(recently posted at www.lifebeforebusiness.com)

Recently, I heard a report on NPR about soldiers being diagnosed with PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) and was reminded about my own battle with PTSD many years ago.  My youth, to say the least, was a constant battle of turnover and turmoil with the ultimate crescendo being a violent automobile accident that put me in the hospital for two months.  During that year I died twice and through the beauty of health and science was brought back to face another day.

It took at least five years for the reality of that painful year to creep up into my consciousness so that I could see it.  I may have been able to squelch its squawks before then with the understood “heavy partying” of youth and running as fast as I could within my life so that I did not have to face the feelings.  Whatever the case, it wasn’t until several years afterwards that the feelings and thoughts became too overwhelming for me to ignore.  The good news was that this propelled me into psychotherapy so that I could understand what was going on. The not so good news was it took me the good part of my twenties to just be able to live in the world, hold down a job, and live like a “normal” person (whatever that is!?) much less ever consider striping out in my own business.

What I’ve come to understand about PTSD for myself is that it is our own built in “early warning system” to let us know that all is not well in Kansas so to speak.  I do not see having PTSD as a defect, failure or any other negative definition that could be assigned, rather it is an indication that the person is sensitive and able to feel, think and process on many levels. I daresay that soldiers of war who experience PTSD are probably more close to normal than those that without the symptoms.  War is not pretty, it is violent, sad, angry and out of our everyday realm of understanding.  Seems like a pretty good opportunity for some to experience an overwhelming response to it.

The hope I want impart today is that when PTSD is addressed and cared for, those very characteristics that ignited fearful hearts and feelings within us can be transformed into talents, ideas and services that make us into powerful small business owners who are fully tapped in and aware of the world around us and therefore much better prepared to serve our customers and clients.

It’s all in the way we look at things…..