If you saw what you think was a BF, and it left you feeling less than ok, please take the time to take care of yourselves. For some of us, seeing BF is like seeing a monster. You were told monsters don't exist when you were a child, and you believed the grown-ups. Well, you know better now and, unfortunately, you are among a very small proportion of society. And your society tells you that you are a crazy liar. Well, you're not.

For those interested in looking into PTSD, try the NIMH site.

And, if you're a vet AND you've seen BF, you might have a compounded reason to seek help and may want to look around this site, hosted by the US Dept of Veteran Affairs: http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp.

Take care
Lea

I fully support the idea of PTSD in regards to BF sightings. Everyone is different and effected differently.

Hi

I have to post a thought i had on this, I know folks that have seen a BF can be traumatized, There is some effect that can come along with it, Recently there was a story of a guy that claimed he was molested by a BF and it led to some pretty bad behavior, ( we all know it pissed us off) There are some things as decent humans we need to control and not let run how we behave, I have been through a lot of stuff in my life that would way out do seeing a bigfoot........ I think i can say and be 100% accurate that the folks coming back from the war in Iraq have way out did the trauma that might come with seeing the Bigguy, some might need help in dealing with things they have seen and thats understandable, Is seeing a BF as much of a traumatic experience, compared to that ??? Should there really be a need to seek help because you have seen BF

Peace
Tim

Hi Tim
No two people react the same to anything. You're going to have people who see BF and think it's the coolest thing ever or at least not scary. You're also going to find men who were in combat who don't have any heavy duty aftermath to deal with. And we don't need to compare war vets with BF sighters to see there's a need out there for some support and meaningful intervention for some portion of both populations. It takes nothing away from vets to say some BF sighters are freaked out by what they saw to the point that it alters their sense of safety and well-being forever. And we don't have to choose which population to help -- ALL sufferers of PTSD need their needs met. I would hope anyone who's had any kind of traumatic experience that they can't shake free of on their own and with the passage of time would look for the resources and support that might be available out there for them. It's all about restoring peace of mind. And so far, since I really started opening up about this need in the last few days, I've received several PMs from sighters suffering from pretty severe emotional after-effects -- I would hazard to guess, without actually having a chance to examine them in person, that they all suffer from some degree of PTSD.

And what does it harm to try to offer people the support and comfort they might need? If it isn't offered, it can't be availed of, right?

Go here for some posts made by some who are still struggling with the effects seeing BF had on them.

If there were cases of PTSD related to bigfoot sighting they are probably few and far between, and the possiblity that someone coming back from any any military action and suffering from PTSD and then sighting a bigfoot on top of that is probably really down in the fractions of a percent of possibility. As Scooby says, everyone is different and reacts differently, and what may give one person PTSD produces no affect on the next person. Whether it's related to how a person reacts to stress or not, I don't know, or possibly the amount of stress they endure on a day to day basis previous to the incident that may or may not produce symptoms of PTSD. It's possible that someone that deals with stress on a regular basis may be less susceptible to suffering from PTSD than someone who doesn't.

I think to suggest a returning vet is going to have PTSD problems because he sees a bigfoot is really stretching the possibility of it happening. If you look at the number of sightings reported every year, in relationship to the entire population of the USA, it's a very very small percentage of the people here sight a bigfoot. For discussion sake let's say there were 5,000 sightings last year, and I don't believe there were anywhere near that many, but let's so for both reported and non-reported. We have over 300,000,000 people in the US which means approximately .000015% of our population sighted a bigfoot last year. Approximately 700,000 veterans have returned from Iraq so far which works out to .23 Percent of our population, and if things remained linear they would comprise .0000000345 percent of the sightings, IF they all came back WITH PTSD.. but that only accounts for about 1 out of 7 returning veterans, or at the high end, about 12%. So if all Veterans have a .0000000345% chance of a sighting someone with PTSD only has .00000000414% chance of seeing bigfoot, OR last year they may have seen .0000207 percent of a bigfoot, possibly like an eyelash or toenail.

Hi

moregon: if this is a reply to my post, It is not what i was getting at, If my wording was mixing the soldiers and BF i must have wrote it down wrong, I am trying to point out about the stress they have to deal with and most do very easily,

Lea: I see nothing wrong with helping folks.................. I guess coming from the old school way of thinking i would rather see someone deal with it by them selves first before having to see a doctor and possibly end up on medication that will have side effects causing other problems, Hope that comes out OK

I have never seen a BF i should have stayed away from this thread

Peace
Tim

Like Lea, I have had several PM's from people seeing me as an accepting person because of my own research sightings (which I have yet to fully share on this forum), but they know I'm an accepting person because of my research and experiences and my profession (also mental health professional). They seek the peace of mind mentioned to help them incorporate the incomprehensibility of the sighting within their own lives, so they can get back to living.

As to the need for people to freshly report their experiences, I'm afraid this may never happen regularly outside of a therapeutic appointment with a professional, though it is important for them to be able to talk to others as soon as possible to get assistance with ones terror or experiences. I can see why this forum as constructed will not evaluate fairly each and every sighting from OTHER reports on OTHER websites. If the witnesses to those encounters bring them here to report first that may be somewhat different, but not alot, nor do I think this forum was designed to be the editorial board to all bigfoot sightings, just mho.

My feelings are that maybe a separate nonjudgmental/sans cross examination DISCUSSION forum or subforum designated for others that have WITNESSED bigfoot/sasquatch could be created or a separate subforum of an established forum. I have found problems though in how one maintains anonymity if they desire to with such setups because of registering/reporting IP addresses, etc., which inevitably reveal much about location if you live near your sighting. General info. about locations can always be provided without much concern usually though. These are some additional considerations. Maybe a separate subforum for those who have made public reports to other organizations/forums would be in order. Or just maybe somebody could create a new forum for that matter. Just some thinking out of the box nothing I'm wedded to actually. Maybe there is already a thread on this or forum for this, if not maybe it could be considered. If the primatologists, zoologists should get there own (another thread), why not? I realize I have incorporated some material from other threads here but thats about the best I could do to categorize this under PTSD.

I have to ask since the creation of a subforum for those afflicted with PTSD over bigfoot sightings has been mentioned, is there a qualified therapist on this forum who is willing to counsel patients free of charge on this forum? It's not up to me to open up a new subforum, I'm just curious.

T, The nature of my suggestion was not with the assumption it would be for PTSD only, but to all witnesses that feel they can't hold a conversation with reasonable people
outside of being challenged at every turn at home, community, work, etc. And this fresh while its on their mind and not years later (since that seems to be a bone of contention in arguments about why some of these witnesses are lying). If I had an interest in this field of therapy I'd already be doing it (and yes any good therapist should be doing a percentage of pro bono work). Since I work with children primarily that person would not be me to work with PTSD subforum people (and besides I don't believe in electronic/computer therapy and many ethical and professional organizations ban such types of therapy or strictly regulate it). I mention professional help as being the proper venue always. I mention the subforum as an acceptable way for witnesses to cut down on further chances of conflict regarding the technique of "cross-examination" mentioned elsewhere, to allow discussion without perceived condescension and "rough" treatment. And, I'm not saying this is a function this forum is best suited for by any means, just thinking, if not here, where? how? why not? Maybe there are therapists out there that do computer consultations but I'm not in that business and I'm not one of them, to make that perfectly clear. To me though, any mechanism to facilitate true witness reporting is a good thing. We can't change the way people investigate reports factually such as BFRO curators, but we can facilitate acceptance of those who believe they may have witnessed bf/sasquatch.

From a therapeutic perspective, there are precious few psychologists or psychiatrists either trained to assist in BF related (or similarly, UFO abductee-related) psychotherapies, or willing to go there. The few who do get involved tend to belong to small, below the radar enclaves which occasionally emerge on such pot-stirring public broadcasts as Coast To Coast AM radio, where devotees listen attentively and professional naysayers laugh it off and consign the whole thing to the g-bin. There seems to be no professional credibility invested in the subject and no practical therapeutic help for this type of BF-generated PTSD, unless you are willing to travel to join a fringe group somewhere. The UFO phenomenon is virtually the same in terms of lack of professional credibility.

One of the problems is the credibility gap/void. If the medical practicioner has no personal experience with and no understanding of the BF phenomenon and believes the phenom to be ficticious, then you will be treated as delusional, which is no solution, either. In other words, to treat you they must tar you with the same brush of delusionary behavior you are trying to escape from out in society at large. Catch-22, there is no safe refuge! You can not win assistance within the current health industry environment of denial.

The late Dr. John Mack, formerly of Harvard University, who took the risk of formally recognizing the UFO abductee phenomenon, was roundly castigated and ostracized by his profession, just for 'going there', although he helped to bring it out of the closet, so to speak. But so far, after 35 years, it still hasn't gotten very far out of that closet and most people still laugh at it. Professionals who may hold a private interest in such matters are generally aware of what happened to Dr. Mack, and so don't want to risk their professional standing or credibility, either. They could end up getting 'Macked' by their peers.

Personally, I have spoken to psychiatrists, psychologists, general practicioner MDs, police officers and veterinarians who not only do not believe in BF, but who also will not hesitate to heap ridicule upon anyone who asks about the phenomenon. Unfortunately the witness is ultimately left to fall back on his or her own resources and fortitude. The best we can do is 'soldier on', try not to 'go postal' and get on with life as best we can. Er, double up on the meds?
Dudlow

Many grains of truth in all that Dudlow, it is an impossible figure of a task in so many ways.

Unfortunately , you forgot to mention the therapists who have dealt with , as they termed them, stress disorders, who placed them there. If were going to use the "abduction scenario" for UFO's and such then there is also the problem of implanted memories by the therapist. ( Also shows up in several other type of encounters more " mundane")

The second problem is that a great many people can convince themselves that something happened when it did not. Most therapists, I've noticed, then to deal with everything from the "victim" perspective and not from a standpoint of getting to the truth of the matter.

Third, and I hate to say this because it will come off a lot harsher than I want it to appear, but this has come up in the past on several threads . ( type " traumatic" into the search engine) And honestly I find it some what ridiculous. If seeing a Bigfoot, which in no way has harmed you , touched you or done anything other than walk past you briefly, if the encounter is indeed real, and that simple act can induce such trauma , how does that person deal with true events and make it through the day. I don't see how they can. To me a car accident, the strife in the world, politics or any number of other events real or imagined would IMO seem to be far worse.

I agree with Jim. Of course seeing a bf, or thinking that you've seen a bf can be a traumatic experience. But, if it affects you to the point that you develop PTSD, you need a heck of a lot more help than you can get from posting on a forum.

We're here to discuss, debate and question. That's it. We're not here to diagnose or offer therapy to people who think they have developed mental problems because of their sighting. Sure, I'm very sympathetic to those who have had this experience, but no way am I, or anyone else that I know of here, qualified to help a person with these types of problems. It would be a shame to let anyone think that coming here would solve their severe PTSD problems. Surely having that severe a reaction to a sighting would affect that person's every day life to the point that they need more than we can, or should, try to offer them.

JMO and all that.

Hi

BINGO

Peace
Tim

I just now read another post on another thread by Le Petit Pied that references a need for a support forum, that addressed some of my thoughts,
http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=457270
And, I clearly said, it may not be something appropriate for this forum but hey when people have to send you PM's to feel safe something is not
right here. Nuff said. And, yes I know about the caveat and all that about posting your encounters at: http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?s=&...st&p=132771

redratsnake actually I wasn't responding to your post I was responding to a statement that La Petit Pied made...



It gave a sense of urgency that people were lined up in the halls seeking help that had suffered a double whammy from two sources of stress that could cause PTSD. As I tried to demonstrate in the numbers I gave, the problem which could exist but most likely does not exist, or in worst case scenario is probably no more than a few people who are both vets and have seen a bigfoot and may suffer from PTSD from those exposures. PTSD has been around for a very long time, and for the most part is a condition that has simply been renamed to fit the times. During the wars before Viet Nam it was referred to as "Shell Shock". Where some sort of outside stimulus triggers something in the person who has PTSD and their mind puts them back in the same situation which the condition originated from.

Don't get me wrong PTSD IS a very serious condition and it does exist. It's not just situations like being a Vet or seeing a Bigfoot that could cause it. It can manifest from ANY situation where you find yourself fearing for your life or being in a life or death situation that causes you extreme and acute stress. PTSD is not necessarily a life-long situation and some even recover on their own without any outside intervention. In 1965 my dad, two brothers and I were in a very serious boating accident, we were fishing in a little wooden rowboat which was common at Northern Wisconsin Resorts at the time, and were hit broadside by a speedboat pulling water skiers at a high rate of speed. The wooden rowboat was near instantly destroyed during the accident. I can still recount every single millisecond of that experience, as time slowed down to a mere fraction of what it normally was. Out of all of us I was the one most injured with several cracked ribs and multiple bruises and whiplash, my dad and brothers were pretty well bruised up but luckily no real serious injuries, physically. My dad never went in another boat for the rest of his life, except on the lake where a hunting camp he went to in northern Canada was located and nobody else lived or had a camp on that lake. My next younger brother has only been in a boat twice since then and that's when I took him fishing with me. Then the youngest of us at the time didn't get into another boat for at least 10 years after that accident. When we got back to the resort from the Hospital, my first question was "can we go fishing tomorrow?" My dad and brothers thought I was nuts, but I really wanted to go fishing. The resort owner heard this and offered to take me out fishing if it was ok with my parents, which is was. I never stopped going into boats even for a full 24 hours after the accident, and have since that time racked up many thousands of hours in boats of all sizes. HOWEVER.. for probably the first two years after that accident I could be watching a movie, television show or reading a book. IF there was any scenes that included one boat hitting another, I was right back there at the moment of the accident. I relived the entire thing all over again, but at the same time at the back of my mind I was aware it was just an overpowering memory it wasn't an actual event. Since then those reactions have faded, I don't shake and sweat or lose track of where I am in the scope of reality. At the same time I know it's something I'll never forget. While making this post and as I began to write about the accident I found myself automatically typing every single minute detail that came to mind which was a LOT. At 5 plus paragraphs I erased it all and wrote a shorter version.

Terrible experience there with your family Moregon but you obviously pulled through it to be stronger. There is some research I heard about in the last
six months that says certain forms of therapy for PTSD may be less effective than once thought, especially if implemented
soon after exposure to the trauma. Don't have a reference for that but it was quite a shocking article and don't know if it has been replicated or how well it was thought through. Maybe Le Petit knows more about that one.

Hi

Cool : you know me, I figued i mixed something up

Peace
Tim

I agree with everything you said, jimf. You have highlighted a few of the real problems getting in the way of helpful medical assistance. Now, mind you, I'm not a medical practicioner, but here goes a personal perspective based on what I have been able to gather on the subject.

Both therapy-implanted and self-induced memories fall under the single category of false memories - regardless of the origin they are a problem. So how does the therapist therefore separate fact from fiction? In one sense, he doesn't. If we adopt Dr. John Mack's approach, in the initial stages of therapy we don't have to distinguish between the real or the delusional, we only have to establish that, to the patient, the experience was as if it was real, and treat the patient's sense of that reality as such. If it was as real to the patient as, for example, losing a child - even though that traumatic event may not have happened - then that subjective reality (believed to be truth in the mind of the patient) can be treated, regardless of whether it objectively occurred in the real world, or not.

So (1) regardless of whether the purported event was true or false, the psychopathology can be treated; but, (2), only if the therapist understands the nature of the memory event well enough to adopt an appropriate therapeutic strategy. That is, by our above example, the therapist would apply a commonly understood strategy for reassuring and comforting a patient who has lost a child. But what kind of strategy would have to be adopted in the case of BF, an unknown cryptid? There is no such strategy yet, as far as I know.

So now we have once again arrived at, "So how long have you been seeing these (large) leprauchauns"? Once again, tarred by the brush of delusion along with a therapy strategy designed to deal with illusion rather than reality. So therapy does not necessarily insist upon truth for its own sense of a positive outcome. There are therapeutic strategies for dealing with delusion and those designed to deal with reality. Dr. Mack struggled with this unsatisfactory dynamic for a long time. But all does not necessarily have to end there.

At the outset, regardless of whether he believed their delusions to be real or not, Dr. Mack set out to treat the patient's trauma. It was only after some years of reviewing many similar cases that he began to realize that there were far too many 'coincidental' similarities to be mere delusions; too many identical characteristics and stunning shared attributes among the accounts of patients who had never met each other or talked to each other before.

So step two -recognizing the phenomenon as quite likely real - took many years to get to; and that's the step that BF therapy would have to get to in order to develop an effective, reality-based therapy strategy. Proving that BF is real would immediately short-circuit the long term process that Dr. Mack went through. It would bring us back to a reality-based therapy right away. But if we're only just starting to develop Dr. Mack-type therapy strategies now - without the certainty of BF having been scientifically discovered - then that could take a very long time, indeed. And I'm not personally aware of any Dr. Mack-type BF therapists out there yet. But hopefully, soon there will be, because we need them.

As for normal life events bringing on trauma, I suppose all we can say is that everyone is cut from different cloth. Heck, a lot of people are traumatized by clowns. But in the spirit of trying to keep this grounded in BF research, I am reminded of comments by Doctors Bindernagel and Meldrum and others that the experience of actually seeing another species of bipedal creature walking in the wild - that is clearly not human - has a surprisingly unsettling effect on the human psyche, for reasons unknown. Supposedly this is widely recognized as a not uncommon and very real human reaction.
Dudlow

But in the spirit of trying to keep this grounded in BF research, I am reminded of comments by Doctors Bindernagel and Meldrum and others that the experience of actually seeing another species of bipedal creature walking in the wild - that is clearly not human - has a surprisingly unsettling effect on the human psyche, for reasons unknown. Supposedly this is widely recognized as a not uncommon and very real human reaction.
Dudlow


Thats a good take on things.....and certainly fits my experience, I'm not saying I have had a PTSD over the matter, but I have definitely become a changed person, and a little
more obsessive about the big or in my case not so big hairy man.

I'm with Jaylee and Jim on this. I don't think an Internet forum is the place to try to help someone who has suffered a real or perceived trauma of any kind. If someone is so traumatized they can't handle questions or comments from strangers on an Internet forum about a bigfoot sighting they need way more help than we can offer in my humble opinion.

As for the nasty old skeptics, there are forums and sites that believe everything that comes down the pike without any questions at all. I'm not saying anyone who has had a sighting should leave this forum. This forum has a lot more to offer than just a sighting category. The founder of the forum even warns that perhaps this is isn't the best place for witnesses to post their sightings especially if they don't want any questions asked.

JMO.

I would like to try to find the middle ground here

I have had PTSD from combat- it affected me then and does to this day

That said- a "sighting" without serious incident doesnt seem right to me

I'm all for those who had a BF "experience" having a place to talk ( I would be one of them) but I have to seriously question an average BF sighting as being a foundation for PTSD.

Sure, one of my alleged sightings caused me to be scared ( the other didnt) but fear is one thing- a traumatic experience is another.

I agree with what Jim said

LT, I kinda agree and kinda don’t. You and I know how PTSD works. And I am sure you have seen some guys wig-out at things that we wouldn’t bat an eye at. My point is everyone takes things differently. Did I suffer PTSD from my BF experience, no. Did it shake me up for some time, yes. I, too suffer from PTSD, due to combat. I tried to ignore it for years. Now I see that it has an affect on my life, I deal with it.


My point, some folks see things that they cannot deal with and it leaves an emotional scar. I can see a sighting of BF causing PTSD in a person who cannot or is not prepared to deal with it.

everyone is made different and handles things differently.Now whether seeing these creature cause some type of trauma in ones life depends on that person.There is something about seeing these creatures that some how creates this fear in us(for those who have actually seen these creatures).My sighting has not effected my life to a point where i am unable to work,or talk about what i have expierance .But it has effected me in a way that the memory is so great that i have nightmares.Now these dreams did not happen over night they happened a year or two later after the sightings .But the fear of going into the woods on my own has always been an issue .But for me I have slowly learned to go into the woods on my own and in the dark .I have done it little by little to get over my fear.But as far as Ptsd I am not sure about this if you can actualy consider seeing a bigfoot and having the creature cause you such trauma that down the road you you are Dx with PTSD.But there is enough fear that these creature can place on a person even if the creature did not harm you .

In my case, I was just too damned young, the creature was just too damned close and too damned hairy and human like, the damned adults (whose job it was to keep me safe on that camping trip ) called me a damned liar and chastised me, and I've spent the last damned 30 years living in a world that treats BF sighters like damned looneys. I think if just one or two of those elements had been different, I probably would've been able to find some closure before now. Or walked away from that experience with a different set of conclusions for myself. I'm sure there have been other mitigating factors through the years that have contributed to my anxiety that I am not safe -- 'not safe' in an extreme, exaggerated way, not the reality that we could be hit by a bus the next time we cross the street, which is something we all must cope with and go on with our lives in spite of -- so I don't blame my BF encounter for ALL of my anxiety issues. But I'm at a BF forum when I post here. I'm a member of BFF SPECIFICALLY to address that portion of my PTSD and look for some niche where others like me have found some refuge, ok? Must that also bear-up under skeptical 'examination' as well?!


Dudlow and Bipedalist -- I really got a lot out of your posts... as always. Thank you!

LT -- thanks for sharing some of your 'emotional life' in your last post. I really respected what you had to say.

Lea

In my case, I was just too damned young, the creature was just too damned close and too damned hairy and human like, the damned adults (whose job it was to keep me safe on that camping trip ) called me a damned liar and chastised me, and I've spent the last damned 30 years living in a world that treats BF sighters like damned looneys. I think if just one or two of those elements had been different, I probably would've been able to find some closure before now. Or walked away from that experience with a different set of conclusions for myself. I'm sure there have been other mitigating factors through the years that have contributed to my anxiety that I am not safe -- 'not safe' in an extreme, exaggerated way, not the reality that we could be hit by a bus the next time we cross the street, which is something we all must cope with and go on with our lives in spite of -- so I don't blame my BF encounter for ALL of my anxiety issues. But I'm at a BF forum when I post here. I'm a member of BFF SPECIFICALLY to address that portion of my PTSD and look for some niche where others like me have found some refuge, ok? Must that also bear-up under skeptical 'examination' as well?!


Dudlow and Bipedalist -- I really got a lot out of your posts... as always. Thank you!

LT -- thanks for sharing some of your 'emotional life' in your last post. I really respected what you had to say.

Lea

I read an article a couple of years ago -- I think on Cryptomundo -- about a guy who was a BF enthusiast and had a prank played on him at night as he was driving home. Someone dressed up in a BF costume crossed the road in front of him, and it rattled him pretty badly. He wouldn't walk out at night, and then someone finally let him in on it. If I remember there was still some bad blood between him and the main instigator of the prank, but the guy got to the point where he would help others deal with their sightings, especially if they were a bit frightened of it.
Wish I could remember more of it, I found the account interesting and kind of poignant. Thought it might make a nice movie if done right.

I'll testify to that. However, my fear is morphing into an obsession to find and learn more. I have been searching like mad for the past year. No sign yet, but I think I am getting close. When that day comes, it will either renew, or erase my fear. Time will tell.
Andy

I know this is probably the biggest mistake I have made on this forum, and I have made plenty, but....

People do experience things in different ways.

Is not being able to take a walk in the woods for 25 years PTSD?

Is having nightmares for 25 years PTSD?

Speaking from my own personal hell, I would have to say yes.

But for me, just being able to learn about the subject and talk about the subject without the worry of ridicule HAS HELPED.

Feel free to begin throwing the stones at me, I am beginning to get numb to it...

I know of a medicine man who has succesfully helped people deal with this.

Thanks Wolftrax,but just being able to talk to some the people here is fine with me. The only point I had to make was that these sightings (whatever they may be) are REAL experiences to people. They can be amazing, exciting or horrifying, depending on the person. We would all do well to remember that the next time a witness comes here to answer questions about a sighting report. It's ok to not believe a sighting report. But we can still be compasionate and civil. The way I have seen some witnesses treated here lately is downright shamefull and I know EXACTLY how this makes you feel.

The few people I attempted to share my sightng with in 1983 basically crucified me, so I talked to NO ONE about my sighting, for 15 years until I made a report to the BFRO in 1998. Not even my family know. I am not ignorant that there are serious researchers here who need to be thorough and scientific about thier questions, but they surely do not need to be RUDE and Calous.
I can only hope that this is not the intent, and blame it on bad social skills, which is something I can also be guilty of.

sorry rant over...

Hi

John : I am happy you did report your sighting / Encounter, It has been on of my Favorites Because it lasted more than a few minutes and you got some good detail out of it, A few weeks ago when you did the Blog show i came in late and was listening to you describe what happened, ( At the time i didn't know it was you ) I thought man this sounds like Johns sighting, I know when i asked the chat room who it was they all had a good laugh from it, I am happy you have got some good out of the forums and it has helped you, Now i think maybe you need to get back in the woods and leave it all behind ya I hope all is going ok with the arm Surgery

Peace
Tim

Tim,

I think you a going after Bill Green's title of "nicest man in Bigfootville". You are such a great person and thanks for the kind words. I am working on the getting back in the woods problem.

You Rock Dude, Thanks

JC

I totally understand where you're coming from. Is what you've experienced since your sighting PTSD? My point is that there is nobody on this forum qualified to say with 100% certainty that you do suffer from PTSD, and there's nobody here that can give you the help you need to deal with it. Sure you can talk about it and if that helps, great! But, I just don't want anyone coming here expecting to be "cured" of PTSD when all we are, or have ever professed to be, is a bigfoot discussion forum.

No stones.

True JayleeD.

There is no cure that I am aware of for PTSD. You basically have to conquer your own demons. They can give you meds, but they only work for some folks. I know just admitting it to myself, when I was told by a doc, I had it was a big step. It explained a lot of what had happened in my life since I saw my best friend die. Do I still have night traumas? Hell yes. But I deal with them better understanding that it is just my mind trying to deal with it.

I am not saying what works with me will work with others. If you feel you have PTSD, seek medical attention.

To Cisneros, my best friend for three short years, and forever after, we will drink a toast together again, someday.

It doesn't take much net searching to see that there are support groups/forums for every serious illness out there and that people are being helped by those support groups so obviously for someone who has had a sighting and is experiencing strong reactions to that sighting, and, given the fact that it is not as common as other conditions and would therefore not be very likely to be accepted even by a psychologist, the internet has become a useful tool for just such a person to seek out answers to their situation.

If they went to a psychologist and that psychologist was good at what they do they would clearly see that the effects are very real indeed, however the person is taking a chance at being told that what he/she saw can't be a real creature - which would only make things worse for that person.

I listened several times to my Grandmother who worked at the Port of Seattle during WWII talk about how she had seen with her own eyes how some of our soldiers were brought back from the battle field in cages because of the "shell shock" that they suffered. Now I have got to wonder what kind of treatment did they receive? Were they taken into a room and told that since no one else saw what they had experienced that they must be faking their symptoms? Were they questioned 99 ways to Sunday about what they saw and experienced with the questioners ready to pounce on them at any moment and say "ah,ha you just contridicted yourself because 2 days ago you said something different when I asked you about that". Were they simply locked up and not allowed to express themselves once they reached the point of being lucid, if they ever did? That would be in humane. So why are BF sighters being treated that way in a cyber sort of manner?

I have always said that sightings/sighters should be asked questions, but to the majority of people answering questions is something totally different than what has been going on here lately. I thought it was quite funny the way Mr. Thornton's report was already being called a hoax and that he was a liar and he was just telling "trucker stories" THEN Mr Thornton came into the thread and it was as if everyone wanted to pretend that those things were never said about him.

I'm curious now - is this really a forum that practices freedom of expression within the guidelines or are some people being banned, and/or blocked simply because some of those who can do so just don't like what they are saying? Why on earth would someone do that to someone who was experiencing strong negative reactions to their BF sighting and was finding it a relief to finally be able to talk about it in one form or another? This is not the same thing as those who have wild and fanciful stories about BF being from outer space or jumping to a different dimension.

Certainly the creators of this forum can see that there are people who would like to have a thread where their experience and/or reactions (call it PTSD if you want) could be freely discussed without the overbearing scrutiny that some want to place on them.

They dealt with it like all soldiers did back when men where men, they manned up and took it like a man. That is why you see so much alcoholism in military members. My grandfather was a raging one until he put down the bottle in 1970 shortly after I was born and then shortly there after his mother died. After the War of Northern Aggression, many soldiers became morphine addicts in part due to their medical treatment during injury, but also because it removed all pain. Opium dens where very popular too, but not a direct link. Now we realize that PTSD (shell-shock) is a real ailment. It is treated with more respect than ever. But it is still looked on with some shame. It should be noted with the recent rise of violence that our military is experiencing when the troops come home, that there are now serious counseling options available.

I was just a kid goofing around in the woods that got the beejeebers scared out of him and it caused me some problems. I really do not want to compare myself to the brave men and women of war who lost much more than I.

hey everyone i dont think there is any stress of seeing a sasquatch it just a freeze frame feeling that is wonderful not scarely not a shock feeling but honored of what was seen. thanks bill interesting new thread indeedy. honest inportant opinions please..

>>>I have always said that sightings/sighters should be asked questions, but to the majority of people answering questions is something totally different than what has been going on here lately.

I'm not sure I follow you here. What "totally different" thing do you see?

>>>THEN Mr Thornton came into the thread and it was as if everyone wanted to pretend that those things were never said about him.

NOT everyone

Yes, I'm sure that many turned to the bottle and other drugs in order to deal with what they saw, but the men that my Grandmother would talk about were litteraly locked in a cage because they had 'lost their minds' and were unable to function at a high enough level to even get their hands on a bottle.

I'm glad that it is now being recognized and options are available, but I do hear from friends that there is still not enough being done.

One friend of mine who came back from Viet Nam and was dealing quite well with his war experience bought 40 acres out in the middle of nowhere where he and his wife raised six children. When someone started stealing things out of his barn he consulted with the local Law Enforcement which was automatic for him because he was helping them in other areas of their work, and he talked to them about setting an "alarm" on the barn door since the theives had simply broken off the locks. The Sherrif thought that would be appropriate as long as it didn't harm anybody.

Later he heard the term "trip wire vet" in a presentation about PTSD and he didn't even realize what the term meant. When he asked the presenter what this term meant in private after the presentation, the speaker said "these are the guys who came back and went off and bought 40 acres in the middle of nowhere and set "alarms" using the skills that they had learned in Viet Nam" He said that it hit like a ton of bricks. His wife had asked him to go to the presentation because of other "symptoms" which he thought was a bunch of bunk.

In severe cases such as that they were generally institutionalized. When family members did claim them, they usually spent the rest of their lives locked in a back room or shed. The local doc would visit and leave plenty of happy pills. I did a lot of interviews with WWII vets and this topic came up twice. One of the most shocking things is that when you talk to these guys, they still feel and hear and smell it all as if they were there 60 years after the fact (so much for me ever “getting over it”). I am sure LT knows what I am talking about.

John I was not trying to insinuate that you did not experience PTSD. I actually see any event that is perceived by ones mind as traumatic as a possible cause of PTSD. Some children are abused and they can move on, others (most) experience PTSD the rest of their lives. I think when we say PTSD we think military/combat, but it can happen to anyone.

I did not take it that way Scooby, no worries!

The Dine' have what's called the Warrior Way ceremony in order to ward off the sprits of the slain enemies and horrors of war and those memories.

I know that my Grandmother was told not to talk about what she saw, I bet that putting a lid on it was the normal response back then. Thanks for your insight.

Putting a lid on it - no matter what the source only causes more problems, and is probably the reason Le Petit Pied thought it would be good to bring it up here.

Le Petit, what say you??

Very interesting - they recognized that something needed to be done, no doubt there were also many a personal quests to deal with these things. Thanks

And it's still practiced today, and is very beneficial.

I know exactly what you mean- the "faces" never go away- then theres a trigger and you are just "transported" back there- then comes second guessing- then comes condemnation- then comes those "conversations".

There is no escaping it- it "finds" you

No matter how hard you try to hide. Amen! Little things for me, mainly smells, but a few months ago there was a loud thump outside and there I was scurrying out of a sound sleep shoving my fiancée under the bed. That was the first bad one I had in years, the first she ever saw. Any wonder why she said I needed to see someone? But mainly it is just dreams that may not come for months, then two or three a night.

As an aside to you LT. I have noticed reading about WWII, my interviews with WWII vets, and actually watching Band of Brothers (yes I know it has flaws, but the relationships are pretty close) I seem to cope better. Maybe some type of therapy involved in facing it again. My grandfather never watched a war movie of any kind. Maybe it’s just facing your demons. But I know I cry more when those vets tear up cause I know what they are feeling. To imagine that they made it all that time with little help. God bless them and all our VETS, in the past, now, and in the future.

I really am not crazy, no matter what the shrink says! (that’s a joke folks)

No, you aint crazy( but I wish to God you were then I would have an out)

The faces and voices are bad enough- then come the "questions" ( thats a separate nightmare)-one that really leaves one "lacking"

They look at us to make a "difference" then politics comes up wanting- then we gaze upon the faces that looked upon us as saviors then realize we are often impotent.


Then comes the rationalization of those "high sounding words" versus what we actually deliver.

Then trying to explain it to mothers/wives who were looking to us to be that "difference" and explain why we FAILED.

Yeah, war is hell- I guess thats why its best avoided. It never goes away. It never stops.