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A
walk with Ellevie
In
September 1977, it was predicted
that this story
will be made into a movie one day
and I believe it will.
There were other predictions made on
that day as well - which
materialized.
It is an incredible story but back
then no one believed her -
even I.
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No
part of this site
may be copied,
stored into a
retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any
form or by any means
(electronic,
mechanical,
photocopying or
otherwise), without
the prior written
permission of the
copyright owner.
© Marcelle
Evie Guy 2011
Disclaimer:
This site is not
intended to
provide medical
advice, diagnosis
or treatment.
To
contact
this author:: e-mail
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PREAMBLE
What
is Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder?
Post-traumatic
stress disorder, often
abbreviated as PTSD, is a
complex disorder in which the
affected person's memory,
emotional responses,
intellectual processes, and
nervous system have all been
disrupted by one or more
traumatic experiences. It is
sometimes summarized as "a
normal reaction to abnormal
events." The
DSM-IV-TR (the
professional's diagnostic
manual) classifies PSTD as an
anxiety disorder.
How
to Define Trauma?
The
Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM-IV defines a traumatic
experience as one that
involves a threat of death or
serious injury and inspires
intense fear, helplessness, or
horror. The victim may
experience the trauma
directly, witness it first
hand, or be confronted with it
in some other way.
ADULTS
AT WAR
War Veterans and Post
Traumatic Stress
For
the general population, repressed
memories, amnesia, post traumatic
stress, are
phenomenons that are not well
understood. And not surprisingly
because until a few years ago most
professionals - doctors,
psychiatrists, psychologists and
therapists did not understand it
either. Many did not explore the
signs and symptoms. Some did not
believe it existed.
For these reasons I want to begin this
story with some examples that might
help everyone understand the mechanism
of repressed memories and amnesia and
what triggers post traumatic
stress. I want to speak about
war veterans.
While post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) was not officially recognized
as a clinical condition until
1980's, there has been some
studies of the symptoms in earlier
conflicts of wars prior to
Vietnam.
The National Center for Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder estimates that one of
every 20 World War II veterans
suffered from PTSD and had symptoms
such as bad dreams, irritability and
flashbacks.
It is estimated that more than 15
percent of all male veterans who
served in Vietnam were diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder in a
1986-1988 study by the National
Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Survey.
Thanks to Vietnam War
Veterans, we learned of the miseries
of wars and how it affected the
sordiers. It was due to Vietnam
War Veterans that psychiatrists and
psychologists began to understiand and
study more seriously PTSD. (Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder)
Vietnam War Veterans did not
internalize their pains as well as
World War II Veterans and many
veterans came home unable to adjust to
the life they knew before the
war. Many came home to fight
another war: A war
on addiction to drugs and
alcohol. For many veterans drug
use was the escape of choice from the
painful memories of war.
Today, forty years after the end of
the Vietnam war, many veterans are
still marked by emotional scars even
though some help with therapy and
prescription drugs have been available
to them.
World War II Veterans did not
speak of their experiences. They
worked, they drank, they lived with
their horrible nightmares, but they
never told anyone. They suffered
in silence. Fifty years later
when asked about history, the old men
cried. Sixty years later,
they still cried. Some sobbed
uncontrollably remembering the awful
memories of war. Most of these
men lived and died with their secrets
untold.
These men, honorable veterans
of wars, went to war as adults,
knowing they could be wounded and even
killed. And they went to war as
willing adults ready to die for their
country. And those who
came back - came back with a broken
soul - unable to speak of their
experiences. Trying
to forget what they saw - what they
suffered. They buried themselves
in their work, in booze, and in drugs.
These
are facts
(Some of the above
information was taken from a
2005 article compiled by
SF Chronicle staff writer Jack Epstein
and Chronicle researcher Johnny
Miller)
Important to note
As
we know, wars are horrible
conflicts that damage and kill
more people than any other human
interactions. However, for
the purpose of this paper and to
bring awareness to children
growing up with repressed memories
and post traumatic stress, it is
important to point out that in
adult wars, most injuries are
perpetrated by enemies.
In children, 95% of severe traumas
are perpetrated by a respected
person of authority - most often a
parent - leaving a child without
support or protection.
CHILDREN AT
WAR
What happens to children at
war?
Children
in extremely abusive
environment are children at
war much like adults at
war. Some die from
the abuse and a nation grieve
for them.
And, some survive . . .
What happens to the child that
barely survived?
While the adult veteran of war
comes home to a hero's
welcome, no one knows about
the child veteran
that barely survived a
comparable trauma.
This is what this site is
about. A look at the
child that barely survived and
managed to grow from childhood
to teenager, into adulthood
and finally, at the end of her
life as a senior
citizen. Despite the
ignorance of the medical
profession on the subject of
repressed memory, amnesia and
post traumatic stress, without
the use of drugs or alcohol,
she survived it all. You
will be surprised to learn who
helped her along the way.
By telling Ellevie's story,
this author's goal is to
educate.
Because my native tongue is
not English, you will find
some typographical or grammar
errors that I will be glad to
correct upon receiving your
note. E-mail
Please turn to page two to
continue a Walk with Ellevie
Between the verses from
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
and "My Way"
is a lifetime.
"You'll Never Walk Alone"
When
you walk through a storm hold your
head up high
And don't
be afraid of the dark.
At the end
of a storm is a golden sky
And the
sweet silver song of a lark.
Walk on
through the wind,
Walk on
through the rain,
Tho' your
dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on
with hope in your
heart
And you'll never
walk alone,
You'll
never, ever walk alone.
Walk on,
walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll
never walk alone,
You'll
never, ever walk alone.
Rodgers &
Hammerstein’s classic from
“Carousel,” “You’ll Never Walk
Alone.”
I never walked alone because . . .
There could be no better words to end a
lifetime and one of the greatest stories
ever told.
My
way
And now
the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Regrets I've had a few
But then again too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way
Yes there were times I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out, I faced it
all
And I stood tall and did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say not in a shy way
Oh no, oh no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a woman what has she got
If not herself then she has not
To say the things she truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
Yes it was my way
My Way Songwriters:
Jacques
Revaux, Paul Anka
(Eng Lyr) Gilles
Thibaut, Claude
Francois.
(Yes, I did it my way because
there were no other ways)
Hear
Andrea Bocelli sing
"My Way"
Credits
Graphic Design©
Artwork©http://www.rassouli.com/
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