PTSD is only real because we have made it so

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Jan. 6, 2016 - PRLog -- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an all too common affliction found among war veterans. According to RAND, at least 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans suffer from PTSD and/or Depression. Additionally, a large amount of cases go unreported. Many veterans who struggle with its symptoms don’t seek any support for fear of the implications on their jobs and most of all for what it means about themselves. War veteran and PTSD survivor Akshay Nanavati, founder of coaching program, Existing2Living (http://www.existing2living.com/), has evidence to prove that the symptoms associated with PTSD do not equate to disorder. He says these symptoms are just normal responses to war and we must not let our veterans believe the symptoms mean there is something wrong with them.

We have taught our veterans that PTSD is an inevitable result of going to war. With PTSD so regularly discussed in the media, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for veterans. Nanavati has drawn on his own experience as a survivor of the war on Iraq and his extensive research in neuroscience and psychology to conclude that veterans, like most people, do not know the impact that our subconscious has on our lives. The limitations of free will ensure that when veterans are led to believe that PTSD is a condition likely to be developed, the inevitably of this fact takes root in their subconscious. Instead of letting veterans be ruled by this subconscious thought process, Nanavati educates them about the true nature of fear, trauma, stress, anxiety and suffering. Through his research backed training which goes against the unhelpful conventional methodologies currently in place, he seeks to help veterans embrace Post Traumatic Growth, the idea that human beings can be upwardly lifted by their encounters with life challenges, in profoundly positive ways.  He personally experienced this phenomenon when someone told him that war “must have been a beautiful experience.”

“We should create a paradigm illustrating that the adversity brought on by war is to be embraced and treasured.”States Akshay Nanavati, Founder of Existing2Living. “If this was the case, our veterans would go to war expecting to come back having grown and learned from the challenges that they have faced, rather than believing they will suffer as a result of their experience.”

Nanavati stresses the importance of looking at veterans without pity, which can reinforce a victim mindset, the notion that PTSD is inevitable and that they are predisposed to suffering due to the fact that they have fought in a war. If we view veterans as heroes whose experience only makes them stronger, we encourage Post Traumatic Growth, offering a new perspective to veterans who have previously been given only one way to look at things. One way to do this is to tell stories of veterans who have found growth in war as opposed to those that suffer with PTSD and those that commit suicide. This will begin to change the archetype on what is the “normal”response to war. Nanavati is on a mission to change the conversation, emboldening veterans to share stories of growth from trauma, rather than focusing on its negative impact.

“We can change the lives of veterans by changing the way we treat them.”Continues Nanavati. “If we are able to alter our perspectives and beliefs about those who have fought for our country, veterans will learn to look at their experiences from a new angle, and will be much more likely to return happy and well-adjusted as a result.”

For more information on Existing2Living or Akshay Nanavati visit www.existing2living.com. To interview Nanavati on his experience and techniques please email eosborn@beautifulplanning.com or call 1.877.841.7244.

About Akshay Nanavati

After struggling through drug and alcohol addiction, as well as PTSD, Akshay Nanavati learned to use his struggles as sources of empowerment rather than letting them keep him from moving forward in his career. Self-taught by reading multiple books a week, Nanavati was able to develop empowering habits, change his thought patterns, and take action to build a business helping others to do the same, with his entrepreneurial coaching program Existing2Living. A trained coach by ICF accredited institution, Accomplishment Coaching, Nanavati is also trained in methodologies taught by Jack Canfield in his Train the Trainer program. An avid athlete and student of Gym Jones, which is often referred to as “the world’s best gym,”Nanavati is now on a journey to run across every country in the world, having conquered 8 countries thus far. He uses these experiences to implement his Existing2Living teachings, and to help individuals push the boundaries of their limits and embrace the art of suffering, in order to create a life free from it. This is what will ultimately lead to professional fulfillment.