Unsure on diagnosis

[Chris-duck]

So I was diagnosed in 2005ish with PTSD and then cptsd in 2019 I think. And the issue isn't really whether I experienced trauma or whether it has affected my life but more has it given me PTSD? Cos that's currently up for debate.

I find it hard to be objective because when I think I don't I can't tell if its cos I think it's not trauma or I think I'm fine or it's an accurate assessment.

I'm not asking for opinions on me, cos like I live with me n if I can't work it out, neither can you but just people's experiences. How much do intrusive symptoms impact your life? (Nightmares n flashbacks etc) or how does feeling unsafe impact your life?

It's in the therapy forum cos my current T only treats CPTSD and if I say I don't have it then I'm discharged and have no NHS options left and if I say I do I keep him but obv I'm not willing to lie or exaggerate for that and I'm genuinely not sure.

 

[Deleted member 47099]

I've given you my 2 cents already.

And given the (pretty huge) impact on your therapy options, I'd say it's CPTSD until proven otherwise.

Like, if they can plausibly demonstrate that you have another diagnosis that rules out all PTSD... then fine.

But unless that happens, I'd say you're CPTSD until further notice.

 

[Chris-duck]

And given the (pretty huge) impact on your therapy options, I'd say it's CPTSD until proven otherwise.

My issue with this approach is that it's based on what is on offer to me more than what I'm actually experiencing, so it feels deceptive. Or potentially deceptive. Cos I have no idea wtf is happening in my wee head tbh.

 

[Deleted member 47099]

Honestly?

I think there's like f*cking countless times that the system is stacked against us.

So sometimes, if we tick a box and fit into a certain category and it's helpful... then you gotta take it, I reckon.

You've definitely experienced at least 3 major CritA traumas. And definitely had PTSD at some stage.

And you definitely still need trauma therapy.

So IMO if your brain is going down the "I dunno if I deserve this CPTSD therapy" then it's cos your brain is f*cked up from all the trauma... Which means you should definitely be doing this therapy.

But I realise that's just me saying blahblahblah, as far as your brain is concerned

Hopefully some other ppl will come along and talk sense into ya.

 

[Movingforward10]

What's making you question it now?
How much does it matter?


In terms of me:
I have no diagnosis.
Nightmares and flashbacks: hmmmm. Seeing as I like to dismiss things, prob not that much at the moment. But when I re-read my diary: nearly daily a few months ago. Maybe it is less now as there is no social contact. Lots of triggers just aren't around (being in a bar with drunk men etc etc, or being around groups of men, or having to walk past men), because there is a lockdown.

But maybe rather than gaging whether you have PTSD from what other people are experiencing and comparing that to your own situation, the best person to ask is your therapist or the person who diagnosed you?

 

[Chris-duck]

What's making you question it now?

T said that if I think I have PTSD then.. And honestly, I always have doubted it, but I'm unsure whether I doubt it cos I'm minimising, cos I don't realise/accept the effect on me or cos I'm actually accurately looking at my current experience of symptoms, or lack of.

How much does it matter?

Quite a lot to be honest, if I *don't* think I have PTSD then I get discharged, and no other NHS T will take me cos they don't feel equipped to deal with "my level of trauma". So I'd have to go private, which is both expensive, and trial and error for who is decent.

But maybe rather than gaging whether you have PTSD from what other people are experiencing and comparing that to your own situation, the best person to ask is your therapist or the person who diagnosed you?

Yeah, so he left it up to me to decide. And honestly, it's kinda a tick box exercise. Do I experience PTSD symptoms or not? He can't tell me my own experience. I say yeah he'd believe me, I say no, he'd believe me. Cos it's just a yes/no exercise really.

 

[somerandomguy]

So the first time I went to trauma therapy, about 6 years ago now, I was a little hesitant at calling what had happened to me "abuse." At the time, I really wasn't sure - in fact, I was pretty sure that at least some of it had been my own fault. (It wasn't, but it took me a long time to figure that out.) My assigned therapist asked me point-blank if I thought I had been abused, and when I couldn't answer, he told me that I would have to be discharged from the program if I didn't think it had been abuse.

I played along and said yeah, OK, it was abuse. Unsurprisingly, that round of therapy really didn't help me. I was not ready for help.

I mean, I'm pretty sure you have PTSD, @Chris-duck. But if YOU don't think you do, no one's going to be able to convince you of that. My question is, if you play along, do you think the interventions will help you?

 

[Chris-duck]

@somerandomguy it's nothing to do with whether or not it was trauma, like that's a totally different argument. My argument is symptoms, not whether trauma happened.

And also, whether or not therapy would help is *also* irrelevant because I can only have access to this service if I meet criteria. And I don't think I do.

Which is why I asked for other people's experiences of PTSD symptoms. Not a stranger's assessment of whether I do or not.

 

[Survivor3]

You can have PTSD and be high functioning. I have flashbacks, rumination, intrusive thoughts, cognitive distortions due to fear and paranoia. I don't have fear of the explicit flashbacks of the particular trauma of one of my attacks but of the symptoms it caused. I have received absolutely zero psychological help from the nhs so I would say that your lucky to be getting help and you should make the most out of it.

 

[piratelady]

My therapist has diagnosed me with PTSD and I believe that I have it. Honestly, if nothing triggers me, then the intrusive symptoms don’t interfere with my life a ton. The problem though is that there are triggers and sometimes I stumble on them like in a minefield and it screws me up quite a bit.

I think because my trauma happened when I was younger and I felt like I had to seem “fine” and still do really well in life, I have a great skill in burying everything and making myself believe I truly am fine and there was no trauma, no ptsd, and I have no triggers. It’s something I had to do and I’ve become very good at it. Just because I can bury it and pretend though, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

So I guess, what I’m trying to say is that I still believe I have ptsd (in all likelihood cptsd), but I can still function, work, pay bills, and all that because it’s a skill I was forced to develop.

I don’t know if that’s helpful at all or what you were asking.

 

[Movingforward10]

T said that if I think I have PTSD then.. And honestly, I always have doubted it, but I'm unsure whether I doubt it cos I'm minimising, cos I don't realise/accept the effect on me or cos I'm actually accurately looking at my current experience of symptoms, or lack of.

Quite a lot to be honest, if I *don't* think I have PTSD then I get discharged, and no other NHS T will take me cos they don't feel equipped to deal with "my level of trauma". So I'd have to go private, which is both expensive, and trial and error for who is decent.

Yeah, so he left it up to me to decide. And honestly, it's kinda a tick box exercise. Do I experience PTSD symptoms or not? He can't tell me my own experience. I say yeah he'd believe me, I say no, he'd believe me. Cos it's just a yes/no exercise really.

He's asking you to diagnose yourself?
Or is he asking you if you believe you have PTSD?

Surely we can't diagnose ourselves?
And if he thinks he can provide treatment then he should.

 

[Chris-duck]

He's asking you to diagnose yourself?
Or is he asking you if you believe you have PTSD?

In this context, it's the exact same thing. When it's "if you believe you have PTSD we will do trauma therapy" and if I dont believe I have PTSD I'm discharged.

Surely we can't diagnose ourselves?

We can say if we experience symptoms or not though. And how they affect our lives. And when you can yay or nay a diagnosis then..?

I'll reply to other peoples posts tomorrow when I'm less frustrated, just clarifying here.