PTSD

[FLbjbud]

I am wondering if anyone here has ever suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

The Reason I Ask:

First of all I feel pretty comfortable with you guys, and this is relatively anonymous considering in a few months this post will be forgotten.

So here goes, a long time ago I was bashed by a group of guys in my class. I saw a therapist for a long time, learned to deal with the nightmares, the panic attacks, and so on.

Recently I have started having nightmares again. I actually wake up in the middle of the night. I can't breathe, sweating, and my chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it.

Do the nightmares and the feeling that come along with it every go completely away?

 

[headbang8]

I am wondering if anyone here has ever suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?
Do the nightmares and the feeling that come along with it every go completely away?

No.

 

[Dave NoCal]

In many cases therapy will help move the traumatic material into remembering, as opposed to reliving. Since you are talking about an isolated incident, it seems to me that your prospects are good. Has something happened in your life that might have reactivated the trauma? My guess is that that is the case.

 

[snoozan]

There are some really good new treatments out there for PTSD. If you're having a recurrence of symptoms that don't go away in a week or two or are seriously affecting your functioning, get back to your therapist.

I have panic disorder and a few other anxiety issues and I notice that when I'm stressed out or just not in good shape mentally it all gets worse. Sometimes I need to deal with the underlying issue (stress) before they get better.

I imagine you'll be living with this for the rest of your life to some extent or another, but there are many ways to lessen its severity and to cope with it when things get bad. I know it's not easy.

 

[FLbjbud]

Thanks everyone. I have no idea what triggered it. From my understanding, from stuff I have seen on the internet, it is triggered by an event, a word, or something of that nature.

It's been about 8 years since I have had such dreams.

I am on prozac for depression and trazadon (sp?) for depression as well as helping me sleep.

 

[snoozan]

Thanks everyone. I have no idea what triggered it. From my understanding, from stuff I have seen on the internet, it is triggered by an event, a word, or something of that nature.

It's been about 8 years since I have had such dreams.

I am on prozac for depression and trazadon (sp?) for depression as well as helping me sleep.

I know for me sometimes I won't think anything is wrong and I'll start having panic attacks and waking up freaking out just like you are. Eventually I can look back and see that there was something wrong, but not all the time. Sometimes it just happens. No matter what, a couple therapy sessions can't hurt. There's a new PTSD treatment called EMDR that's had some promising results., It's done by a trained therapist in their office and isn't a medicine.

If the Prozac and trazadone work for your depression, that's a good thing. I don't think they would make the PTSD worse-- in fact, those drugs tend to help make it better.

Try not to freak out too much about it, though, because the more you worry the more stressed you'll get and that may make your symptoms worse. Sometimes the symptoms come back and resolve themselves in a few days or a week or so even without any sort of therapeutic intervention.

Good luck, and hang in there.

 

[invisibleman]

I am wondering if anyone here has ever suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?

The Reason I Ask:

First of all I feel pretty comfortable with you guys, and this is relatively anonymous considering in a few months this post will be forgotten.

So here goes, a long time ago I was bashed by a group of guys in my class. I saw a therapist for a long time, learned to deal with the nightmares, the panic attacks, and so on.

Recently I have started having nightmares again. I actually wake up in the middle of the night. I can't breathe, sweating, and my chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it.

Do the nightmares and the feeling that come along with it every go completely away?

As a survivor of a hate crime, I had nightmares as well. I think that what helped me deal with that is having a group of supportive friends. I also was very angry for a long time. I was angry that some fuckers in my hood would have done that to me. I had problems sleeping after what had happened to me. I also reported the incident to the local law enforcement. I didn't get much names from the local community as far as my attackers were concerned. No one snitched.

My anger was powerful enough to overcome the pastis of emotions that I went through. I didn't go out for a few weeks but I made myself go out. I had to. I couldn't allow what happened to me stop me from going out.

Anyway, I think that you should seek survivors' trauma counseling. I think that will help you. There are free to low cost resources available through your local law enforcement agency. There are support groups. You aren't alone.

 

[Scorpiorising]

I don't know how many times I thought I was over a traumatic incident that happened 18 years ago. It was an abandonment, poverty, starvation thing, the entire incident lasting an entire month. Ever since then, I've had, for lack of a better term, 'borderline' borderline personality disorder.

I never really suffered too much for years and actually tried to make it into a positive learning experience, and still try. However, there are a couple of times when incidences have triggered a terrible reaction of grief and flooding of memories. Usually it only lasts a week or two and then I feel strong enough again. I don't suffer from panic attacks, though.

By odd chance, I have recently (since January of this year) suffered a continuous string of bad luck, financial issues, and friends turning their backs on me. It is by far the closest I've come to reliving what I went through 18 years ago, the only difference is actually having food to eat. However, this experience has triggered the worst reaction I have ever experienced in my life.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, no, it never goes away and any similarly preceived incident can trigger a response. The question is how one deals with it. Recognition that you are experiencing a PTS response is the first step in healing. Second, being active in stress reduction (proper breathing, meditating (as a preventative), and exercise). Turning the stress into something positive and productive gives you the realization that you always have a choice. The key is learning to LIVE with it and learning to make it a WORKING force in your life. You may still feel the pain, anxiety, etc, but the knowledge that you are using it productively may ease it and give you strength.

I may be going through a personal hell, right now, but I am for damned sure not going to let it stop me from living and making good choices. I hope you don't let it stop you, either.