PTSD Support Thread

[Miss Alchiap]

@ The Spiciest McHaggis

Recently no

@grinningjester

My Dad would scream at me and my brother, so yeah I can't tolerate screaming or fighting. If I have to stand up for myself I will but seeing people fight bothers me. Also I have a hard time watching programs where people get bullied because I use to be bullied as well.

[grinningjester]

Miss Alchiap

Oh, that makes sense. Have you seen a psychiatrist to check on your medications? If the sleep meds aren't working, you might need them to be changed.

[The_Spiciest_Mchaggis]

The Spiciest McHaggis

I've never been the type of person to open up to other people. That also goes with saying that I have tried a couple of times, and I regret it. I guess what scares me the most about sharing with my therapist is not getting any relief from it and slipping back the way I used to be.

I understand. Therapy may not get you relief, it's true. But I imagine it will. Therapy can teach you how to manage your symptoms. Therapy was the best thing I ever did. That and medication. I literally can't sleep without it and my anxiety and paranoia would be ridiculous otherwise. Therapy is so hard though. I think you can also get help by talking to other people in the same situation.

I beginning to agree with your last statement. I like being able to relate to others and know that I'm not the only one that wants to confide/ help others is pretty cool too.

[Miss Alchiap]

grinningjester

Miss Alchiap

Oh, that makes sense. Have you seen a psychiatrist to check on your medications? If the sleep meds aren't working, you might need them to be changed.

I regularly see a psychiatrist and a therapist and they just recently stopped working. Next time I go visit them I am def going to ask.

I am glad you made this thread btw 3nodding

[The Forbidden Soul]

grinningjester

The Forbidden Soul

I used to have those symptoms with anyone wearing a ring with a gem in it. My adoptive mom used to backhand me with em.

I'm sorry that happened to you. You don't have those feelings anymore? What changed?

All the world needs is me. I've got my values...so you can keep yours, alright?

If i remember right I had a dream about my mom doing that to me and she just froze before it hit me and disappeared? I dont know why but after that I started doing breathing exercises around people wearing those rings and eventually calmed myself down. I still get shaken up when I shake hands with someone wearing one and I touch it on accident.

[grinningjester]

The Forbidden Soul

If i remember right I had a dream about my mom doing that to me and she just froze before it hit me and disappeared? I dont know why but after that I started doing breathing exercises around people wearing those rings and eventually calmed myself down. I still get shaken up when I shake hands with someone wearing one and I touch it on accident.

That is really awesome that you were able to manage that. Breathing exercises are great.

Miss Alchiap

I regularly see a psychiatrist and a therapist and they just recently stopped working. Next time I go visit them I am def going to ask. I am glad you made this thread btw 3nodding

Me too! I wasn't expecting much but it's fantastic to have other people to talk to who are in the same boat.

The Spiciest McHaggis

I beginning to agree with your last statement. I like being able to relate to others and know that I'm not the only one that wants to confide/ help others is pretty cool too.

Agreed! You are definitely not the only one.

[Yevpraksiya]

I have a kind of complex PTSD.
I know it was PTSD at first, years ago, but because of the specific ongoing traumas I had and going without treatment, it transformed into a psychotic illness.
I was sleeping on my floor for months farthest away from the outside walls, I was having flashbacks and jumping in ditches to escape imaginary threats (mostly from vehicles aka people trying to kill me), I was violently accusing people of following me, I thought people were trying to poison me or drug me, kidnap me.
I don't like thinking about it. They tried to make me believe I did not have ptsd and was just insane, but having it as long as I did without any treatment caused a psychotic break and now I don't only fear things that have already happened, I fear things that can't possibly happen (like getting abducted by aliens). I have managed for five years without therapy or treatments. I don't even feel that it matters much anymore, it's just one more thing I have to suffer through alone.

edit: I wanted to say I was never diagnosed with PTSD but by the symptoms that I have looked into, I very well could have had it. I strongly believe there IS a correlation between my psychotic illness and the PTSD I (could) have. The last time I was hospitalized the psychiatric nurse confirmed with me that I did in fact suffer from PTSD, but that was not a legit diagnoses. Other than that, I have had very bad experiences with psychiatric 'professionals'.

[grinningjester]

Yevpraksiya

I have a kind of complex PTSD.
I know it was PTSD at first, years ago, but because of the specific ongoing traumas I had and going without treatment, it transformed into a psychotic illness.
I was sleeping on my floor for months farthest away from the outside walls, I was having flashbacks and jumping in ditches to escape imaginary threats (mostly from vehicles aka people trying to kill me), I was violently accusing people of following me, I thought people were trying to poison me or drug me, kidnap me.
I don't like thinking about it. They tried to make me believe I did not have ptsd and was just insane, but having it as long as I did without any treatment caused a psychotic break and now I don't only fear things that have already happened, I fear things that can't possibly happen (like getting abducted by aliens). I have managed for five years without therapy or treatments. I don't even feel that it matters much anymore, it's just one more thing I have to suffer through alone.

You are not alone. I have flashbacks and low crawl through my house. I walk around my house with a gun because I think people are going to break in through the windows and kill me. I think grandmas in wheelchairs could be out to get me. It's irrational fear based on a trauma. But you are definitely not alone.

[Lil Enslaved Kitten]

hi there i'm jimmi or jimz as most know me. in 2002 i lived through a F3 tornado that nearly killed me and left me scared and partially crippled, but the worst part has to be the PTSD, i suffer from flash backs, nightmares, insomnia and sever panic attacks. even just going to the store has become a overwhelming task for me.

its really nice to see a thread like this. thank you for making it

[Lil Enslaved Kitten]

Yevpraksiya

I have a kind of complex PTSD.
I know it was PTSD at first, years ago, but because of the specific ongoing traumas I had and going without treatment, it transformed into a psychotic illness.
I was sleeping on my floor for months farthest away from the outside walls, I was having flashbacks and jumping in ditches to escape imaginary threats (mostly from vehicles aka people trying to kill me), I was violently accusing people of following me, I thought people were trying to poison me or drug me, kidnap me.
I don't like thinking about it. They tried to make me believe I did not have ptsd and was just insane, but having it as long as I did without any treatment caused a psychotic break and now I don't only fear things that have already happened, I fear things that can't possibly happen (like getting abducted by aliens). I have managed for five years without therapy or treatments. I don't even feel that it matters much anymore, it's just one more thing I have to suffer through alone.

edit: I wanted to say I was never diagnosed with PTSD but by the symptoms that I have looked into, I very well could have had it. I strongly believe there IS a correlation between my psychotic illness and the PTSD I (could) have. The last time I was hospitalized the psychiatric nurse confirmed with me that I did in fact suffer from PTSD, but that was not a legit diagnoses. Other than that, I have had very bad experiences with psychiatric 'professionals'.

agreed on the not alone my fear is not of people but what could happen to people i have a hard time at stores or being away from loved ones cause i don't know how to keep them safe from the things that terrifies me and it causes me to panic

[grinningjester]

Lil Enslaved Kitten

hi there i'm jimmi or jimz as most know me. in 2002 i lived through a F3 tornado that nearly killed me and left me scared and partially crippled, but the worst part has to be the PTSD, i suffer from flash backs, nightmares, insomnia and sever panic attacks. even just going to the store has become a overwhelming task for me.

its really nice to see a thread like this. thank you for making it

No problem! Us survivors need support. That sounds like that must have been very very difficult. Do you still live in the area you were when the tornado hit? Are you seeing a therapist and/or are on meds? If so, has it helped you? Stores are my nemesis! I hate grocery shopping especially. If I absolutely have to go, I go in the middle of the day or the middle of the night when no one else is there. Even then it's really difficult. If I didn't have my service dog, I wouldn't go at all. Welcome to the thread.

[Lil Enslaved Kitten]

grinningjester

Lil Enslaved Kitten

hi there i'm jimmi or jimz as most know me. in 2002 i lived through a F3 tornado that nearly killed me and left me scared and partially crippled, but the worst part has to be the PTSD, i suffer from flash backs, nightmares, insomnia and sever panic attacks. even just going to the store has become a overwhelming task for me.

its really nice to see a thread like this. thank you for making it

No problem! Us survivors need support. That sounds like that must have been very very difficult. Do you still live in the area you were when the tornado hit? Are you seeing a therapist and/or are on meds? If so, has it helped you? Stores are my nemesis! I hate grocery shopping especially. If I absolutely have to go, I go in the middle of the day or the middle of the night when no one else is there. Even then it's really difficult. If I didn't have my service dog, I wouldn't go at all. Welcome to the thread.

i was on meds but where me and my husband are expecting i had to come off of them and with spring coming fast its making it rough. i have moved one county over from where it hit it has helped some but the town i moved to was also hit the night my town was and that's always in the back of my mind. if i can't go to the store late at night i wait till my husband is up and awake to go with me and then i hide behind him through the store. thank you very much for the welcome.

[grinningjester]

Lil Enslaved Kitten

i was on meds but where me and my husband are expecting i had to come off of them and with spring coming fast its making it rough. i have moved one county over from where it hit it has helped some but the town i moved to was also hit the night my town was and that's always in the back of my mind. if i can't go to the store late at night i wait till my husband is up and awake to go with me and then i hide behind him through the store. thank you very much for the welcome.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Do you know if it is a boy or girl yet? How do you manage your flashbacks?

[Lil Enslaved Kitten]

grinningjester

The Spiciest McHaggis

Most people don't know that PTSD can count as a disability and therefore you can have a service dog for it. And since I look healthy and not blind, I get a lot of people questioning it, which is annoying. But I have papers for him and everything.

I think that recognizing the PTSD-type thoughts and contradicting them was the hardest part of therapy for me. Going, that noise is not gunfire, it's someone closing the trash can outside. Hearing sirens and saying to myself, I am not back there, I am in my house. I don't know if I'll ever be able to hear and see things the way normal people do but maybe there's someone on here who's further along in their PTSD than me and say yes it goes away. All I can say is that I'm much better.

What part of telling your story to your therapist scares you?

reading over this it made me think of things i still have trouble with. i still can not take a bath in a tub cause its like i'm in that night all over again. and all it takes is loud wind outside and in my head its time to take cover and hide and find a way to keep the people around me safe

[Lil Enslaved Kitten]

grinningjester

Lil Enslaved Kitten

i was on meds but where me and my husband are expecting i had to come off of them and with spring coming fast its making it rough. i have moved one county over from where it hit it has helped some but the town i moved to was also hit the night my town was and that's always in the back of my mind. if i can't go to the store late at night i wait till my husband is up and awake to go with me and then i hide behind him through the store. thank you very much for the welcome.

Congratulations on your pregnancy. Do you know if it is a boy or girl yet? How do you manage your flashbacks?

we won't know till april and thank you smile never really learned anything other to lay and cry then write in a journal. the therapist i use to see thinks that alot of what causes my flashbacks is whats known as repressed memories i don't knowingly remember some things from that night but when something sets me off it all just kinda floods back in for anywhere from a few mins to a couple hours