PTSD

[melissabra]

Hi all

I have just joined and a big deal for me!

I am in regular counselling for a very difficult past but also think I might be suffering from PTSD.

The reason I say this is I went through a very traumatic situation when I was young and although all through my life I have struggled with anxiety and depression, tonight when I tried to sleep I had vivid flashbacks of the event, for the first time. I am very frightened and feel like I am losing control!

Just looking for other people in the same situation who I can share this very scary thing with!

[venusbluejeans]

Hiya melissabra and welcome to NMP :welcome:

Why not take a look at our articles on our home page, they contain a wealth of information and are a great starting place for your time on the forum.

I hope you find the as site helpful and informative as I have and that you get the help and support you need here and hope that you meet a few friends along the way :yesyes:

[AntsyVee]

I also am recovering from PTSD.

PTSD remains with us, after a traumatic event, if it's never dealt with. You can have PTSD symptoms years after something has occurred...so what you're experiencing is "PTSD-normal".

Therapy is the key to getting through it. Meds can assist, but therapy is a must. Please make sure that your therapist is experienced in working with PTSD patients because traditional CBT can sometimes re-traumatize the patient.

The best resource I have read on PTSD is the book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Van Der Kolk.

Please reach out if you have more questions!

[melissabra]

Thank you so much. The event that happened to me was almost 25 years ago but reading about PTSD symptoms it all makes sense - I ticked every box.

I was worried to read what you said about CBT as this was a therapy I was trying, do you suggest something different?

I will be sure to check out your book reference and thank you again for reaching out.

[AntsyVee]

Well, you will have to see if CBT works for you. There are many CBT techniques that can help, but the exposure technique in CBT can backfire. For instance, if someone has a phobia of bridges, then having them learn to cross bridges a little bit at a time with their therapist helps them get over their fear. But let's say someone has PTSD from a sexual assault. Having them watch rape scenes in movies or describe what happened to them over and over again only re-traumatizes them. Unfortunately some therapists who are not trained in dealing with PTSD do things sometimes that backfire, even though they think it's in the best interest of their patients.