I was never in the military
I don't know, I guess it depends on the situation. It's not a question that should be asked by a doctor casually out of curiosity, but they usually have a reason.
Yes I became shut down, feeling as if I was dead and with no hope. I have suicidal ideation too. It's completely justified. I sought treatment and it helps to be seen and believed, understood that my pain is justified. I'm getting better but it's slow.
I wish people knew what it is because people are saying they have it now that don't. I wouldn't assume that, but they share about not having the core symptoms of PTSD. Yet they believe they have it (CPTSD). It's really harmful to people who do have PTSD,who are being marginalized because of this pop trend.
No one ever acknowledged the violence and sexual abuse. And instead of acknowledging the mental illlness, treated me like someone who didn't have it at all. Now it's difficult for me to see that I have it, or that anything at all ever happened to me.
It's a valid question since PTSD is from an event or events, but I think it should be done respectfully, knowing that they're talking to someone who is suffering.
If you look at the ICD diagnostic manual it says nightmares are thematically related. The key thing about re-experiencing an event with PTSD is it's not just remembered but is experienced as occuring in the here and now. It's very terrible, I'm sorry you're going through it. In addition to having flashbacks or nightmares, we also might get overwhelmed/immersed in the same intense emotions that were experienced during the event in response to reminders.
It's another one of those realities people are easily manipulated away from just by spreading doubt. It's a proven method made famous in 1950s by the tobacco industry. It becomes a 'scientific debate'. Get people to think it may or may not be true, who knows? Funny how so many of these debates just happen to be about people being hurt by something. Make the people confused about whether they're being abused or not.
A bad guess for me would be half are being misdiagnosed and half are self-diagnosed. Yeah the mental health practitioners are really letting people down. If people ever realize what's going on it's probably going to hurt their profession. Another reason they might have went a long with it is because they didn't want to 'invalidate' their clients (lose money).
I think what I'm seeing is different, they're being diagnosed with C-PTSD, but share that they don't have the core PTSD symptoms. Basically there's widespread misdiagnosis going on, based on bad information that was adopted in pop culture, then slowly with practitioners who weren't experienced enough. (Most hadn't heard of C-PTSD before it became popular).
This thread has more info on it.. https://www.reddit.com/r/ptsd/comments/1csngzv/cptsd/
It's hard to tell because I've been through so much other stuff too. I can't be in relationships. I can't work or have friends. I constantly want to die. It's hard to find others with PTSD. Everyone is saying they have it now though.
I'm sorry that happened. :( We really need support but people that understand are hard to find. There's a difference between fear and terror.
That sure has shot in the foot a bit my ability to get help.
Sorry to hear that. :( I wonder if this widespread misunderstanding has to do with PTSD stigma and denial of violent/sexual abuse in households. I feel even more isolated and misunderstood because of "mental health awareness." There seems to be less awareness and more stigma/denial of PTSD.
Harvard professor Judith Herman created the name Complex trauma / PTSD and talked about it in the famous book Trauma and Recovery. It's a separate diagnosis from PTSD because of the nature of how it happens and the presentation is different. It's always been known as a PTSD+, having the same core symptoms as PTSD with additional ones, and the symptoms are generally more severe and persistent than PTSD. I knew one person who has it, it's a very terrible and severe condition. There can also be symptoms of other disorders such as dissociative, somatoform, personality and others. You can see the diagnostic criteria in the ICD, which is accurate and much different than the C-PTSD in pop culture today.
You're not wrong at all to be scared of him, of course you would be. The way you are is completely ok, and you should be getting better support from your parents. PTSD is a major illness, people should be compassionate and supportive of us.
Guilt, that can be about not protecting others, affects many with PTSD and is listed under Additional Clinical Features in the ICD. It helps me a little to mentally remember I'm not actually guilty, it's just part of the condition. It doesn't fix it so I don't expect it to but offer a little relief.
Sorry to hear about all your suffering. I hope you get good help that changes things for you.
It's not easy to accept, at least it isn't for me. I guess I'm so used to suffering. One thing that helps me is knowing that I have to have PTSD because I'm re-experiencing the violence and death in the present. It's so horrible. Re-experiencing is the main symptom of PTSD and shows we have it, and that the events were very terrible so we should try to have compassion for ourselves for suffering so much now.
You could share the diagnostic criteria summary in the ICD. It mentions occupational impairment.
Judith Herman created the diagnosis and talks about recovery. She wrote a book called Trauma and Recovery, and others. This article talks about treatment.
Judith Herman talks about recovery from CPTSD (she created the diagnosis). It also mentions treatment in this article
For CPTSD, trauma therapies may not be the answer. Single event PTSD is different than long term power/control trauma. like prolonged violence or sexual abuse in a household, where it was difficult to escape. I'm surprised no one talks about Judith Herman, she created CPTSD diagnosis and talks about recovery.
Ask the therapist about calming tools you can use daily. Talk to supportive people about your PTSD. Like I had the severe nightmares, waking up with mysterious wounds, but I never told anyone. That makes it harder being in isolation.
EMDR is good for single event PTSD. It can significantly reduce the terrible flashbacks or nightmares, and the heightened perception of current threat. For PTSD after long term power/control trauma like household violence and sexual abuse, jumping into EMDR could be a mistake and there may be better treatments.
I don't know about treatment for anxiety. But it may improve after successful PTSD treatment, as well as depression which some have.
If you're worried they will think you'll unalive yourself you could tell them you aren't, and that talking about it good for you. Of course we would have dark feelings and want to express it there's nothing wrong with that. It's also natural to want others to see us and be concerned. Someone caring about another person suffering is natural, it's not doing anything bad to them to let them know. But if the people around us aren't emotionally mature enough to allow someone to talk about or express painful things, then we need to find others. Many people might not be able to respond in a way that supports us, but can hurt us because they can't face their own painful feelings.
Most people don't even know what PTSD is, they don't know the experience of it and most aren't trained for it. They don't know the horror we go through, re-experiencing terrible past events in the present. It's a living nightmare. I won't tell most people because I know they don't understand anything about it. I won't risk my mental health, I save it for people who do understand.
SA PTSD not taken seriously
ptsd