Hey my dear Navy Blue Man! I'm so glad you arrived!
I'm not wearing my undies over my jeans anymore...oops...did I just say that? At least I'm not wearing my dressing gown all day...uh...wait a minute! Ok...so sometimes I do. he he
You've asked about how you can go from extreme concentration, to the above statement. I liken it to when the body goes into shock. All the blood's taken from the extremities to flow towards the effected regions like broken limbs etc. The skin goes pale and grey, consciousness suffers as do the muscles/organs (the skin being the biggest)
Emotional trauma is no different. Shock to the brain and nervous system causes the mind and body to shut down unnecessary components to make sure we have just enough processes to recover and get thru the day. It's an energy saving device.
As we heal, this is slowly turned around, like your hip and learning to walk again. The damaged areas of our brains need time to recover and learn, not only how to do things again, but create maintenance plans and procedures (flow charts) to ensure survival and trauma/s don't happen again.
When a bone breaks, it heals the effected area so well, it causes a mass of bone around the break which will sometimes bond itself to the surrounding area. This causes some distress to the soft tissue thru scaring and pain if it's not moved and massaged. Even then there's no guarantee's.
Our brains work similarly. The bone mass I spoke of could be seen as fear on fear trying to 'prepare' for trauma again. We overstimulate thru fear of going thru things again, and this produces adrenaline and cortisol etc. Too much of a good thing!
When you were on active duty, adrenaline was your friend. Heightening your sense of alertness and concentration (and male hormones) Now you're on overdrive and your system is shot. (No pun intended)
There's no way of knowing how damaged we are except by symptoms and lack of ability. It's the difference between a broken back, which some people can come back from, or paraplegia where nerves have been severed.
I hope this is making sense NM. I've covered a lot of ground here. Just know that giving up is our worst enemy. As Mark says; having a couple of bad days isn't a relapse...thank God! There's always tomorrow...
Love and warm wishes...Sara xoxo
Post Script..Thankyou to Frank and Helen for your lovely and informed comments.