Wow. Once again, CNN's 2012 Heroes special leaves me BURSTING at the seams with emotion. This annual special televises the stories of ten extraordinary individuals who are making huge strides for social change. The stories told range from that of Raiza Jan, a fierce fighter for young girls and their right to a competent and compassionate education in the remotest of villages in Afghanistan to the story of Wanda Butts, a passionate mother who rose from the despair of losing her 16 year old son after he tragically drowned and is now teaching, what she says is a basic life skill often ignored, to over 1,000 children in her home state of Ohio through the Josh Project- a life saving nonprofit she named after her son. These heroes come from as far as the majestic peaks of Kathmandu in Nepal, the once poverty stricken slums of South Africa, not too far in states like Ohio and even the classrooms of my home state of Florida. This specials serves to shred any possible doubts one may hold that one person can make a difference. The winner of the 2012 Hero of the year was Pushpa Basnet, a humble 28 year old young woman who houses, feeds, clothes, educates and truly loves nearly 150 children of incarcerated women; women who, left with no caregivers for their children, must serve their jail sentence with the child in the prison. The kiddies lovingly refer to her as "Mamu", or mother. She has clearly done more than save them from a miserable life behind bars, she has gifted them with freedom and motherly love.
I challenge anyone to watch this program and not be moved; it's next to impossible. What's more, this year CNN added a few stories highlighting children, some of who have, unfortunately passed on very recently but are as young as 7 years old and have already changed their communities forever by calling upon their wee-peers to selflessly serve the less fortunate. They are each reminders of how powerful we can be should we take a page from their book and preserve innocence in our judgments, naivete to our limitations and dedication to a cause. I have no doubt these kids will be invaluable leaders one day.
I want to narrow my focus on one "hero" in particular so unfortunately I won't cover all of the men & women featured in the program but I urge you to check them out on the CNN HEROES homepage. You can hear more about their stories, their missions and even how you can get involved should you feel the calling. These are truly amazing people and before I continue I just want to point out more thing: the notion of resilience. Yes, some of these individuals are doing amazing work- true expressions of empathy & service, but not before having suffered devastating, personal tragedies. As I hope to go on and share Mary Cortani's story and her important work with war veterans, I will mention Post Traumatic Stress Disorder commonly known as PTSD but also introduce a lesser known consequence- Post Traumatic Growth. But first let's watch Mary's story ...
Now, let me begin by saying that, there is no way I can see this clip and not feel compelled to act on it. Wheels are already in motion in my brain and contacts & resources being pulled from the dusty file cabinet that is My Memory to bring Operation Freedom Paws to South Florida. What better way to kill 2, 3, 4? birds with one proverbial stone by engaging canines idly waiting for a loving home and master, truly desperate combat veterans in need of innovative coping strategies and lastly, other veterans looking to get involved and can help their fellow soldiers by volunteering to serve as trainers once they have completed training themselves??? This idea excites me, to my core. And I think it's doable- with help from various community members here in Miami.
Specializing in Behavioral Neuroscience, PTSD in returning soldiers is a huge concern of mine. Having straddled the, oftentimes, shady line between the isolated laboratory research & development of psychiatric medicines and the frustrating reality of their effectiveness (or lack thereof) in the clinical setting I can tell you that psychiatry will be forced to face an inevitable paradigm shift. I am talking about the need to supplement existing pharmacological treatments with autonomously motivated, cognitive behavioral exercises like the ones Mary attempts to offer these patients by engaging them in their own recovery process. If we fail to value the significant, long-term, fundamental healing that takes place when we empower people to understand, accept and work through the psychiatric pains that ail them we will surely be committing a huge disservice to this sub-population
I've written too much so I will touch on Post Traumatic Growth and the science behind it in another post very soon; scientists have quantified significant changes in psychological growth in a variety of subjects following traumatic events and these findings are worthy of mention. So, another day :]
Feel free to share your comments, suggestions or feedback and I look forward to updating you on the progress of said project.
Salud!
Arielle KT
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