How Can One Accurately Gauge The Severity Of His/her Ptsd?

[I Can Do This]

I think that whoever is telling you to get over it has proven that they can't be trusted with your vulnerability. There is a quote I love by Brene Brown - Only discuss your story with those who have earned the right to hear it.

We cause ourselves harm by trusting the wrong people with our stories and our emotions. But this is one of the things we do when we have PTSD - we look to others to soothe us, and to tell us we are okay.

Also, you mention feeling so much guilt and fear - yet think that you are a fraud? Just because you are functioning (thank God!) doesn't mean you are a fraud. Yes, you may be over the worst of your symptoms, but you are still dealing with a few - you are no fraud. ;)

 

[madmax]

Only discuss your story with those who have earned the right to hear it.

That pins the tail on the donkey!;)

 

[Away From The Sun]

A lot of people know my story.

What country did you come from?: Korea
When were you adopted?: 5
Do you remember anything about Korea?: No... I lived in the orphanage.
What was the orphanage like?: uhhhh? not that great.
Do you ever want go back and go find your parents?: No.... I don't know anything about them.

Then they never ask again... :D

hahaha people...

 

[Lucasta]

I'm really "high-functioning" and it was a long struggle for me to accept my PTSD diagnosis without feeling "unworthy" of it.

I remember one therapy session where my therapist got out the DSM-IV, went through each category and explained how it undeniably applied to me.

In my case my original trauma is childhood abuse, and I'm a civilian living on a military base, so there are tons of resources for treating PTSD, but a lot of them are not available to me because they're exclusive to combat vets. It's easy to devalue your own experience when you're talking to someone who saw their friend step on a bomb, but the important thing I've taken away from the year is that PTSD is PTSD. doesn't matter what caused it.

 

[WesternSky]

Everyone I have told has had a reaction of surprise and disbelief, because my experiences should not have caused PTSD. The first and often only thing they ever say is Why? This includes therapists, except for the one who diagnosed me. I have never heard of anyone else in my situation. Even directly afterwards, in the worst of my symptoms, it was completely disregarded. How can I claim to have it now when I'm not directly in the thick of it all the time?

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I heard something interesting awhile ago.

Those of us who really have PTSD tend to minimize our symptoms and hide the diagnosis/disorder whereas those who are faking it will exaggerate and even lie about their symptoms in order to get that "trendy" diagnosis label.

Think about it. Nobody who really has this disorder wants it or wants anyone to know about it simply because we want to be "normal". (Ok, no arguments on the definition of normal and/or how it doesn't exist.) So it's par for the course (no matter how severe your case is) to at some point feel like it doesn't belong to you.

 

[Away From The Sun]

Ironically, I think my most prominent symptoms of PTSD are in the "avoidance and numbing" cluster. I might say I have it but totally minimalize the actual significance of it and play it off as a joke. I think that I actually tried to look for the symptoms in almost all of my family members... in order to normalize it (we are facing a relatively normal family trauma right now...so it was the perfect excuse).

 

[The Albatross]

Scared of Lonely is right I think as I have seen the propensity to compensate or hide the symptoms in quite a number of Alzheimer and senile dementia patients that I have provided care for over the years. It makes sense to me. I compensated a lot too til I couldn't do it anymore for a time.

 

[Pencil]

I compensated a lot too til I couldn't do it anymore for a time.

I really thought I was going nuts, and later learned about 'decompensation'. It was the single most unpleasant period / experience of my life.

 

[The Albatross]

Yeah man Pencil, you aren't kidding. I've had that happen a few times over the years and it is one ugly place.

 

[madmax]

Only discuss your story with those who have earned the right to hear it.

To ME this statement is the single most important advise we as PTSD sufferers can hold on to during our daily walk through life.

Away From The Son: Hell it took two years for my :symptoms" to "percolate". Pray to God you caught your illness early enough to avoid long term complications.

 

[Pencil]

To ME this statement is the single most important advise we as PTSD sufferers can hold on to during our daily walk through life.

I agree