Ptsd, Anyone?

[Alaskagain]

There seem to be several people currently on the forum who suffer or have suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (myself included and not pointing to any other specific individual). PTSD is a real illness and needs to be treated. Not considering this to be a place to substitute professional therapy, but maybe we can help each other with tips on how to get through a bad day.

NOTICE: I am NOT encouraging the posting of graphic details here - remember this is a Family Safe Website as well as being a very public place. Don't post anything that might embarrass you later.

Some things I have found helpful:

Know your "trigger" set of feelings - I have trained myself to recognize even a subtle increase in my level of anxiety, which can trigger a "flashback" episode. If I am in a public place, I (now) can actually tell myself, "Don't do this now, wait until you get home!"; but there were plenty of times in the past, I had no control.

Breathe. - At first awareness of the increased tension, I immediately stop whatever I am doing and breathe deeply a few times. In through your nose, out through your mouth. It seems to slow down the speeding train.

Pray - If you are a believer, pray. If you are not a believer, pray anyway, to anyone or anything or even to yourself. Mentally forming words into structured sentences and questions will help create order in the frenzy of thoughts going through your head.

Write - Grab a pen and paper , or the computer keyboard, and write your jumbled thoughts and feelings; this is extremely helpful even in the height of anxiety episodes. When you are calmer, go back and read through the notes. What is there that can help?

Avoid - places and people who remind you of the triggering event. You can deal with them when you get stronger. But don't isolate yourself from those who are trying to help.

Don't give up - Know that as long as you keep trying, you will get better and stronger and more able to deal with life.

My prayers go with you on your journey!

[bunnzy]

Medication was one thing at one point that i simply HAD to take because the anxiety was so unbearable. Therapy also to get down into the nitty gritty and accept and move on - this last part i am still struggling with. This is a great topic for me and i look forward to reading other peoples thoughts and gospel perspectives on this.

[Alaskagain]

Medication is a wonderful thing! Or it can feel like a not so wonderful thing - as it can take a long time to get the dosage right. I strongly encourage a team approach with medical doctor, "talk" therapist, and any other specialists that might be required. My personal experience is that once having found the "right" prescription(s) for me, we worked at keeping the dosages as low as possible, and still receive the beneficial effect. Patience is required.

In another thread, it was noted that one side effect of meds can be that we don't quite feel the influence of the Holy Spirit as well as we do when we are not taking the medication. So we must take extra care to keep doing the "right" things - daily prayer, attending meetings, study scriptures, etc.

To emphasize: There is nothing wrong with taking appropriately prescribed medication.

[bunnzy]

I do think some explaination of symptoms is needed, since alot of people do not understand just how dehabilitating this disorder can be. This quote is verbatim from Wikipedia -

PTSD is thought to be primarily an anxiety disorder (possibly closely related to panic disorder[citation needed]) and should not be confused with normal grief and adjustment after traumatic events.

PTSD may be triggered by an external factor or factors. Its symptoms can include the following: nightmares, flashbacks, emotional detachment or numbing of feelings (emotional self-mortification or dissociation), insomnia, avoidance of reminders and extreme distress when exposed to the reminders ("triggers"), loss of appetite, irritability, hypervigilance, memory loss (may appear as difficulty paying attention), excessive startle response, clinical depression, and anxiety. It is also possible for a person suffering from PTSD to exhibit one or more other comorbid psychiatric disorders; these disorders often include clinical depression (or bipolar disorder), general anxiety disorder, and a variety of addictions.

Symptoms that appear within the first month of the trauma are called Acute stress disorder, not PTSD according to DSM-IV. If there is no improvement of symptoms after this period of time, PTSD is diagnosed. PTSD has three subforms: Acute PTSD subsides after a duration of three months. If the symptoms persist, the diagnosis is changed to chronic PTSD. The third subform is referred to as delayed onset PTSD which may occur months, years, or even decades after the event.

[pushka]

Thanks for posting that description of PTSD criteria.

Often there is such an overlap of symptoms with many mental illnesses, that it can be difficult to know exactly which one or ones you are experiencing.

[Alaskagain]

Yes, thank you bunnzy, and pusha, you are so correct. Symptoms of PTSD include several conditions which might be independentaly diagnosed and treated, and thus, stopping short of being totally accurate. Examples would be depression, anxiety, paranoia.

From the NIMH website:http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/ptsdmenu.cfm

"What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD, is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat."

It is also important to note that what constitutes a triggering trauma for one person, may not seem traumatic to another. The "grave physical harm" or threat thereof might only have been perceived.

One incidence I see omitted from the paragraph is a growing number of PTSD cases that have been reported in adults who as children were radically treated for life threatening illnesses such as cancer.

[Guest WhoShotJS]

bump