New Guy, Looking To Chat With Like Minded Sufferers.

[CPLg83]

Hi all, been suffering with Ptsd since 2004 to the point where it now seems to have taken over my life and was just looking for any tips/ advice/ lifelines anyone can throw my way.

Cheers

 

[Anglesachse]

Welcome to the fold CPL g83.

You will find loads of good useful info here, and the blokes ain`t all bad either :cool:.

As you`ve stated, the Beast takes over our life so much that even the smallest of things can become a lifeline. You have now found our "Dysfunctional family" (as some call it:tup:) so hang onto it because its abumpy ride.

But we are all on the road together, to help out and give each other a lift every now and again.

So take a pew and mellow a while.

 

[Jimmy1]

Welcome mate. For starters tell us where your from. With this crazy mixed up family on here, we have people from all over the globe. You will also find that we all suffer very similar symptoms even though our demons are all different.

 

[Zipperhead]

Welcome

 

[CPLg83]

Hi, thanks for the warm welcome. Im an ex infantry soldier whose been out the forces for 6 years now after serving for just over five. Served with British Army in Iraq most notably during the 2004 uprising where the shit hit the fan. Never really recovered from the Telic tour and signed off not long after. My life always seems to be on the edgeas i just dont know when the rage is gonna take over, only sleep til 3am every morning and lie there mulling over life as i dont want to wake the wife and kids so this has become the norm which is how ive ended up on here actually. Seemed to have pushed so many people away but at the back of my mind i think ill sort it when im feeling better but obviously this has never come. Tried counselling and currently on meds but whats anyones insight into CBT.

I just Keep looking for the reset button.

 

[Zipperhead]

I was suppose to do CBT, but my therapist decided Prolonged Exposure would be more effective. Only done the first session so far, so I really can't say how that's going to work out. The reset button is broke dude, we need an overhaul.

 

[Jimmy1]

Hey guys, exposure therapy they say is the basically the best, but some veterans nightmares have a too big of an effect or are too traumatic to re-live, that is where EMDR and brainspotting come in. Just my opinion.

CBT is totally different. It has nothing to do with your actual traumas. Basically due to trauma + military conditioning, we think differently now. A + B = Rage. A is everything and B is everything else.
CBT is all about interrupting the cognitive function in the brain so our behavior changes. End result, person cuts you off in traffic, you don't want to rip their heads off. Its all about your cognitive response being proportionate to the event.

You see, in the military, anger and rage is used in combat. It helps us get over pain and loss. We use it to our advantage. Unfortunately a two year old not putting their shoes on does not warrant a hole punched in the wall.
If you can understand that.

So yeah, the reset button is broke, so we have to learn to rewire a new one.

Try watching Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler in 'Anger Management'. A good laugh and a good insight.

 

[Anglesachse]

I do a slightly diffent form of CBT, called DBT which is slightly more Specific to help me cope with the BPS which I was also diagnosed with along side PTSD.

IT does work, and helps me a lot, when I actually want to use it, because there are days I just say F*ck it and want to suffer. If you get CBT offered CPLg go with it. You`ve realised that you have a problem, and obviously want to do something about it or you wouldn`t be here cocker.

Like the others have said, the "Reset Button" is broke, or better said was permanently removed in Basic. So the only way to go is an Overhaul of the system.

Have a look at the "Your not in the Army now" vid under the Media link near the top on the main page, it`s a real eye opener. I wathced it and then showed it to the misses who was amazed at how much it made sense, I then changed it slightly and showed to my nipper who is 11, to help him understand why his old man is a F*cking Ass for no apparent reason. It helped him too.

Hang in there mucker, it does get easier.

 

[Sarg]

Welcome, CPL, this place is an oasis in the desert for me, hope it is so for you as well.

Sarg

 

[CPLg83]

Cheers lads, means the world to chat with other people. I live up north but my battalion was based in Germany so its hard to even speak to any of the lads i went through it with. At the doctors this morning and gonna ask if if i can try CBT. Is it a sympton to not rely on anyone because i never really see it through its just always 'itll be cool" or "its fine, im ok" sometimes these words tumble out on auto and then my brain catches up. Thanks for being there.

 

[Jimmy1]

Hey mate, thats the military conditioning side of it. You were trained to say its ok even if your half dead and bleeding to death. Remember, it was a sign of weakness to show anything else.

CBT just helps you rewire yourself and think like a normal person. Well as normal as you can get.

A lot of veterans try and handle it themselves but eventually fall in a heap. Talk to some of the Vietnam Vets on here. They left it go for 20 years with 'It will be ok' and now they have to start again.

In the end, you have to be ready mate and have to want help. Then you will be wanting to try anything they say, or at least give it a go.

I have met some people that refuse any type of therapy or medication or even advice, yet they used to whine at me that their life was f*cked.

We are here mate if you need it. You just need to find the right therapist and the right medication for you. Then things will take on a different light.

 

[Anglesachse]

CPLg, I left the Brit Army in 1995, after 10 years service to Queen and Country, a total arse to any body and every body for no reason. It took me untill 2009 to accept that I had a problem and get help. But only after 3 failed attempts with a clinic, because "It`ll be alright" and "there is f*ck all wrong with me" I went through a real bad patch with my misses who I have been with 20years, she ended up cuting me down from a tree in our garden after I had hung myself, and got me into a secure clinic under lock and key. It took 4 GCP and 2 Medics to restrain me and get me there. once there I was in for 9 months in total, just getting myself back on the more or less straight and narrow.

With out her, the beast would have destroyed me there and then. Now she has given me a fighting chance to help myself.

I guess what I am trying to say is, sometimes it doesn`t just happen from alone. Sometimes you need a bloody good kick up the ass, to get you on your way. and sometimes it doesn`t happen on the one off. Sometimes you need a trail run. I did. I walked out of 3 clinics and a day clinic each within the first week, because all the people there were just pissing me off.

I had to hit rock bottom to actually do anything about it. I think it was Jimmy in another thread that wrote along the lines of....

A dead end is good, its somewhere to turn around

Rock bottom is a dead end. But it is better if you can take the next exit to help before it`s to late. If my misses hadn`t come home early, I would be with the lads. A bitter thought! if you know what I mean.