Today’s bright and beautiful contribution to the Mandalas for Marinke project comes from Brenda and consists of three crochet mandalas.
Three Unique Crochet Mandalas
What I love about this contribution is that each of the three crochet mandalas is really colorful and bright but they are each also so unique from one another. They’re great individually and they make a great set.
This neon crochet mandala lets the yarn colors do the work. Stunning neon rainbow of colors that immediately draws the eye in!
This crochet mandala makes me think of the sun shining so brightly amongst puffy white clouds. I think of fire, the kind of fire that emanates from the sun.
And the third crochet mandala is a flower design that dances with shades of blue and orange – a terrifically charming combination that makes me smile.
Crochet Mandala Maker
This set of crochet mandalas comes from Brenda Hill, who you can find on Instagram under the private account @maddyjozmom and on Twitter @shmenh.
Brenda shares:
“I enjoy crocheting items that serve a purpose as well as the occasional “fun” thing. I would like to start making and donating crochet “angel blankets” to people who have suffered miscarriages or infant loss. I would also like to one day have my own blog dedicated to crochet.”
As you can see, Brenda does lovely crochet work, so it would be great if she shared it on a blog!
Depression Awareness: PTSD Doesn’t Discriminate
I’ve written a few times throughout this project about PTSD, including recently when I shared Fran’s story of trauma. I wanted to talk a little bit more today about what “trauma” is … because so many people don’t really understand what PTSD is. And I want to start by sharing something that Syrah London shared in an article on Elite Daily titled “My Daily Struggle: I Live with PTSD and Was Never in the Military“. The title of this piece hints at the fact that many people associate PTSD with veterans … and they certainly experience PTSD in large numbers but it’s notable that PTSD can come from any trauma at all. And what I want to share from her article is this:
“Before dealing with the aftermath of my attempted suicide, I had always associated PTSD with war veterans experiencing intense flashbacks of their time in combat.
I never thought it was something that could affect someone like me.
I felt ashamed thinking about all those soldiers, war prisoners and victims of natural disasters, who have experienced the most intense traumas one can ever imagine.
I compared their pain with mine, and hated myself even more for allowing the previous events in my life, which seemed so minuscule in the grand scheme of things, affect me to the point of no control.
But trauma is trauma.”
Trauma is trauma. Please, don’t beat yourself up for having depression (or other mental health issues) that you feel don’t compare to other people’s tragedies. They don’t have to compare. Your experience is your experience and your pain is real. Try not to make it worse for yourself by telling yourself that you don’t have the right to that pain.
I took a course in my graduate psychology program last year that was all about Trauma. Through that, I learned that there are different types of diagnosis that you might get, some of which are listed in the DSM and some aren’t. The labels are important only in so far as they can help you better understand your own (or someone else’s) experience of trauma, so I wanted to share a bit more about them …
- PTSD is diagnosed when a person has had exposure to a traumatic event, which includes death, serious injury and sexual violence, and has a specific set of symptoms including flashbacks, dissociation, anxiety.
- Acute Stress Disorder is very similar to PTSD but symptoms begin within one month of the trauma (whereas with PTSD they can begin anytime; there are sometimes delayed reactions). If the symptoms last longer than one month, then the diagnosis is typically PTSD.
- Developmental Trauma is not a DSM diagnosis, although many have pushed for it to be so. It’s a reaction to childhood trauma including abuse and neglect and has many of the same symptoms as PTSD. This is sometimes called “complex PTSD”.
- Co-morbid PTSD is the combination of PTSD with other mental health or substance use issues.
It’s worth noting that it’s normal to have a reaction to a trauma or a stressful situation. Normal stress exists without completely inhibiting your function, improves quickly over time (usually resolved within a few weeks although this depends on the situation) and exists within a generally healthy life frame. PTSD can freeze the person in time and severely limits the individual’s ability to function the way that they would like to function in life. Depression is obviously a portion of what can happen in PTSD. Learn more about the difference between PTSD and a “normal” trauma response here.
