Post traumatic Stress Disorder: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder that sometimes follows when a person has directly experienced or witnessed an extremely traumatic, tragic, or terrifying event. People with PTSD usually have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. (http://psychcentral.com/disorders/ptsd/)
PTSD is an extremely virulent reaction to a traumatic experience. The traumatic experiences range in severity depending upon how the person is affected. This makes PTSD extremely difficult to understand and treat, because two people can look at the same situation and have completely different reactions. In fact, identical twins can have different levels of PTSD after witnessing the same traumatic experience. This is why every case of PTSD must be treated in isolation, because none are exactly the same.
Have you ever had friends that seems to struggle with getting past a particular event in their past? That person could be a veteran who watched their friends die while in action, or perhaps a person that was sexually assaulted as a child. PTSD is something that can out of nowhere and completely turn someone's life upside down. Even with therapy and medications, PTSD is still rampant and many people cannot acclimate to life within society. PTSD has many different shapes and forms, but they are all important to identify and talk about.
Do MLMers get PTSD after they leave??? Undeniably yes...and I am a part of this terrible statistic even though my version of PTSD is not as severe as others. I still get very angry when I see MLMs pop up on my Facebook, I have distanced myself from people I previously considered friends, and most importantly...I started this blog because I still have recurring issues with my MLM experience. I have written my account of the FED (Freedom Enterprise Days) I attended in October of 2015 on many different blogs, and I have written many comments debating against MLM. However, I still have not had closure, and may never have closure until the entire MLM operation is shut down, or if I expire...whichever comes first.
After reading the comments left from my story on other blogs, the stories from other MLM survivors, and the continued posts from MLM bloggers, I have come to the conclusion that PTSD in ex-MLMers is a very serious condition. We have people writing many years after their experience about the damage they did to their friends and family, the personal losses such as money, houses, cars, and the emotional burden on themselves after being taken advantage of as well as taking advantage of the people closest to them.
If you still feel like you are struggling with your MLM experience, have a story you would like me to share on the blog, or simply want to chat about something involving your MLM experience. Please feel free to e-mail me at Thedude2488@gmail.com, and yes that is a Big Lebowski reference.
Today's blog post is going to be very fun for me, and possibly full of tangents, because I spent a great deal of time investigating PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) in college. In fact, my final paper before graduating was on PTSD in children because it doesn't get nearly enough coverage in the main stream media, and it is a very significant problem. In fact, when most people hear about PTSD they think about military veterans, because we had many commercials for years surrounding the military and this condition. However, PTSD dates back to the beginning of human history, and continues to affect many people from many different backgrounds.
Post traumatic Stress Disorder: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating mental disorder that sometimes follows when a person has directly experienced or witnessed an extremely traumatic, tragic, or terrifying event. People with PTSD usually have persistent frightening thoughts and memories of their ordeal and feel emotionally numb, especially with people they were once close to. (http://psychcentral.com/disorders/ptsd/)
PTSD is an extremely virulent reaction to a traumatic experience. The traumatic experiences range in severity depending upon how the person is affected. This makes PTSD extremely difficult to understand and treat, because two people can look at the same situation and have completely different reactions. In fact, identical twins can have different levels of PTSD after witnessing the same traumatic experience. This is why every case of PTSD must be treated in isolation, because none are exactly the same.
Have you ever had friends that seems to struggle with getting past a particular event in their past? That person could be a veteran who watched their friends die while in action, or perhaps a person that was sexually assaulted as a child. PTSD is something that can out of nowhere and completely turn someone's life upside down. Even with therapy and medications, PTSD is still rampant and many people cannot acclimate to life within society. PTSD has many different shapes and forms, but they are all important to identify and talk about.
Do MLMers get PTSD after they leave??? Undeniably yes...and I am a part of this terrible statistic even though my version of PTSD is not as severe as others. I still get very angry when I see MLMs pop up on my Facebook, I have distanced myself from people I previously considered friends, and most importantly...I started this blog because I still have recurring issues with my MLM experience. I have written my account of the FED (Freedom Enterprise Days) I attended in October of 2015 on many different blogs, and I have written many comments debating against MLM. However, I still have not had closure, and may never have closure until the entire MLM operation is shut down, or if I expire...whichever comes first.
After reading the comments left from my story on other blogs, the stories from other MLM survivors, and the continued posts from MLM bloggers, I have come to the conclusion that PTSD in ex-MLMers is a very serious condition. We have people writing many years after their experience about the damage they did to their friends and family, the personal losses such as money, houses, cars, and the emotional burden on themselves after being taken advantage of as well as taking advantage of the people closest to them.
If you still feel like you are struggling with your MLM experience, have a story you would like me to share on the blog, or simply want to chat about something involving your MLM experience. Please feel free to e-mail me at Thedude2488@gmail.com, and yes that is a Big Lebowski reference.
Interesting post. I never really thought about it before but PTSD is an interesting take on an MLM experience and I do believe it's possible that people suffer in various degrees from something like that. After I left MLM, I sort of just forgot about it and was thankful for the extra free time and money I suddenly had.
ReplyDeleteBut later, I saw some news articles and things that talked about the Amway tools scam (this was in 1998 or so). Eventually I forgot about it again.
A few years later when the internet was common, I discovered dedicated websites that spoke about the perils of Amway and the tool scam. It validated my previous suspicions and it brought out some anger. Running a popular Amway blog for years now, has brought me relief and I have been able to let go of the anger and frustration. It's been therapeutic. I think you'll eventually see what I mean.
I still blog to help people but I'm at peace over my past experience.
Thank you for sharing that history Joe. I did not mean to imply that PTSD is something that will last forever, and it is something that varies in degree of intensity. There are many people that have fully recovered through years of therapy and medications, but there are many more that haven't.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest problem I've come across with people who have PTSD is the inability of the doctors to properly diagnose them. In the case of children, PTSD manifests itself much later in life, and can sometimes look like a psychotic break, schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder, or many other conditions. Unfortunately, much like cancer, there are no cures and the people who suffer from PTSD can go through many different types of treatments with no positive results. The best solutions seem to be therapy mixed with some sort of medication depending on other diagnoses involving their brain chemistry. The goal, much of the time, is to simply restore them to a functional life within our society.