So, i want to share that i no longer have ptsd

[Freida]

Yeah!!!

I appreciate all the input from everyone -- but figure if you are happy and feel you are moving forward in your life and leaving ptsd behind??
Then congratulations are in order!

 

[Suzetig]

As far as I was concerned, if I was still vulnerable to any ptsd symptoms, regardless of the time between without them, then clearly I still suffered from ptsd & had more work to do.

That’s the thing though, post traumatic stress disorder happens when the normal post trauma stress, with all the associated symptoms, gets stuck in process somehow. Having had that process get stuck once does increase the possibility of it happening again.

If you think of it like a broken bone, PTSD is the equivalent of the bone being badly set and “healing” in the wrong place. Fixing it will mean rebreaking the bone, resetting it - possibly using kind or a frame to hold it in place - and then letting it heal in its rightful place. After all that the fracture will be healed, but there will be a weakness there, maybe some nerve damage or arthritis. It may need ongoing physio to keep its strength or might need pain relief from time to time. Every knock or twist won’t break it, but it will break more easily and hurt sooner than if the original fracture had healed properly first time around.

Healing from PTSD is the same, in my mind. The recovery is real, but you may need to keep doing the things that keep you well - the mental physio if you will - to keep well. Every time the idea of a “cure” for PTSD come up there’s a debate about how possible it is, and research shows most people do recover, but that can be hard to fathom if you’re in the depths of it here.

I’m glad you posted and hope you remain well.

 

[CdnCopper]

Congratulations.

I have heard and read about some people being able to reach a point of living in PTSD Recovery where they are symptom free. No doubt it must be an incredible amount of work reaching that point. Those cases involve taking medication as required, maintaining a strong support network, following a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), avoiding triggers, consistently practicing a lifelong commitment to self care.

One person referred to it as being similar to being bi -polar. If you do what's required then your symptoms remain at bay and you can live symptom free.

Congratulations again on your hard work and success!!

 

[tacit]

Thanks Suzetig..maybe..maybe not. All I can do is share my experience. And I do not see the evidence of what you're talking about in my own life, regarding either previously broken bones in my body or symptoms of ptsd. If you're talking about the odd Panadol I take because of a change in weather or I've got the flu..then in the world of trauma it wouldn't even register as an effect of pts. Probably more like missing someone. Put if you're talking about a serious injury where bones are broken & rehab is required, then you're probably also talking about the equivalent of serious trauma in the psychology world. I think some things will cause breaks regardless of whether you have had previous fractures or not. I do not believe this is the same as susceptibility. I think you just have to look at the varied experiences & severities of situations that caused ptsd for people here in this forum, to see that illustrated. I think maybe the bone analogy only works if you are assuming that more serious trauma is likely, as even a serious blow is unlikely to break a bone. But then again I have also witnessed an ankle break, of previously healthy unharmed bone, occur under seemingly the slightest of pressure. Actually, I'm not sure why bones & 'set' seem to be the focus when we are talking about the mind. And nothing is 'set' with the mind. It's both the beautiful & scariest thing about it all. I would liken the two to one being the clay a potter would use to take any shape & the other the equivalent of what comes out of the kiln afterwards that is completely rigid & much more fragile. :)

As far as the controversy goes, I know that when I was in the thick of my recovery, just the concept of hope seemed very dangerous indeed..let alone the person offering it. But it is there. And will wait for you until you need it. :tup:

Hi Copper..doesn't sound like much of a recovery to me. :O_o:

 

[joeylittle]

Congrats @tacit - and thanks for coming back to post about how well you are doing. It’s easy to forget that victory is possible, that there is such a thing as getting to the other side of it. Well done!

I’m curious - are there any wellness practices that have stayed with you, beyond the completion of therapy? Or, are there cognitive strategies that you learned along the way that you still apply - not necessarily anymore for PTSD symptoms, just more for day to day happiness?

 

[Virtues]

I think I came across as being disrespectful... (which was not my intent)

First, let me say again how happy I am for you tacit... (that was the main point of my post)

Second, let me reiterate that I simply didn't understand the terms "cure" or "in full remission" as used in the context of PTSD which anthony did point out were incorrect terms to use when talking about this disorder.

I do believe in the "recovery model" and am working with a team who believes in the same thing, but I guess I am still so far down in it that I don't know what that "end result" looks like yet.

I talked about little wins; that's all I can see from my vantage point right now. I guess I can't see the whole picture; I hope that one day I am standing where you're standing and I have a clearer view of what it is that I'm looking at right now. Until then, I wanted to say 1 more time I am very happy for you, and if I came off as cold, calculated, harsh, abrasive, disrespectful, unsupportive, or anything else negative that wasn't my intent and I'm sorry. Cheers :hug:

 

[EveHarrington]

Thanks Suzetig..maybe..maybe not. All I can do is share my experience. And I do not see the evidence of...

Was your trauma not serious?

A bit confused.

I’m kind of looking sideways at your answer to copper.....doesn’t sound like much of a recovery at all? His description sounds like a DREAM to many of us. Ten years into recovery and I’m still trying to get basic functioning down because my system is so reactive, and it’s hard to regulate myself.

 

[somerandomguy]

Thanks for posting @tacit. Recovery is my goal and I'm glad to hear from someone who's done it.

 

[recoveringfromptsd]

I tend to think of PTSD as another label created for practical purposes, like any physical or mental malady PTSD like bi-polar are not a one size fits all. PTSD begins with the past, The symptoms that fall under the PTSD label may be alleviated, or diminished, but you undo the past, so from that criteria PTSD is incurable, but treatable for some.

All I can say for those with successes, stay ahead of things and stay happy and hopeful, so those successes remain that way. I think its wonderful that someone here has done so well.

Ten years into recovery and I’m still trying to get basic functioning down because my system is so reactive, and it’s hard to regulate myself

I share this attribute, except I am only 1.5 years into recovery, preceded by 40 years post abuse unable to function, trust, open up, hospitalizations, etc. I don't think I will ever reach an acceptable level of relief.

 

[jade53]

@anthony I wish you were around when the last mental health professional I’ll bother having anything to do with alleged that I wasn’t having a problem with PTSD anymore after asking me if I did.

I might not have seen such a need to live away from all those in North America that exacerbated it so much after subpoenaing him to testify on the impaired when after backing into a truck in the parking lot of my apartment and being swarmed by a bunch of persons from a certain religious denomination. They ended up screaming at me about leaving the scene of as I walked back to my apartment to await the police before I decided to use my best defense on any of them.

Upon conviction and his testimony after having turned down the offer from the prosecutor to plea to careless driving, but with the same one year suspension I swore I’ll never self-medicate or take another prescription to prevent defending myself from a real or perceived attack again.

My lawyer even sat there saying nothing while the prosecution made a joke over what I was afraid of with those people.
There's always something, or someone can bring it back.

 

[EveHarrington]

Is tacit not coming back? It just seems weird that she says her trauma was minor.....when the definition of ptsd is actually major trauma. I’m not trying to be rude, but did she even have ptsd to begin with if the trauma was minor?

 

[CdnCopper]

I've read some things recently while reading up on WRAP that there is or can be some confusion when it comes to the definition of "recovery". Some believe it means "cured" when in fact in means "living symptom free".

Even from what I've read about WRAP they make no claim about it being a cure a way of minimizing, controlling or alleviating the symptoms through self awareness, medication and various supports should symptoms return..

Not that much different I guess than an alcoholic in "recovery. As long as the supports are in place and the triggers are controlled they can lead "normal" lives. That being said they will always be alcoholics but instead of being "a risk" they will move into the realm of being "at risk".

But then that's just my opinion....maybe I'm way off in left field.