PTSD and homeopathy

A quickie blog - as I watched updates of the fire in London today it brought back memories of just over 5 years ago.

One fateful morning, around 2am, I awoke, convinced that we were about to be murdered. Gunmen were trying to break down our door, and shots rang out in the dark night. Shouting and an excited rabble of people added further to the confusion. Why would they be shouting that our house was about to be burnt down if they weren't trying to flush us out and kill us?! 

To give a little bit of backstory, it probably hadn't helped that I was reading a novel set in Rwanda in the time of the Hutus and Tutsis, covering some of the massacres that happened in 1994. We'd come back from camping the night before and I'd read til 11pm or so, so waking at 2am to crackling sounds, gunshots, and people shouting my dream morphed with reality to create a terrifying time for me. How would I, how could I protect Isla from this? Would we survive?

Fortunately the reality wasn't as bad as my initial waking 'reality' but it was still pretty horrendous. We are one of a small terrace. The middle of 5 houses, and one of the end houses was on fire. A fire that had started presumably in the loft space or upper part of the house, flames were licking ten foot into the sky. My neighbour, with her knuckles bleeding by that time, was hammering on our doors - front and back - the terror and a deep sleep had made me particularly to raise. The gunshot sounds were (apart from being common apparently - I later learnt) ammunition exploding as there were bullets stored in the loft too.

Standing away from the houses and watching it, wondering if we would have any possessions and if the fire crew would be able to put it out before it spread along the terrace, was a strange experience. It probably was not helped by my lack of usual pile of clothes on the bedroom floor - arriving back from camping and having a much desired bath meant I had no PJs on, so clinging a dressing gown around me in the warm night - which was probably the least of my worries but still makes me smile - a warning never to be too tidy!!

The fire was put out by around 5/6am, but they had to go through my immediate neighbour's loft to access it fully. So we were 'safe', and as close as I'd ever like to be to that again. The entire first floor was wiped out by the fire and whilst no people were harmed there were pets who sadly died in it.

Experiencing it was huge for me, and I was aware at the time that homeopathy could help me deal with the shock. For some reason I decided that I would experience the shock, so that perhaps I might be better able to understand how shock affects a person. It's a while ago for me but I remember waking early, sleeping far less, feeling 'wired' much of the time and definitely being on overdrive. It went on weeks until I decided enough experiencing this was enough and for me, went with Aconite as a first option, repeated several times, which definitely helped me to move forwards with more sleep, less anxiety. Mindfulness exercises helped, but for me the homeopathy definitely helped to smooth the edges.

There are many other remedies that might help in PTSD and also in acute shock. I'd always look to consult a homeopath for more assistance - particularly for working with PTSD.

Sending love to everyone involved and a part of the incident in London today, but also all over the world where things are going on causing acute shock and trauma daily.

Find a homeopath near to you in the UK at www.findahomeopath.org

With love,
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Em x
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