I went to see Born to Be Wild in Imax today. Boy am I still nauseous!

Anyway, it was really good, but triggered so many thoughts and feelings about my past and about T. The movie is about rescuers that rescue and rehab orphaned elephants and orangutans. In the beginning of the film they talked about the rescuers and how they grow attached to the animals, but that eventually they have to say goodbye and return them to the wild. They rehabilitate them and help them through their trauma and then they send them back to the wild where they belong. I couldn't help but draw the parallel for those of us in therapy and our T's.

I also was quite intrigued by the discussion of the animals and their remembrance of their trauma. The elephants specifically had been traumatized and seen their families killed by poachers and they talked about how the elephants don't forget and even showed what seemed to be a flashback in this baby elephant. It broke my heart yet in some way made me feel more normal and not so alone in my response to my own trauma. I came home and researched some more and found some articles about elephants and PTSD and that they do suffer from it like we humans do.

I can't describe exactly what the experience was like seeing this movie and how the timing of it was really good, but it was.

Here is an article that I found about elephants and PTSD. Interesting reading!

Elephants and PTSD