We’ve all been through experiences that leave us with scars that may not necessarily be physical. Healing these scars may take a long time and sometimes, even forever. In this book, The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Fallacy, H. Nattanya Andersen, gives her audience practical ideas on how to deal with PTSD.
The book commences by narrating the story of Andersen. She was a survivor of the explosion of a Boeing 727 engine from a 6000 feet altitude. This experience left her with physical and emotional pain that was hard to recover from. She walks us through her journey to recovery, with the intention of helping other victims of PTSD. She covers a range of topics. She talks about the strengths and weaknesses of the medication most PTSD patients take and gives recommendations on which ones she thinks work best from her experiences. She discusses objectively and in detail what she believes is wrong about the whole system of mental health system. She also acknowledges the role that religion played in her recovery.
I picked this book for review with high expectations, and I’m happy to report that it surpassed my expectations. I haven’t read a book with so much insight into a topic as sensitive as mental illness. It was beautiful that this author wrote the book from her own experiences. That added so much authenticity to it. While some of her claims were direct attacks on the existing treatment systems, she managed to be so objective. I actually could not find a reason not to believe what she said despite thinking her opinions were quite strong.
I thought it was great for the author to give references and mentions to the books and papers that helped her through the journey. Her references, particularly on philosophy and religion, seemed quite exciting, intriguing, and relatable. I also loved that she discusses the technical aspects of PTSD treatment without much jargon and complexity. She demystified many ideas I had in mind about the condition.
I encountered some errors in the book that did not distract me from reading the book. The author’s style of writing was engaging and enjoyable to read. I believe the book was professionally edited. The language was simple and easy to understand.
I cannot point to a thing I disliked about the book. I, therefore, give it a perfect rating of four out of four stars. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s experienced traumatic events and needs a guide for the recovery process.