Latest / Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast / Understanding PTSD: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How God Meets Us in the Aftermath of Trauma

Transcript

Understanding PTSD: What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How God Meets Us in the Aftermath of Trauma · Your Hope-Filled Perspective with Dr. Michelle Bengtson podcast

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio. What if the reactions you've judged yourself for
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  Speaker 1: your hypervigilance, emotional numbness, sudden panic, or exhaustion aren't signs
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  Speaker 1: of spiritual weakness or personal failure, but evidence of a
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  Speaker 1: brain that has been doing all it can to keep
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  Speaker 1: you alive. Post Traumatic stress disorder or PTSD is one
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  Speaker 1: of the most misunderstood mental health conditions, especially within faith communities. Today,
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  Speaker 1: on your Hope filled Perspective, I'm going to gently untangle
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  Speaker 1: what PTSD truly is, what it is not, and how
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  Speaker 1: God meets us, not just in the trauma itself, but
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  Speaker 1: in the long, tender aftermath that follows. Welcome back to
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  Speaker 1: your hope field perspective, where it's always our goal to
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  Speaker 1: restore hope, renew minds, and empower listeners to live in
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  Speaker 1: your God given identity. I will equip you with the
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  Speaker 1: encouragement and biblical truth you need to walk in hope.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host, doctor Michelle bankson Board, certified clinical neuropsychologist,
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  Speaker 1: author speaker, and your companion on the journey to mental, emotional,
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  Speaker 1: and spiritual wellness. I'm so thankful you're joining me for
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: today's episode. Today, I'm going to talk about understanding post
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  Speaker 1: traumatic stress disorder, what it is, what it isn't, and
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  Speaker 1: how God meets us in the aftermath of trauma. Will
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  Speaker 1: dive in right after this brief word from our sponsor.
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  Speaker 1: You love God, You've prayed, You've forgiven, So why does
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  Speaker 1: your body still react as if danger hasn't passed. If
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  Speaker 1: you've ever wondered why healing from trauma doesn't seem to
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  Speaker 1: follow a neat, faith filled formula, this episode is for you.
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  Speaker 1: In today's episode of your hope filled Perspective, I'm taking
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  Speaker 1: a compassionate, science informed, but biblically grounded look at post
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  Speaker 1: traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, what it is, what it isn't,
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  Speaker 1: and how the God who heals hearts also tenderly restores
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  Speaker 1: traumatized minds and bodies. This is a sacred conversation. If
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  Speaker 1: this topic touches something tender in you, I want you
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  Speaker 1: to know you are not alone and you are not broken.
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  Speaker 1: You are listening to this episode because something in your
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  Speaker 1: story matters. Today. I'm talking about PTSD post traumatic stress disorder,
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  Speaker 1: a term that's often used casually but misunderstood deeply and
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  Speaker 1: sometimes minimized spiritually. My prayer is that by the end
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  Speaker 1: of this episode, you will walk away with clarity, compassion
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  Speaker 1: for yourself or others, and hope rooted in both truth
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  Speaker 1: and grace. As we begin our discussion, I want to
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  Speaker 1: remind you of Lamentations three verses thirty one through thirty two,
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  Speaker 1: that says, for the Lord will not cast off forever,
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  Speaker 1: He will show compassion if you or someone you love
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  Speaker 1: is dealing with PDSD. Let this be your reminder that
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  Speaker 1: even now, God is compassionate towards you. Let's start our
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  Speaker 1: conversation by understanding what PTSD actually is. PTSD is not
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  Speaker 1: simply remembering something bad that happened. It is instead a
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  Speaker 1: neurobiological response to trauma, a trauma being an event or
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  Speaker 1: a series of events that overwhelm a person's ability to
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  Speaker 1: cope and make sense of what's happening in the present moment.
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  Speaker 1: Trauma can include abuse or neglect, sexual assault, domestic violence,
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  Speaker 1: combat or first responder experiences, medical trauma, sudden unexpected loss,
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  Speaker 1: natural disasters, or even chronic exposure to unsafe environments, among
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  Speaker 1: other things. It would be impossible for me to come
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  Speaker 1: up with an exhausted list of where trauma comes from.
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  Speaker 1: PTSD occurs when the brain's alarm system, primarily that structure
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  Speaker 1: we've talked about before. The amygdala becomes stuck in a
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  Speaker 1: heightened state of threat to detection. In trauma, the brain
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  Speaker 1: learns one core lesson, and that is that the world
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  Speaker 1: is not safe and I must stay alert to survive.
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  Speaker 1: That's the core lesson that the brain learns. The world
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  Speaker 1: is not safe and I must stay alert to survive.
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  Speaker 1: And here's something vital to understand. PTSD is not a
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  Speaker 1: failure of faith. It is the result of a God
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  Speaker 1: given nervous system that adapted to survive overwhelming circumstances. So
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  Speaker 1: now that we know what PTSD is, let's talk about
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  Speaker 1: what PTSD is not. This is where shame often creeps in,
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  Speaker 1: especially for believers. PTSD is not a lack of trust
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  Speaker 1: in God. It is not a refusal to forgive. It
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  Speaker 1: is not a sign of emotional immaturity. It is not
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  Speaker 1: a spiritual stronghold caused by insufficient prayer, nor is it
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  Speaker 1: a conscious choice to stay stuck. Let me say this clearly,
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  Speaker 1: your trauma responses are not moral failures. They are survival responses.
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  Speaker 1: When someone says I don't know why I still react
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  Speaker 1: this way, the answer is often because your brain learned
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  Speaker 1: this pattern before you had words, theology, or a choice
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  Speaker 1: in the matter. You see, the body remembers what the
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  Speaker 1: mind would rather forget. Now that we know what PTSD
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  Speaker 1: is and what it isn't, I want to continue our
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  Speaker 1: conversation about how trauma affects the brain and body, and
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  Speaker 1: we'll talk about that right after this brief word from
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  Speaker 1: our sponsor. Now that we know what PTSD is and
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  Speaker 1: what it is not, let's talk about how trauma affects
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  Speaker 1: the brain and body. Because trauma doesn't just affect our
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  Speaker 1: thoughts and our emotions, it affects our entire system. When
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  Speaker 1: trauma occurs, the amygdala becomes overactive, the hippocampus, which is
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  Speaker 1: basically the memory integration center, may go offline, and the
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  Speaker 1: prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible
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  Speaker 1: for logic, reasoning and discernment, becomes less accessible. That's why
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  Speaker 1: trauma survivors may feel hijacked by their emotions, may struggle
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  Speaker 1: to regulate emotions, may have intrusive memories or in nightmares,
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  Speaker 1: Some may feel numb or disconnected, and some may be
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  Speaker 1: easily startled or constantly overwhelmed. This is not because God
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  Speaker 1: has abandoned them. It's because the brain is prioritizing survival
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  Speaker 1: over reflection, and that is where faith and neuroscience beautifully intersect.
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  Speaker 1: God designed the brain for protection and for healing. Scripture
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  Speaker 1: tells us that God knit us together with intention, and
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  Speaker 1: that my friend includes the brain. The same brain that
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  Speaker 1: learned to protect you can also learn safety. Again. We
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  Speaker 1: talk a lot on this podcast about Romans twelfth two
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  Speaker 1: because it reminds us that transformation involves renewal, and as
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  Speaker 1: much as we don't like I get, renewal takes time.
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  Speaker 1: Healing from PTSD is not a moment. It is a
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  Speaker 1: process of retraining the nervous system to recognize that danger
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  Speaker 1: has actually passed. And here is the hope felled truth.
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  Speaker 1: God does not rush the healing, He himself designed to
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  Speaker 1: unfold gently. So let's talk about where God meets us
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  Speaker 1: after trauma. One of the most painful misconceptions I encounter
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  Speaker 1: is this belief God was there during the trauma, but
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  Speaker 1: now I have to figure out the aftermath all on
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  Speaker 1: my own. Really, nothing could be further from the truth,
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  Speaker 1: because if we allow him to, God meets us in
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  Speaker 1: the state of hypervigilance in the confusion, in the exhaustion,
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  Speaker 1: and in the slow rebuilding of trust. Psalm thirty four,
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  Speaker 1: verse eighteen tells us that the Lord is near to
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  Speaker 1: the broken hearted, not just at the moment of impact,
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  Speaker 1: but in the long seasons of repair. God is not
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  Speaker 1: disappointed by your symptoms. He is present in your healing.
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  Speaker 1: But here's a crucial point to remember, and that is
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  Speaker 1: that faith does not bypass our nervous system. One of
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  Speaker 1: the most damaging myths within Christian spaces is the idea
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  Speaker 1: that spiritual maturity should override physiological responses, that if our
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  Speaker 1: faith is strong enough, our bodies should simply fall in line.
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  Speaker 1: But scripture never teaches that faith erases biology. God designed
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  Speaker 1: our nervous system. He created the pathways and our brains
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  Speaker 1: that respond to danger, the store memory, and that regulate emotion.
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  Speaker 1: Trauma does not mean that those systems malfunctioned. It means
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  Speaker 1: they functioned exactly as to designed. But in an overwhelming situation.
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  Speaker 1: When someone experiences trauma, their nervous system learns to stay
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  Speaker 1: on high alert. That's not rebellion, it's protection. The problem
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  Speaker 1: arises not because the system is sinful, but because it
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  Speaker 1: never received the signal that the danger has ended. Faith
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  Speaker 1: practices like prayer and worship and scripture are powerful tools
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  Speaker 1: for healing. I've talked about those many many times, but
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  Speaker 1: they do not pass the nervous system. They work with it.
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  Speaker 1: That's why you may deeply believe God is good and
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  Speaker 1: yet still feel panic in your body. That's why you
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  Speaker 1: may intellectually know you are safe and still experience racing thoughts,
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  Speaker 1: tightness in your chest, or a sense of dread that
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  Speaker 1: seems to come out of nowhere. Your faith resides in
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  Speaker 1: your heart and your mind, but trauma often lives in
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  Speaker 1: the body, and God cares about both. In fact, many
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  Speaker 1: of the spiritual disciplines that we practice are actually regulating
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  Speaker 1: practices from a neuroscience perspective. Prayer helps slow our breathing
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  Speaker 1: and calm the vagus nerve. Worship engages bilateral stimulation and
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  Speaker 1: emotional processing. Scripture meditation helps restore that prefrontal cortex engagement,
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  Speaker 1: and the practice of lament allows for emotional integration rather
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  Speaker 1: than suppression. God did not design spiritual practices to shame
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  Speaker 1: us into healing faster. He designed them to gently lead
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  Speaker 1: us back into safety, connection, and trust, and sometimes God
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  Speaker 1: uses additional tools to support that healing. Trauma informed therapy
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  Speaker 1: is not a substitute for faith. It's often a means
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  Speaker 1: through which God brings restoration. Medication, when appropriate, does not
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  Speaker 1: indicate spiritual weakness anymore than medication for diabetes does. It
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  Speaker 1: can help stabilize the nervous system so that spiritual truths
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  Speaker 1: can be received more fully. I want you to think
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  Speaker 1: of it this way. If someone broke their leg, we
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  Speaker 1: would not tell them to pray harder instead of setting
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  Speaker 1: the bone. In the same way, when trauma disrupts the
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  Speaker 1: brain's ability to regulate fear and stress, it is not
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  Speaker 1: unfaithful to seek help. In fact, quite to the contrary,
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  Speaker 1: it is wise. God often works through skilled clinicians, supportive communities,
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  Speaker 1: evidence based treatments, and safe relationships. In fact, healing is
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  Speaker 1: often relational, not just theologicalhaps Most importantly, faith does not
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  Speaker 1: require us to rush the process. The Bible is filled
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  Speaker 1: with stories of gradual restoration over years and decades people
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  Speaker 1: God walked with patiently, tenderly, and over time. Trauma healing
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  Speaker 1: follows the same pattern. Sometimes healing includes trauma informed therapy.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes it's breathing exerciseuses are grounding techniques to bring us
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  Speaker 1: back into the present moment. Healing sometimes requires medication when appropriate,
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  Speaker 1: safe relationships, and practicing rest and regulation. Seeking help, my friend,
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  Speaker 1: is not a lack of faith. It's an act of stewardship. Friends.
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  Speaker 1: We're going to take a short break for this message
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  Speaker 1: from our sponsor. When we return, we will turn our
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  Speaker 1: conversation to discussing reframing what healing from PTSD really means.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be right back now. I want to turn our
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: conversation towards reframing what healing from PTSD really means. Another
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  Speaker 1: reason why PTSD can feel so discouraging is because many
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  Speaker 1: of us carry an unrealistic picture of what healing is
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  Speaker 1: supposed to look like. Sometimes it's really based on what
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  Speaker 1: we hope healing will look like. We imagine healing as
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  Speaker 1: having no more triggers, no more emotional reactions, no memories
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  Speaker 1: that resurface, and no fear or anxiety or startle response.
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  Speaker 1: My friends, Having that picture of healing sets people up
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  Speaker 1: for disappointment and unnecessary shame. Healing from PTSD does not
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  Speaker 1: mean erasing your store. It means integrating it. Healing means
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  Speaker 1: the trauma moves from the driver's seat to the back
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  Speaker 1: seat is still part of your life story, but healing
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  Speaker 1: means it no longer dictates your every response. You will
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  Speaker 1: likely still remember what happened, but healing means the memory
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  Speaker 1: no longer overwhelms your nervous system. You may still feel emotion,
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  Speaker 1: but healing means it no longer controls you. And you
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  Speaker 1: may still have moments of fear, but they pass more
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  Speaker 1: quickly with greater awareness and self compassion. One of the
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  Speaker 1: most profound shifts in healing is this you stop asking
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  Speaker 1: what's wrong with me and begin asking what happened to
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  Speaker 1: me and how did my system adapt to survive. This
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  Speaker 1: shift alone can dramatically reduce shame. Healing also looks like
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  Speaker 1: increased capacity for rest, greater tolerance for emotion, improved ability
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  Speaker 1: to stay present, more flexibility in your reactions, and renewed
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  Speaker 1: ability to experience joy, connection, and hope. But I want
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  Speaker 1: to remind you that healing is rarely linear. There will
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  Speaker 1: be days when you feel strong and grounded, and probably
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  Speaker 1: days when something unexpectedly activates old patterns. That does not
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  Speaker 1: mean you have failed. It means your brain is still learning.
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  Speaker 1: Safety in layers, Scripture reminds us that God's mercies are
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  Speaker 1: new every morning. Not because we need to start over daily,
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  Speaker 1: but because healing unfold in seasons. Isaiah forty three doesn't
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  Speaker 1: promise that we won't walk through deep waters. It promises
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  Speaker 1: we won't be overtaken by them. And that's a beautiful
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  Speaker 1: picture of healing from PTSD. Healing from PTSD is not
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  Speaker 1: about becoming who you were before the trauma. It's about
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  Speaker 1: becoming who God is shaping you to be through it.
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  Speaker 1: Many trauma survivors develop profound empathy, discernment, resilience, and spiritual depth,
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  Speaker 1: not because trauma is good, but because God redeems what
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  Speaker 1: was meant for harm. Your trauma may have changed you,
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  Speaker 1: but it doesn't disqualify you. In God's hands, even wounded
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  Speaker 1: places can become sources of compassion, wisdom, and strength. Going
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  Speaker 1: back to my reference of Isaiah forty three, it reminds
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  Speaker 1: us that God makes a way through, not around the waters.
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  Speaker 1: And friends, if you have gone through a traumatic experience
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  Speaker 1: and you wonder how can any good come from this?
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  Speaker 1: And please encourage you to pick up a copy of
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: my book's Sacred Scars, resting in God's promise that your
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  Speaker 1: past is not wasted. If you are listening today and
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  Speaker 1: wondering whether healing is possible for you. I want you
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  Speaker 1: to hear this. Your story is not over, your nervous
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  Speaker 1: system is not beyond repair, your faith is not defective,
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  Speaker 1: and your God is not distant. Healing may be slower
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  Speaker 1: than you hoped, but it's not absent. As we come
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  Speaker 1: to the end of this episode, I want to leave
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  Speaker 1: you with this hope Field perspective. Friend. PTSD may be
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  Speaker 1: part of your story or part of a story of
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  Speaker 1: someone you love, it does not get the final word.
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  Speaker 1: The God who sees, who restores, who redeems, He is
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  Speaker 1: still at work in you, and even now, as you breathe,
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  Speaker 1: as you listen, as you learn, He is meeting you here.
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  Speaker 1: Let tewod Corinthians four, verse sixteen be an encouragement to you.
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  Speaker 1: Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are
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  Speaker 1: being renewed day by day. You may have been walking
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  Speaker 1: through PTSD for a long time, but be assured that
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  Speaker 1: God is still working to renew you each day. Friend,
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  Speaker 1: thank you for spending a few minutes of your week
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  Speaker 1: with me on your hope Field perspective. If today's episode
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: has touched your heart, or if you know someone who
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: is struggling with PTSD, and there are so many who do.
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  Speaker 1: Would you please can share sharing this with a friend
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  Speaker 1: who needs a biblically based hopefield perspective. I look forward
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  Speaker 1: to being with you again next week, but until then,
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  Speaker 1: it's my prayer for you that you have a hope
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  Speaker 1: filled week.
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  Speaker 2: Your ragged and torn past may be the key to
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  Speaker 2: God's future for you. We all endure trials, pain, and
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  Speaker 2: hardship in this life. Too often we believe these experiences
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  Speaker 2: disqualify us from being useful to God. But the truth
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  Speaker 2: is your past pain and brokenness serve as preparation for
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  Speaker 2: what God wants to do in and through you, if
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  Speaker 2: you will surrender to entrust Him in sacred scars. Neuropsychologist
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  Speaker 2: and fellow sufferer, doctor Michelle Thankson helps you understand the
• 21:52
  Speaker 2: suffering from a biblical perspective, Discover how the trials of
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: your life serve a purpose, reflect on the healing that
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  Speaker 2: God has accomplished, and comfort others, but the comfort God
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  Speaker 2: has given you. Just as Jesus' scars didn't disappear after
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  Speaker 2: his resurrection and confirmed that he was who he said
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  Speaker 2: he was and that he did what he said he'd
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  Speaker 2: do our emotional or physical scars tell our story and
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  Speaker 2: lend credence to our testimony of God's love and power.
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: If you are ready to turn your past pain into
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: present comfort and future hope, let doctor Benkson be your
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: compassionate guide. Jill Savage, host of the No More Perfect
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: podcast in author of No More Perfect Marriages, have this
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: to say about Sacred Scars. While we wish for a
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: pain free life, the dark seasons are where God invites
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: us into the most growth. In the pages of this book,
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: you will come to understand how God uses pain in
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: powerful ways. If you're human, you need this book. Pick
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: up a copy of Sacred Scars wherever books are sold,
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: and watch God turn your pain into purpose.
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: Thank you for joining doctor Banks and to your hope
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: build perspective. We hope you are encouraged by her authenticity, vulnerability,
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: and biblical truths. If you enjoy today's conversation, when you
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  Speaker 4: May you have a Hope billedweek.
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