Drinking And Flashbacks

[RE5305]

I was just recently diagnosed with RTS-PTSD from an assault that happened over 15 years ago.

I started drinking throughout high school to cope, while still maintaining decent grades. The heavier I drank, the more blackouts I began to have. By the time I was 19, I had multiple blackouts, in various places with different people all saying the same thing.

Anytime a male got to close, whether I knew them or not I would start screaming at the top of my lungs, fighting for my life, attacking whoever was in arms range. Someone would always have to tell me what I did later, as I guess that's where the "blackout " part comes in.

I never have any recollection of the events except the pain from my hands and fist afterwards. Anytime my blackouts occurred, I was always under the influence of alcohol. So at the age of 19 I stopped drinking cold turkey, I was very uncomfortable with not having control over myself and not remembering anything afterwards.

I'm now 30 and prior to me having a blackout 1 month ago. I WENT TEN YEARS WITHOUT HAVING ONE, and I can confidentiality say that alcohol was a contributing factor and played a LARGE part in my blackouts. I only drink socially now, no more than 2-4 drinks a year, and I never finish my drink. Its all about moderation, and some of us have to be a lot moderate than others.

The best advice I can give is to continue to seek therapy, and don't keep alcohol in your home. As for dealing with dealing or coping with life in general>>> some days are just going to be harder than others and its OK to have a bad ones.

 

[cherryblossom]

I was just recently diagnosed with RTS-PTSD from an assault that happened over 15 years ago.

I'm just curious - What's RTS-PTSD?

 

[RE5305]

Its Rape Trauma Syndrome > a form of Post traumatic stress syndrome. I should specify that my assault was a rape assault. Every case is different, some signs manifest in months, others take years.

In my case my mind could not handle what happened to me, so in order to function I completely blocked the memory of what happened to me for years. Even though I coped by becoming an alcoholic, and then a workaholic ,I never acknowledged what happened to me therefore treatment was impossible.

I'm still learning about it myself> as I started therapy a few months ago BC I had no choice. My job, relationships with family and friends, my child and partner have all suffered and I just want my life back.

 

[cherryblossom]

Interesting. I have PTSD from Rape, but I've never heard of RTS - is it a recognised DSM diagnosis? (DSM - Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

 

[RE5305]

The rape trauma syndrome is divided into two phases, which can disrupt the physical, psychological, social or sexual aspects of a victim's life. The acute or disruptive phase can last from days to weeks and is characterized by general stress response symptoms. During the second phase - the long-term process of reorganization -- the victim has the recovery task of restoring order to her lifestyle and re-establishing a sense of control in the world. This phase is characterized by rape-related symptoms and can last from months to years.

The early conceptualizations of the stress response patterns of rape victims are consistent with the diagnostic criteria of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) of the DSM-4th within the major category of Anxiety Disorders.

That was a copy and paste from this website. It won't let me copy the link
Google aftersilence org

Its still fairly new territory, and my therapist warned that there is not as much info about the RTS version of PTSD, and even less about incest trauma. Rape related PTSD is another name. Rape trauma syndrome is listed in the PTSD diagnostic category of the American Psychiatric Association's manual of recognized mental disorders.