introducing myself

[aussiegirl]

hello everyone!! i am aussiegirl a fellow PTSD sufferer from australia.i've had this condition for over 2 years now.due to both physical & mental abuse from a former neighbour [Sigh...] hoping to make friends here & gain valuable advice :)

PTSD sufferer 2 yrs

[seh1980]

Hello and welcome!! I hope we can offer you some good support here :D

"If life were simple, word would have got around"

[clickaway]

Welcome Aussiegirl,

I too hope that you will get plenty of support, advice and friendship out of this site,

Hugs,

Ray

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.
~Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers

[aussiegirl]

thanks for your warm welcome [:X]

PTSD sufferer 2 yrs

[Antipodes]

Hello Aussiegirl,

Wecome to this forum - particularly the PTSD section. There aren't too many of us here at NMP and we need new fellow PTSD-ers for the invaluable support and also the opportunity to understand it better.

I hope you aren't still fully triggered after two years? If you are, perhaps you could post about what help you're getting from therapy and meds (if any) and where you're at. In my case it was super hyper-vigilence, exaggerated startle response, poor memory and concentration, numb emotions, anxiety etc.

I look forward to hearing more from you :- )

Antipodes (because I'm in NZ)

[aussiegirl]

hi antipodes,
i started off with counselling which i found useless [V] then i started on zoloft 50mg which worked to a certain point so i was upped to 100mg [8D] i've been pretty stable now for 18 months.although suicidal thoughts are a constant reminder of my condition [}:)] having to deal often with my attacker & her family doesn't help & leads me back to depression :( they're no longer neighbours but live locally unfortunately.moving again isn't an option at this point.my attacker is currently in prison for attacking another person so this helps me a little deal with day to day living,although i worry she'll get out any day [:O]

PTSD sufferer 2 yrs
married mummy to 3 kids

[Antipodes]

Hi aussiegirl,

I'm sorry the couselling didn't work out for you. Perhaps it was the therapist's inexperience? That happened to me the first psychologist I saw. Then I found my current one and have been seeing him for over four years. A crucial part of the journey to wellness, I think.

Hopefully the morbid thoughts will stop being obtrusive soon. I do empathise. I have those thoughts too. Perhaps you should mention the Zoloft isn't helping your anxiety a lot when next you see your psychiatrist? GP? I hope the increase in meds kelps with the mood.

Antipodes

[aussiegirl]

i've been on the increased meds for over a year now.maybe i need them upped again.might see my GP & see what he thinks.the counsellor i saw thought meds were my only hope because of the destructive thoughts i was carrying at the time.in some ways she was right as i'm a bit less angry these days.

PTSD sufferer 2 yrs
married mummy to 3 kids

[wobily_lin]

hi sharlene.

great to see your already getting some good support already. you already know i can relate to alot of your issues. we all need to help each other as much as possible. i find now that after 2yrs i look back on my life in search for reasons but more so understanding, if that is at all possible, why my situations and experiences hav left me in such despair and a nervous wreck basically.

i will be starting my first assessment for cbt on friday and i can honestly say that i am dreading it. to face my main trauma is so scary. but although that is my main concern, on reflect, there have been other issues prior to that, which i suppose have been buried for so many years til now. so now i know is my time to bare my soul. my main concern is that i wont like or get on with the psycologist. i will know straigt away and if that is the case, i will ask to be referred somewhere else. but i am trying not to be so negative as i have waited along time for this support. its now or never as they say.

please do see your gp regarding meds to make sure that things are how they should be. i, like all on this site are here to support you. my luv to you and your family.

together we are strong.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx

lin x

[Antipodes]

Hi aussie girl,

I too had a neighbour from hell. It was shortly after my PTSD had flared up. This NFH was awful and I eventually had to get the police involved and take out an harrassment order against him. Fortunatley, he moved out before the court hearing. So all is well now but I empathise. It can be so distressing and anxious.

GP's can be great. Mine is a gem. But like many GP's, they are generalists and may have little knowledge only about treating anxiety and depression. Also, GP's are limited to what they can prescribe. SOme meds are "psychiatrist only to prescribe" and others may only be prescribed if you have not found 1 or 2 or 3 (depending) to be helpful. Of course the more restricted the med, the higher the cost - the reason is NHS cost control. So, if you haven't already seen a psychiatrist, I recommend you do.

wobily_lin (hi :- )
I envy you being offered a CBT course. I've been recommended to do this but there are no funds/resources available from the health board. They have written to me about a quality of service ***** they're doing and I shall tell them I think the psychiatrist access and quality (he's a uni prof) is superb. But - they can't provide the CBT so I am going to pursue this.

You won't have to bare your soul to anyone. I have secrets from my psychologist and so can you. I do hope you can relate to this psychologist. It is so important to strike up a rapport, before you'll start gaining the benefits. Personally, I like the idea of a session with my psychologist, for a catch up, touching base and letting it all hang out. But I sometimes doubt my response to "stuff" and this is where the CBT is a positive benfit to me. So, please suspend judgement lin, I only hope you'll be seeing an experienced therapist, familiar with anxiety and PTSD. I hope you'll do it and benefit. Please let me know how you get on there?

sincerely

Antipodes

[wobily_lin]

hi,

oh my god. i too had neighbout from hell. that was before my ptsd. bout a year. it was a nightmare. everyday i was at the council, keeping reports, recording equipment in the house. i was a wreck. things like this ive been looking at and thinking about . police were so pleased they had gone as they were regular visiters at my house and theirs.myself and my partener had a holiday when they left. for a break. i was sick. off work for 6 wks. and they a few months after that we had a car crash. it hit my side of the car and i was very lucky.

then bout year later i had my trauma at hosp. so i suppose i had alot of things affecting me before the huge one. ppl really have me thinking about myself. its amazing really.

i will keep an open mind when i go on friday. please keep pushing for that treatment antipodes. it makes me sad that it is not there for you as i have known of this since my trauma 2 yrs ago and im finally getting it. although im so scared. i too hop i have a good rapor with this person. so i will see.

i will catch up with you sometime.

take care and thanks all.

lin x

[aussiegirl]

lin,
thanks for your kids words & advice :D i think we're both being a help to one another already [^] i will go see my GP tomorrow to see what he can do for me.maybe seeing another counsellor might be the way to go as i still have a lot of issues.having my ex neighbours still harassing me though doesn't help the situation :( how can you get over trauma when it's still going on?
antipodes,
thanks also for your kind words.knowing there's others out there in the same predicament certainly helps.i did have a protection order against my former neighbours too but they expired when i moved & i don't want to get another one as they'll then know exactly where i live [V] at this moment they only know where my kids go to school & follow me to & from there when they see me.
i pray for closure to this but i really don't think it will ever happen.although meeting new friends on here is helping me day by day [^]

PTSD sufferer 2 yrs
married mummy to 3 kids