The following was talken from several notecards, but I think it illustrates what Fearless Nation is all about, better than any words I could use. I first found Fearless Nation from a discussion with a dear friend and co owner of Fearless Nation Sue Mowadeng.
Their site and sim in world provide PTSD sufferers with a TON on information, quiet, peaceful places for you. Fearless Nation help PTSD sufferers with education resources, peer discussion groups, help with choosing a therapist and therapies, biofeedback resources, PTSD history and so much more.
Jennifer Curtau
Meet ~ Learn ~ Reconnect ~ Begin Recovery
PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
PTSD is a condition, NOT a disease, NOT a mental illness. It is a lasting reaction to a horrifying event. PTSD is a response by normal people to an abnormal event.
Early History of PTSD
Because people have been experiencing extremely stressful, potentially life-threatening events for centuries, clearly PTSD is a condition that has plagued humans for quite some time before the APA officially recognized it as an emotional disorder. In fact, throughout our history, PTSD has been called a number of other different names, including:
* ‘battle fatigue’ or ‘gross stress reaction’ for soldiers with PTSD after World War II
* ‘combat fatigue’ or ‘shell shock’ for soldiers who experienced PTSD symptoms after World War I
* soldier's heart for soldiers who developed the symptoms of PTSD after the Civil War.
Unfortunately, before the medical community recognized PTSD as a viable emotional disorder, most leaders and doctors thought it was simply nothing more than cowardice or personal weakness.
PTSD in Modern Times
Although PTSD was largely disregarded for decades, the Vietnam War brought significant public attention to this emotional disorder when doctors began to diagnose it as post-Vietnam syndrome. The Vietnam veterans who suffered from this disorder pushed the medical and the military community to recognize it as a legitimate disorder.
Today, about 7 percent to 8 percent of the general population will develop PTSD. These numbers go up significantly for crime victims, law enforcement, combat soldiers and prisoner of war survivors, among whom PTSD has anywhere from a 10 percent to 30 percent chance of developing.
PTSD and Popular Culture
The general public has learned a lot about PTSD thanks to the movie and film industry. In fact most people have learned about the syndrome by viewing PTSD in film. Films like "Fearless" or "Mercy", or films about the Vietnam War, such as “Apocalypse Now”, “The Deer Hunter” and “Born on the Fourth of July”, have all featured Vietnam veterans who end up having to deal with the issues that come with PTSD. These films have been well-received by audiences, which tells us that, as a culture, humans are very interested in how other people deal with traumatic events in their lives.
Not only has the film industry captured the realities of PTSD, books and novels also explore this subject. Phillip Cavuto wrote A Rumor of War, which is considered to be one of the classic works on the subject of PTSD. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien is another excellent work about a Vietnam vet who struggles with PTSD.
* The majority of PTSD sufferers are NOT military or combat veterans, but ordinary people who have survived a horrifying event.
These people include:
- Emergency response workers, EMTs, Trauma Medical personnel (jobs with high levels of life-threatening stress)
- Police officers (job with high levels of life-threatening stress)
- Disaster response workers (job with high levels of life-threatening stress)
- War refugees and those living in war zones
- Crime victims (rape, assault, hate crimes, etc.)
- Sexual abuse survivors
- Child abuse survivors (including sexual, psychological or physical abuse)
- Torture and hostage victims
- Human trafficking victims (rape + hostage + long term abuse)
- Concentration camp inmates and prisoners of war
- Man-made and natural disaster survivors (vehicular accidents, war, hurricanes, etc.)
- Victims of intense bullying at school or work
- Accident (car crash, plane crash, vehicular disaster) victims
Why Can A Virtual Reality Environment (VRE) like Second Life be Helpful for People with PTSD?
A virtual environment can be helpful for people with PTSD for a number of reasons:
* Cost Effective: Most PTSDers are challenged with health costs and employment issues. SL offers a FREE VRE rich in offerings that educate and support the post-trauma condition at little or no cost. Fearless Nation provide educational tools in the VRE that you would pay a good deal of money for in the real, physical world. Social events, lectures, group activities are all provided, free of charge to you.
* Low-Stress Environment: No need to battle traffic to get to a group meeting or event,no stress over feeling "crowded"...You are in control.
* Reconnection with Others: PTSD is a very lonely condition. Those of us with PTSD are often fearful of groups of people, social situations, and physical interaction with people. Most of us long for a social life again, to converse with others, make friends, go out and have fun. The VRE provides this--if you get uncomfortable, you can log off.
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(Contact Anya Ibor in SL)
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