Post Traumatic - A Black Physician's Journey Through PTSD

By Michael Thomas Gadson MD

Many people were surprised when this
highly successful doctor's life seem to unravel
after being attacked by a patient. The shame,
embarrassment and arm chair diagnoses given
to him by those around him were difficult to
bear. In reality he had come to believe that he
was finally "safe" and had "arrived" only to
experience death threats, stalking and physical
attacks that resurrected earlier traumas from
their quiescence.
"It no longer bothers me that others didn't
understand or accept my illness, but if I were
to heal I needed to be honest with myself and
help others who may be struggling with Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781365523434

Book preview

Post Traumatic - A Black Physician's Journey Through PTSD

Post Traumatic

A Black Physician’s Journey Through PTSD

By

Michael T. Gadson MD

Dedicated to all my brothers and sisters

November 4, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-365-52343-4

Copyright 2016          All rights reserved

The Timewell Press

Other Works by Dr. Gadson

I Have No Poetry Tonight

Copyright 1994

Reprinted 2016

The True Essence of Healing

(Psychiatry as Ministry)

Copyright 2010

All Books available at LuLu.com

The True Essence of Healing is on Amazon

The Poet

The poet

Writes from nature’s heart.

Embraced by her

Tenderness,

His soul

Softens

To receive her words.

Introduction

The wounds of Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) resonate in our genes as far back as primeval times when we had to confront our deepest fears to survive as a species.  Descending from the trees, emerging from the jungles of Africa and migrating to other continents was a formidable undertaking.  Our genes record the challenges, adaptations and evolution necessary to survive the famines, tsunamis, and threatened extinctions that had impacted our species over the millennium. So, it is with our souls, which encode the wounds upon the general psyche and our collective unconsciousness in ways yet to be decoded or deciphered.

There seem to be wounds that never heal.  Such is the impact of PTSD. It is reflected and manifested in every aspect of our lives and interactions with others.  Unhealed wounds fester and become infected, sometimes tainting and infecting everything we appreciate, value or love. It is a contagion, in medical terms, that has an insidious and devastating impacting on every area of our lives.  We know that we have it, but there are no true outward manifestations that belay the damage that lies underneath, within and throughout our soul.

Our wounds and trauma extend back in time and travel down through the generations to follow.  The trauma of slavery in South Carolina is part of my heritage and was endured by my ancestors.  It, too, was encoded