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Walking the Medicine Wheel: Healing Trauma & PTSD
Psychiatrist and holistic & integrative physician, David Kopacz, and Native American Visionary, Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow), create a healing path to help our veterans suffering trauma and PTSD to come home. Even when out of the war zone, combat-readiness persists in the veterans’ nervous system. This book uses the circular pathway of the medicine wheel to re-train that nervous system.
Rather than viewing trauma, obstacles and disappointments as negatives, the medicine wheel offers a way of transforming these events into opportunities for personal growth. Walking the medicine wheel is walking a spiritual path – integrating body-emotion-mind-spirit, within the circle of the four directions. The book provides practical exercises of guided imagery and ceremony to help returning veterans feel they have a purpose and have something, not only of value, but, of critical importance to give to their families and their communities.
Rather than viewing trauma, obstacles and disappointments as negatives, the medicine wheel offers a way of transforming these events into opportunities for personal growth. Walking the medicine wheel is walking a spiritual path – integrating body-emotion-mind-spirit, within the circle of the four directions. The book provides practical exercises of guided imagery and ceremony to help returning veterans feel they have a purpose and have something, not only of value, but, of critical importance to give to their families and their communities.
415 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 4, 2018
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10 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 24, 2024
David Kopacz
I was eight years old when I first experienced a robbery. Four men, face hooded by ski masks or bandanas, feet shod in scuffed boots. Shiny pistols and a rifle positioned in front of them, Gestapo style. "Your money or your life," they barked ferociously as they burst through the door. "We know that you have money; there was a party here the night before," they threatened as their red eyes pinned at my alarmed parents and the rest of my petrified siblings.
The men were right about one thing: there was a party the day before. They were wrong as well. There was no money. They finally left, almost forty minutes after they had stormed in. Our house was a field left behind after a tornado, with emptied drawers, upturned pots and pans, and clothes piled on books. They left angrily with what was left of my father's birthday cake and a few spare change in the house. By then, we all were fluttering leaves, a mass of sweaty, shaky limbs. For months, I was scared of loud knocks on the door. I was traumatised, but I didn't know the word then for the rapid heartbeat, the sweat that broke out all over me, Insomnia, and my shifty gazes in public.
I was eighteen when my friend was abducted in a busy market at the outset of dusk. He was arguing about a bad battery. He remembered a flash of a handkerchief, the whiff of alcohol and then darkness. Three days and half a million naira dropped at a rendezvous; he was forever changed. He could no longer board public buses again and visit crowded places. He was traumatised. I was the one who told him that he had PTSD.
I'm about three decades old, and there have been several episodes of close calls and near-death experiences from accidents and riots and the ripples that these incidents create never seem to disappear. My friend now has a therapy session twice a week. All I had was a recurring battle until I stumbled upon this book.
As soon as I saw it, I knew I would have to read it.
However, I was a little disappointed when I discovered that it was written predominantly for soldiers—people who have fought in a war and are still fighting to regain their old lives. But because it had trauma and healing in it, I read on.
I'll begin with a spoiler, a part of the book that grabbed me while I flipped through the pages as though on tenterhooks. It was found in the foreword written by Edward Tick.
"What we call PTSD today has been known since ancient times and has had more than eighty different names."
This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 1 vs. 9: "There is nothing new under the sun." Well, there are 82 reasons to believe this.
Chapter one is titled "War, Trauma, and PTSD." It begins with a highlighted question in full caps. It seems like a yell. "Why do we have war?" It continues with a short story and a one-word answer. You will have to read the book to find out. As someone who considers himself spiritual and political, this first chapter is spiritual and political. It even indicts the greatest country on earth. The rest of the chapter continues with parts such as different faces of war and the changes that occur in a person for them to become a killer.
Chapter two is all about a relatively self-explanatory concept: "Dimensions." Since trauma happens to different people, it must also mean that it is nuanced and multidimensional. In this chapter, I found the second most profound lesson in this book. Spoiler alert: The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect. I'll give you that for free.
Again, the reader will encounter the physical changes that occur in the brain-body when the individual is exposed to trauma. You will find the four basic acculturation strategies here. In chapter three, the reader will encounter the different innovations in trauma and PTSD management. They would be referred to Steven Weine's work in testimony, Peter Levine's work with Somatic Experiencing, and Ed Tick's work through the Soldier's Heart organisation.
For people who grabbed this book because of a quick fix, part 2, "Healing Trauma & PTSD with the Medicine Wheel," is the place to begin. There, they will learn the importance of a circle and how it symbolises healing across cultures.
The rest of the book is an easy read, rich in lessons, even though it reads more like an autobiographical account.
As someone who has had my tango with trauma, I learned about Traumatic Anniversaries. Also, I got clarity about nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories, or bodily sensations that I always encountered during the anniversary or trigger episodes.
The reader will learn about the role of suffering in healing; the condition called the soldier's heart, which I discovered was the affliction most soldiers sustained after the war and the role of the heart as a medicine wheel.
In the concluding part of the book, part three, titled "Returning Home," I learned the five-tiered steps of the warrior's return, beginning with isolation and concluding with initiation. To state the entire five steps would be another spoiler.
This book contains ceremonies, ancient rites, and rituals to heal the traumatised. It features vivid images and rich research that is tested and trusted.
Scientists and spiritualists hardly agreed, at least until recent times. This collaboration between a Native American healer, visionary Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow), VA psychiatrist, and integrative physician David Kopacz proves that everything (including knowledge) is better when shared.
I have since begun my warrior's journey home, my journey of recovery, and I recommend this book to not only soldiers but everyone who has suffered one trauma or another. Or anyone who knows anyone experiencing trauma.
I was eight years old when I first experienced a robbery. Four men, face hooded by ski masks or bandanas, feet shod in scuffed boots. Shiny pistols and a rifle positioned in front of them, Gestapo style. "Your money or your life," they barked ferociously as they burst through the door. "We know that you have money; there was a party here the night before," they threatened as their red eyes pinned at my alarmed parents and the rest of my petrified siblings.
The men were right about one thing: there was a party the day before. They were wrong as well. There was no money. They finally left, almost forty minutes after they had stormed in. Our house was a field left behind after a tornado, with emptied drawers, upturned pots and pans, and clothes piled on books. They left angrily with what was left of my father's birthday cake and a few spare change in the house. By then, we all were fluttering leaves, a mass of sweaty, shaky limbs. For months, I was scared of loud knocks on the door. I was traumatised, but I didn't know the word then for the rapid heartbeat, the sweat that broke out all over me, Insomnia, and my shifty gazes in public.
I was eighteen when my friend was abducted in a busy market at the outset of dusk. He was arguing about a bad battery. He remembered a flash of a handkerchief, the whiff of alcohol and then darkness. Three days and half a million naira dropped at a rendezvous; he was forever changed. He could no longer board public buses again and visit crowded places. He was traumatised. I was the one who told him that he had PTSD.
I'm about three decades old, and there have been several episodes of close calls and near-death experiences from accidents and riots and the ripples that these incidents create never seem to disappear. My friend now has a therapy session twice a week. All I had was a recurring battle until I stumbled upon this book.
As soon as I saw it, I knew I would have to read it.
However, I was a little disappointed when I discovered that it was written predominantly for soldiers—people who have fought in a war and are still fighting to regain their old lives. But because it had trauma and healing in it, I read on.
I'll begin with a spoiler, a part of the book that grabbed me while I flipped through the pages as though on tenterhooks. It was found in the foreword written by Edward Tick.
"What we call PTSD today has been known since ancient times and has had more than eighty different names."
This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 1 vs. 9: "There is nothing new under the sun." Well, there are 82 reasons to believe this.
Chapter one is titled "War, Trauma, and PTSD." It begins with a highlighted question in full caps. It seems like a yell. "Why do we have war?" It continues with a short story and a one-word answer. You will have to read the book to find out. As someone who considers himself spiritual and political, this first chapter is spiritual and political. It even indicts the greatest country on earth. The rest of the chapter continues with parts such as different faces of war and the changes that occur in a person for them to become a killer.
Chapter two is all about a relatively self-explanatory concept: "Dimensions." Since trauma happens to different people, it must also mean that it is nuanced and multidimensional. In this chapter, I found the second most profound lesson in this book. Spoiler alert: The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect. I'll give you that for free.
Again, the reader will encounter the physical changes that occur in the brain-body when the individual is exposed to trauma. You will find the four basic acculturation strategies here. In chapter three, the reader will encounter the different innovations in trauma and PTSD management. They would be referred to Steven Weine's work in testimony, Peter Levine's work with Somatic Experiencing, and Ed Tick's work through the Soldier's Heart organisation.
For people who grabbed this book because of a quick fix, part 2, "Healing Trauma & PTSD with the Medicine Wheel," is the place to begin. There, they will learn the importance of a circle and how it symbolises healing across cultures.
The rest of the book is an easy read, rich in lessons, even though it reads more like an autobiographical account.
As someone who has had my tango with trauma, I learned about Traumatic Anniversaries. Also, I got clarity about nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories, or bodily sensations that I always encountered during the anniversary or trigger episodes.
The reader will learn about the role of suffering in healing; the condition called the soldier's heart, which I discovered was the affliction most soldiers sustained after the war and the role of the heart as a medicine wheel.
In the concluding part of the book, part three, titled "Returning Home," I learned the five-tiered steps of the warrior's return, beginning with isolation and concluding with initiation. To state the entire five steps would be another spoiler.
This book contains ceremonies, ancient rites, and rituals to heal the traumatised. It features vivid images and rich research that is tested and trusted.
Scientists and spiritualists hardly agreed, at least until recent times. This collaboration between a Native American healer, visionary Joseph Rael (Beautiful Painted Arrow), VA psychiatrist, and integrative physician David Kopacz proves that everything (including knowledge) is better when shared.
I have since begun my warrior's journey home, my journey of recovery, and I recommend this book to not only soldiers but everyone who has suffered one trauma or another. Or anyone who knows anyone experiencing trauma.
September 27, 2024
Trauma and PTSD are one of the most likely things in every human life. We are involved in many things in our lives daily. If the effect of these events is not good in our lives, the most likely and predictable work can lead to a deadlock road to trauma and PTSD. This demonstrates the importance of awareness about trauma and TSD and more understanding of this. This book illustrates the process of overcoming this mental disease. It is very difficult for man to be able to go through his dark days and return to his prime and bright era, but the process of this book in telling different stories and providing experienced and experienced and successful solutions to hope and ideas. . This book enjoys human curiosity so that it can make sense of the words related to the disease. Life events in some people have a disadvantage that this book examines and find solutions to improve people affected. This book is recommended to all knowledge lovers who want to be more intentional in terms of thought and exploration of thoughts and examination of the effect of trauma and PTSD in meaning and understanding their understanding of these vocabulary in different directions. And to increase significantly.
April 30, 2026
This book is the need of the hour. We always seek medicine for body pain.
But what about the mental trauma. We fail to talk about it. And the scar becomes wound .then healing is difficult.
This book tells about post traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) and it's not a disease. How to control it. How to live the day today life with it. And love life.
What are medicines for this.
This tells about the ' warrior' mindset.
And rather watching it like a negative aspect how to treat it with care.
It's a must read book.
But what about the mental trauma. We fail to talk about it. And the scar becomes wound .then healing is difficult.
This book tells about post traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD) and it's not a disease. How to control it. How to live the day today life with it. And love life.
What are medicines for this.
This tells about the ' warrior' mindset.
And rather watching it like a negative aspect how to treat it with care.
It's a must read book.
October 23, 2023
Initially, I wondered if this book would be a difficult read. In fact, I found it a very interesting, thought-provoking, and in some ways, uplifting read. The content was inspiring, and I enjoyed how the text was accompanied by striking illustrations. I think this book discusses a potentially difficult topic in a sensitive and helpful way, and anyone who feels they may benefit from reading it, should do so.
November 10, 2023
Really informative and I was very impressed.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews