General Understanding For My Sister

[jenypenne]

My sister was sexually abused when she was little, by an older boy on our street. No one knew until she was in her twenties, when she was going through a divorce. She said she was fine and all she needed was to tell us. She went about life just fine... great job, friends, and seemed to be a beautiful girl inside and out. Just last week she had jury duty for a molestation case. Ever since then she has paranoia about everything and everyone in her life. She is taking every memory of when she was young and associating it to fear, sickness, and unhappiness. She thinks my mom is sick, my parents marriage is fake, my dad is sick, my dad wanted to divorce my mom, talking about my dad's money. Yesterday she ran down the street and got in a strangers car because she didn't think she was safe. We called 911 and she agreed to be evaluated by a mental health hospital in town. Can someone please tell me if any of this sounds familiar. It's so new that we don't know anything. She is 34 and all of this is just now coming out. Is this PTSD? Will this be her new normal? We are so scared... please help us understand.

 

[pixel]

Nobody here can provide a diagnosis.
We are here to offer support and share our experiences. :)

It would seem the court hearing has brought up difficult memories for your sister and she is having trouble coping with the fallout.

Yesterday she ran down the street and got in a strangers car because she didn't think she was safe.

I would like to emphasise to you here (going on what you've explained in your post), this fear she is feeling, is probably not from remembering what happened to her, but from reliving what happened to her.
The difference is worlds apart.

It's good to hear that she is willing to be assessed.

 

[Jadie Rose]

Hello. Very sorry to hear about your sister, hope the Psychiatrist and Therapists are able to better help her understand what is going on. I'm fairly new to this forum, but have been in CBT weekly for a few years, have worked on my spirituality through private yoga lessons for years, even worked with a personal life coach for a few years and everyone (including myself) thought I was doing ok for 12 years (I'm 42, my sexual assault occurred almost 15 years ago). Today, I'm not doing so well. I did not realize it but I was trying to "work" (at my job) or "work" out a lot or "work" on myself too much to not recognize what was truly going on inside, but I had no idea that's what I was trying to do. Now, I know it is VERY tough to watch a loved one go through any of this and because PTSD develops differently in each person, there are not enough medical answers out there yet, it is unique to each individual how it manifests itself. Hoping the doc who observes here has trauma therapy experience, because that is what she needs right now and they can definitely help you all understand better what is going on within her. She is SO LUCKY to have you - my family was oblivious to what was happening with me, as though it were all my fault, and that put a lot of pressure on me because I was the strong one in the family and I couldn't be strong these past couple years because I had no idea what was even happening to me. Please hang in there, I know that does not ease your worries, but a trained trauma psychiatrist (or neuropsychiatrist) will be best at evaluating her and helping you all understand her unique situation - it may be she is having just partial PTSD-like reactions and may get over it after a little time passes, or can turn into full PTSD - only the doc can tell. Good luck with all and keep being there for your sis, you are a good sister!!