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Having Ptsd For Years Without Knowing It - Have Questions

  • Thread starter Deleted member 32956
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Deleted member 32956

I have been on this forum months ago as a supporter to better understand PTSD etc. I have suffered from severe anxiety and depression for as long as I can remember and participate in therapy regularly. After going through my own issues with my provider, going through an intensive outpatient program, and browsing through these forums it finally clicked. I finally realized I have had PTSD for ten years, and never even realized it. I was diagnosed by my provider this week. Is this common? I honestly feel like a fool because it was right in front of me this whole time and the symptoms and how my trauma changed me has affected my life greatly when I really think about it. I'm still very new to this whole thing. Any words or advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
I don't know about you, but I was relieved to finally have a DX for what my issues were. At least I had a starting point, and could make progress.
Don't feel stupid, just be grateful you had some years without having to do the hard work ahead of you.
Glad you are here !
 
Being diagnosed and agreeing with that diagnosis are the first steps to healing. I was not diagnosed until I was in my 50s, though I did hit the trauma in therapy when I was in my mid-30s. I did not even know there was such a thing as PTSD back then, no one gave me my diagnosis, until I later figured it out. It just sort of came to me one day, after hearing about PTSD and what it was. I mentioned to my healthcare providers that I thought I was PTSD and none of them have ever disagreed with me. So I write it into all Dr.'s forms now as my diagnosis. I got asked about it and for some details during a mental health assessment and gave all the details. No one has ever said to me, "No, you are not PTSD." So I assume I was correct in assuming I have it.

As to advice, read up on it, get some printed materials if you can from your healthcare provider(s). Buy a book about it. Make sure it is by a Professional, because you can read all about it here on these forums from sufferers and supporters. It is the professional author's info that you need, but look for a book that is easy to read, not one full of technical terms that has no glossary. Make sure the book has an index too. Unfortunately I cannot recommend one, as I have been too poor to buy one and we have no bookstore near here in which I could shop for one and see if it is readable and has a glossary, etc. However, maybe someone else reading this has read one and can recommend one! (Everybody)?

I recently attended a lecture on PTSD and was given a hand-out with lots of info in it. I was just lucky to be at that place that day when the lecture was given. I learned stuff that I did not know and some terms that folks use here on these Forums became more solid for me, more clear in my mind. Some of my own experiences became more understandable for me too.
 
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