Ptsd And Bf Sitings

[JDL]

Do you think it is more likely that Bigfoot causes a Disorder, or more likely that a disorder causes the Bigfoot sighting? 

 

I mean really, someone sees an apeman are they really getting PTSD from such an encounter?  There are war vets who have been through horrible situations that have PTSD, Why would someone who saw an unusual animal be claiming that they have PTSD?  

 

Clearly a statement made in ignorance.

 

In my opinion, anxiety approaching the modern definition of PTSD is possible.  That said, it would depend on the individual and the circumstances of the encounter.

 

One aspect of such encounters is the lack of full understanding about what the subject is and about its behavior.  Not knowing what to expect from something that a guy like Drew would tell you does not exist.

[Cotter]

Let's not forget about Matthew Johnson's encounter.

He got PTSD.

Here's a link to the BFF thread.

 

http://bigfootforums.com/index.php/topic/9899-dr-matthew-johnsons-encounter/

[SWWASAS]

Yes Dr Johnson admits to PTSD.     From his account what really freaked him out, was realizing that he could not protect his family present from the BF he was seeing.   The BF was big enough that he would be powerless to protect them even though he is something like 6' 6"or 6' 8". 

 

TD-40 what you mentioned about night encounters is one of the reasons I usually only do field work in the day time.     BF apparently can see far better than us at night and have that advantage.     Blundering around in the dark with something that can see far better than I is not my idea of fun.     I heard a funny account from a BF researcher who went to investigate a noise nearby in the dark.   It was a  dark night and he could not see a thing.    It was not until he started to urinate that he realized how close the BF was to him.    He nearly wet on it's leg and the growl / roar that it produced as the result gave him a good case of PTSD.    He gave up research for a while.     The other reason for my day field work is one of my primary research goals is good video and / or photography which cannot be done at night.    Since that is a good reason for avoiding night solo field work, all the better.   

Edited July 1, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[Guest]

good topic. I've never really felt much fear going into the forest by myself.

Recently going into the forest alone has me wondering, feeling anxious. I wondered too if all the hype in the past few years has created the anxiety.

I hope I don't start seeing every sound,shadow or movement as Bigfoot.

What I would like is to see one in the open middle of the day at a distance. I guarantee if I did I would probably never go into the forest again. LOL

daveedoe, If you ever saw what I witnessed in the Davy Crockett National Forest you probably would never go in the forest again, even with SEAL team 6 surrounding you, and I, personally, would not feel totally safe with them blush..Those creatures could tear me up without even trying. They are fully capable of tearing a human up without the human even having time to scream if they sneak up on you. I am so frightened of them that I have avoided hiking with my kids close to my home because a forest backs up to our neighborhood:( and there have been reports of BF sighted close by my neighborhood. Sigh... I wish that I did not know for sure because now I do know that there are scary things that go BUMP in the night.

Do you think it is more likely that Bigfoot causes a Disorder, or more likely that a disorder causes the Bigfoot sighting?

I mean really, someone sees an apeman are they really getting PTSD from such an encounter? There are war vets who have been through horrible situations that have PTSD, Why would someone who saw an unusual animal be claiming that they have PTSD?

Drew, It is possibly very different when a female has a sighting than when a man has one. As a female I acknowledge that I would be totally helpless against such a creature, possibly even with me carrying a weapon. They are just huge, unbelievably huge everywhere, with those long arms, and what really scares me is that so many people Have No Clue about the reality of this species, and the potential dangers to be found on just a stroll into deep forests. So, yes, a disorder is absolutely possible.

[SWWASAS]

We all face relative danger in our lives.   Our bathtubs are the most dangerous place in the house.     I was run off the freeway last Sunday by a driver merging onto the freeway that apparently did not see me.   Modern humanity has been isolated from the danger in the woods because while many of us know drivers who have been killed and injured driving,  not many of us can pin a death of a friend or relative in the woods on a BF or any other cause.     Those deaths in the woods that do happen from any cause are far less likely than automobile accidents which are the big killer in this country.  A 150 years ago that was not the case.  The woods were a dangerous place.    I prefer to take comfort in the modern percentages and think the woods safer than the freeway.     However,   There are no guarantees about anything.   I do not ignore that little voice in my head that says maybe I should not do something.      Paying attention to that has saved my behind many times flying.     So if someone has a great fear of BF in the woods, maybe they should listen to it and stay out.    Certainly doing something that terrifies you is probably not worth the worry.    

Edited July 1, 2014 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[Guest]

I wouldnt call it post traumatic stress disorder, I think that's a bit extreme, but maybe with certain people and depending on how sensitive their mental capabilities are, it might be just that.

 

I can tell you this.  In the early 1980's, when I was a teenager, I saw something that was no illusion, was not something I dreamed up, and was not a mis-identification of a known animal.  

 

There's no way for me to prove it happened, and I've always been ok with those more skeptically inclined to doubt or even scoff at what i've described.   It's not important for me (unlike some i've encountered), for people to accept and believe what I've described.   I cannot say I "know" what I saw was a bigfoot, but I can say with 100% certainty that the event did happen... that I did see something, and it was not a bear, and I don't believe it was someone in a suit.

 

The effect it had on me as a young man, was unfortunate.   I spent several years feeling extremely uneasy going into the woods, which is something I loved dearly, and still do.   It was the thought that whatever I had seen might still be around, and it was the not knowing what the heck it was that made it seem terrifying to me at that age.

 

You come face to face with a bear in the woods, yea that can be anything from unnerving to downright terrifying depending on how the bear reacts, but at least you know its a BEAR.   It's identifiable, and if you've had any instruction or experience, you can predict to some extent what will happen. 

 

You see a dark bipedal figure covered from head to toe with hair, especially after it has followed your flight down the side of a mountain, well that's a ticket to a whole other ballgame.

 

It can have a powerful effect on one's psyche.   The last time I visited the farm where I spent those years of my youth, it was many years after what had happened, and yet walking up through the woods to that spot still made me feel uneasy.  But I did it, and I did it alone... because the only way you can ever overcome your fears, is to face them, and deal with it.

 

PTSD ?  no, not in my case, but it for sure had a lasting effect on me, and if I sit quietly, close my eyes, it's pretty darn easy to go back to that day so many years ago, and the emotions and feelings that doing so conjures up, are stronger and more potent than just about any other memories I have.

 

-A-

Art, I sincerely believe it is *very* different when a male sees a BF than when a woman sees one. Men are programmed to protect, men have greater strength than women have, and  men will instinctively protect woman and children.  Matthew Johnson had such a strong reaction because for the first time in his life he faced a situation where he realized that he *Could* Not* protect his family from the threat of an attack from the BF he witnessed. Also, following that sighting, Matt joined BF groups, and has been doing research on the BF species to understand it, and  that has helped him deal with the trauma he experienced when he realized that he *could* *not* protect his family from a "monster" that was watching his helpless wife and children.

 

Art, You may be having those feelings also. I have gone from wanting to do research to fear of going near the woods anymore:( Sincerely, if I ever go again we will be armed otherwise I would not be able to go due to my fear. I saw a Dogman, and I did not even know about them when I had my sighting, I only knew about the "Patty type" of BF. Having discovered  exactly what a Wolf/Dogman has done locally here by killing a family of 5 who were camping in an official campground in a metal trailer, and the baby girl (3 or 4) was found hanging in a tree where the creature had stored her for later eating, I have stopped hiking.

[Rockape]

<Having discovered  exactly what a Wolf/Dogman has done locally here by killing a family of 5 who were camping in an official campground in a metal trailer, and the baby girl (3 or 4) was found hanging in a tree where the creature had stored her for later eating, I have stopped hiking.>

 

Exactly where did you read this story?

[Guest]

We all face relative danger in our lives.   Our bathtubs are the most dangerous place in the house.     I was run off the freeway last Sunday by a driver merging onto the freeway that apparently did not see me.   Modern humanity has been isolated from the danger in the woods because while many of us know drivers who have been killed and injured driving,  not many of us can pin a death of a friend or relative in the woods on a BF or any other cause.     Those deaths in the woods that do happen from any cause are far less likely than automobile accidents which are the big killer in this country.  A 150 years ago that was not the case.  The woods were a dangerous place.    I prefer to take comfort in the modern percentages and think the woods safer than the freeway.     However,   There are no guarantees about anything.   I do not ignore that little voice in my head that says maybe I should not do something.      Paying attention to that has saved my behind many times flying.     So if someone has a great fear of BF in the woods, maybe they should listen to it and stay out.    Certainly doing something that terrifies you is probably not worth the worry.    

+1 to you for your thoughtful and kind comments. I am 5 feet 5 inches tall, I do not weigh that much, and I am essentially helpless against a man or a BF should I be attacked, however, my hubby would die protecting me, so I just avoid and stop all camping ideas from even being planned I avoid danger to protect my family from harm since they would die protecting me. It is just not worth the anxiety to camp with the family anymore, I do deeply regret that this happened. 

<Having discovered  exactly what a Wolf/Dogman has done locally here by killing a family of 5 who were camping in an official campground in a metal trailer, and the baby girl (3 or 4) was found hanging in a tree where the creature had stored her for later eating, I have stopped hiking.>

 

Exactly where did you read this story?

News reports, Postings, also this event has been discussed a lot here at the BFF, and it happened at "The Land Between the Lakes" camping grounds here in Kentucky.

SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT, What type of planes do you fly? We have a son-in-law who flies for United Airlines, he is a first officer because he had rather keep his routes and be home more often by staying a FO versus becoming a captain. 

[Guest]

you can read about the alleged dogman/werewolf attack here....  http://www.examiner.com/article/tracking-a-kentucky-werewolf-1

 

it does mention at one point that there's not even a shred of evidence that the event ever took place, and the excuse is that its a conspiracy by the police, and that the media was not allowed to run stories about it...

 

??

 

umm,  I'm pretty open minded, but that seems a bit far fetched to me.

 

if there was a family of five slaughtered at a national park, i'm pretty sure there would have been a press conference, and the local, state, and national media would have been all over it. 

 

Heck of a story, but I'm afraid it's just that... a story.

Edited July 1, 2014 by Art1972

[Rockape]

News reports, Postings, also this event has been discussed a lot here at the BFF, and it happened at "The Land Between the Lakes" camping grounds here in Kentucky.

 

 

I doubt you read "news reports" because none can be found, and I have a feeling this is going to be all for naught, but perhaps you should read this to get more on the story.

 

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/tracking-a-kentucky-werewolf-1

Edited July 1, 2014 by Rockape

[clubbedfoot]

Thanks for all the contributions.

 

I think the window sighting (huge non-human face staring at you) would tend to be the most psychologically damaging .....you'd be reminded anytime you were at home....seems very invasive....

 

I am most intrigued by seasoned hunters who've seen what they think is a BF and quit hunting or going out into the woods....Asked my dad once if he ever saw anything unusual in the woods (BF) and he was so irritated that I even asked the question that he kind of huffed and walked away.  If he saw something that spooked him and stopped hunting, I'd really take note of that....I am pretty convinced there are hunters of sound mind who have stopped hunting because of something they saw.  And I find that pretty compelling and certainly not something I would mock behind a computer let alone in person....

Edited July 2, 2014 by clubbedfoot

[clubbedfoot]

Do you think it is more likely that Bigfoot causes a Disorder, or more likely that a disorder causes the Bigfoot sighting? 

 

I mean really, someone sees an apeman are they really getting PTSD from such an encounter?  There are war vets who have been through horrible situations that have PTSD, Why would someone who saw an unusual animal be claiming that they have PTSD?  

 

 

yes, oddly enough "hirsuitia gigantica limitalia hallucinatosiphum" is the clinical diagnosis for people whose only psychosis is seeing BF....it's a fairly new one put out there by the APA....

Edited July 2, 2014 by clubbedfoot

[Guest]

I don't scare or even get overly concerned easily but after my 94' incident while bear hunting I strongly considered never hunting wild places again.  Then I began to get angry and decided no booger was going to separate me from a huge part of my life that I had loved since I was 5.  That was the shove I needed to actively look into BF groups and in very short order found what I had experienced from the incident during a hunting trip right through the emotions, stress, & conflict had been experienced by many other outdoors-folk.  Three in particular who had had way hairier experiences than mine (no pun intended), guys who had then gone through literally identical emotions & phases as I had, but had successfully conquered them and returned to the wild places & hunting lifestyles we shared & loved, helped me face my big hairier than me demon and get back to the lifestyle I had loved since I was a child.  We also formed family or maybe even shared BTDT bonds and all three have become my brothers in all but blood, brothers-in-BFing, if you will.  I feel as close to these guys as I do my oldest brother, and far, far, closer than to my younger brother...

 

I don't know if this was a form of PTSD, A few years ago I and a number of my brother LEOs were attending a training seminar by thee worlds leading expert on the psychology of killing in combat which includes PTSD and how to deal with it, he stressed to us that humans can experience PTSD symptoms w/o actually having PTSD.  I kind of suspect that folks who have this experience after a BF encounter fall into this category.

 

One thing I've considered over the years is that there are any number of psych and abnormal psych thesis just waiting to be written regarding the psychology of those in the BF research field...

[Cotter]

@Susie - I think your fear is terribly misplaced.

 

You have thousands times more of a chance of dying in a car wreck, drowning, house fire, disease, airplane part landing on you, or random act of violence than getting torn apart by a BF.

 

Do any of those other things bother you/keep you from going outside?

[daveedoe]

daveedoe, If you ever saw what I witnessed in the Davy Crockett National Forest you probably would never go in the forest again, even with SEAL team 6 surrounding you, and I, personally, would not feel totally safe with them blush..Those creatures could tear me up without even trying. They are fully capable of tearing a human up without the human even having time to scream if they sneak up on you. I am so frightened of them that I have avoided hiking with my kids close to my home because a forest backs up to our neighborhood:( and there have been reports of BF sighted close by my neighborhood. Sigh... I wish that I did not know for sure because now I do know that there are scary things that go BUMP in the night.

 

 

I'm sure seeing such a creature would cause PTSD. 

In my past I solo hiked and camped in wilderness areas. I have been visited at night by wildlife,  deer, bears and somethings I don't know what. I felt fear a few times hearing something outside my tent but I always was able to go back to sleep and get past my fear.

 

A couple times I just figured what I was hearing had to be a curious Bigfoot. I did not want to look out to see for fear of actually seeing a Bigfoot.

 

I believe fear can be a healthy thing and can be unhealthy. Having fear seeing a big hungry grizzly near by is healthy but on the other hand fear of the forest because once upon a time a person was attacked by a grizzly might be unhealthy.

 

PTSD  is real, every person process stress differently, it is for sure a personal thing. 

Edited July 2, 2014 by daveedoe