Organizing Your Life - Post PTSD

Looking at our calendar(s), we only have 3 PTSD related appointments this week (two neurofeedback appointments, one support group meeting). That's not too bad, considering we don't have a VA appointment this week, although we have a few coming up soon. Since JR has decided that the only option was recovery, we have been going full force. I have to credit JR with being so dedicated. It really takes the person affected to put through the effort to recover, and JR has done everything he can to become "normal" again.

Besides the emotional aspect of what happens during the recovery process, is the sheer number of appointments and meetings we have as a result. Any given day, we usually have at least one PTSD related appointment. That's not a complaint, just part of our reality at the moment. We go to every VA appointment we can get (PTSD/TBI-related or otherwise), participate in at least one support group meeting a week, at least 2 Neurofeedback appointments a week, as well as meetings with local organizations dealing with PTSD related issues. We also try to keep up on the latest information on PTSD and upkeep our little ol' blog that you're currently reading, The PTSD Diary. Did I mention that we do all of this while I have a job as a consultant and JR is using his GI Bill to go to school (as well as running his Vets Club at college and playing bass in two bands)? And we don't have children together yet. NOTE: I want to commend all of you that are parents and dealing with PTSD, you are heroes for dealing with everything on top of raising children. We hope to have children one day and want to get everything together as much as we can before that happens. Anyone with PTSD or TBI will tell you that having so much to do can lead to stress and even trigger an episode. So what do we do to counteract the stress and triggers: ORGANIZE!

To be honest, JR doesn't do too much in the way of organizing our appointments. It's really my role and I'm happy to do it. If JR is willing to go to all the appointments with little complaint, the least I can do is help him out. He doesn't have the best memory, but he knows that he can always look at our calendars and jog his memory on what is on our daily agenda.

We have a few different methods to our madness:

1. iPhone & iTouch

After listening to me complain about my inferior phone for too long, JR bought me an iPhone so that he wouldn't have to hear the complaining anymore. Seriously, it's one of the best things he's ever bought me. Besides the instant internet access and convenient camera component, it also has an iCal app that I can use to record appointments, plan for future dates, and keep track of my contacts for quick reference.

JR was given a iTouch by the OIF clinic at the VA when he expresses his issues with memory. He does use it to check on dates and to keep track of contacts, but he hasn't really started entering his own appointments into it. We have also used it as a headache log to keep track of his headache symptoms so we can better report things when we go to appointments.

Another nice feature of both the iPhone and the iTouch is that we can sync them together on our computer's calendar. Although this isn't something we remember to do often enough, it's a great feature and great if you have to coordinate multiple people as you can color code everyone's activities.

2. Large calendar on the wall

We also have a desk calendar that we can look at to coordinate our schedules. It's a great, large reference that we can both turn to when we need to look ahead easily or when we are on the phone making appointments. It's kept in a central location so that anyone can walk in our house and see what we have on the schedule. It's a little harder to update then our other calendars, simply because it's not with us all the time, but I think this method will probably be put to more use when we have kids.

3. And our best friend, our pocket calendar.

This is by far the most successful method we have found! We're lost if we don't look at it everyday. It is small and compact and I carry it in my purse everywhere I go. It's great to have in doctor's appointments, because not only can I schedule followup appointments immediately, but I can also jot down notes from the doctor. When the doctors ask who we spoke to last, it's a quick reference tool to flip though and give the doctor an immediate response (and actually more efficient the the VA computers that our doctors always scroll though during the appointments). We coordinate all of our PTSD and social events using our pocket calendar, and then I try to update our other calendar methods from this primary source. While technology is nice, it has really been more affective to pick up a pen and handwrite everything into our little trusty pocket calendar. I would start with this method first as you are organizing and let everything else branch out from here until you find the method you like best.

I confess, we are not as organized as it may sound, but we're trying to get all of our "ducks in a row" as much as we can. We've found that when we take the time to do so, our life runs just a little more smoothly and the lack of organizational stress leads to less PTSD stress. What works best for you? Especially the parents, how do you do it all? We would love to hear your opinions on the subject!

~ Nicole

Originally posted on PTSDdiary.com on 8/30/10