Undiagnosed Found My Stepmom Dead. Do I Have Ptsd??

[Sannetia]

Hi! I'm a 17-year old girl. About two months ago I found my stepmother lying dead in her bed, duo to a sudden cardiac arrest. I called 911 immediately and my dad and I got her to the floor and started CPR. Her heart finally began to beat after 40 long minutes. She went into a coma, and a month later the doctors decided to remove the tube, because of brain damage. She died 8 days later.

Since the day I found her, I've been haunted by horrible flashbacks and terrible nightmares, and it doesn't get better with time. It feels like an echo that just won't die out. I've got extreme anxiety and every time I hear certain sounds, like an ambulance, I panic. When I open a door I fear the worst. I'm scared to go to any place that reminds me of the incident, like my fathers house, because that was where it happened. I have lost interest in everything I used to enjoy, and have isolated myself. I tend to get angry over the smallest things. I feel kinda emotionally numb, and I've got no appetite. My parents don't support me as much as I had hoped, and it doesn't help that my dad told me he wanted to shoot himself so he could be with her in heaven. :(

Last week I went to a psychiatric hospital, since no psychologist had time to see me, and I felt crazy. They said that this was serious, and called a psychologist to explain it . They gave me antipsychotic meds, although they normally don't prescribe that to children. When I went to the psychologist the next day I tried EMDR therapy, but I'm not sure it works for me since I had a very hard time concentrating, and didn't get emotional.

My question is, do you think I suffer from PTSD?

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Hi and welcome.

We can't diagnose you so I hope you can find a trauma therapist. It could be PTSD, traumatic grief, adjustment disorder, or something else.

Stay away from whomever tried EMDR on you so soon. This is a HUGE no-no! EMDR should only be done after you've built up a relationship with a practitioner so that they can assess if EMDR is right for you. Too soon and it could go terribly wrong, as many others have attested to that here on the forum.

 

[digger]

I'm a little confused, sorry. Did the psychologist say they thought you had PTSD? When you say you did EMDR the next day, do you mean you went straight into it without any preparation, learning anything about grounding etc? Was this inpatient or outpatient at the hospital?

Sorry for all the questions. No one here can diagnose you, but I'm not sure if you think you have PTSD or if you're querying your psychologists diagnosis of you?

 

[WillyKat]

I don't know much about EMDR, but I agree with Solara that a psychologist has to know you better before they start something like that, especially since you have not yet been diagnosed. I'm a little baffled too that they jumped right away to meds of any kind.

Agree too that we can't diagnose here. An event such as the one you went through is traumatic, but whether that develops into PTSD is another matter.

Would it be possible to find a psychologist that specializes in trauma outside of whatever system you visited the first time?

Let me back up and say that you are very wise for such a young person to go seek professional help. I wish I had been that smart at that age. You've done well.

 

[Sannetia]

No, nobody has diagnosed me, or told me anything really. And yes, I went straight into it without preparation, after I had told her who I was and what my symptoms were. She didn't even tell me that it was called EMDR, I had to search the net for it. Outpatient.

 

[digger]

Are you supposed to go back and see her again?

 

[Sannetia]

Yes, but I have thought about getting another one although she specializes in trauma. I think I'll go the next time, and if she keeps doing EMDR without telling me anything I'll switch.

 

[digger]

I only really know about EMDR from what I've read on here, but I've never heard of anybody going straight into like that. It seems a pretty risky way of going about it.

 

[Pencil]

PTSD is diagnosed if the symptoms persist for longer than three months. Which makes sense - you don't go from trauma to disorder straightaway. You suffered something traumatic, I'm not minimizing that, but you are probably suffering from Acute Traumatic Stress - or something similar, and not PTSD. And this is the good news = with the right help, you may not (or may still) develop PTSD.

 

[digger]

PTSD is diagnosed if the symptoms persist for longer than three months.

I think the current DSM has it as one month.

 

[NovemberStar]

PTSD is diagnosed if the symptoms persist for longer than three months. Which makes sense - you don't go from trauma to disorder straightaway. You suffered something traumatic, I'm not minimizing that, but you are probably suffering from Acute Traumatic Stress - or something similar, and not PTSD. And this is the good news = with the right help, you may not (or may still) develop PTSD.

There is a time factor in it - i.e., your responses at the time and the immediate period after (days or weeks) are very very NORMAL; PTSD is when particular intense reactions to something like you describe (finding your stepmom dead, or witnessing or being in a car accident) go on for a longer period that is considered 'normal'.

When my city was hit by several major earthquakes, the info given out was very very helpful - psychologists wrote articles in the paper and online how the things we were all experiencing in the days or first few weeks after a major quake, were very much symptoms like PTSD, but that what we were all experiencing was NORMAL - memory loss, inability to sleep, eat, intrusive memories of the quake happening again, being unable to think of anything else, mood swings, anger, irritability, tendency to eat more / drink more alcohol, lash out in anger at those around us, feeling hyper-aroused and 'jumpy' etc. They said it was important to seek help if any of the symptoms continued for longer than (three?) months.

Problem in the situation in my city with diagnosing any PTSD was the ongoing nature of the aftershocks and subsequent major quakes - it was close to 2 years before the quakes slowed down - so not really possible to differentiate between PTSD and 'normal' responses to the quakes until there hadn't BEEN any new major quakes for a couple of months - which took over 2 years! I still think the number of people diagnosed with PTSD as a result of the quakes is a HUGE underestimate - and that was noted as well in the last couple of years, given the wide spread nature of the trauma, and that conservatively, 10% of the population likely has PTSD, it means 10% of all Dr's diagnosing it, likely suffered form it themselves and might be more easily prone to dismissing a patient's PTSD because of their own denial they themselves, might have it.

Sorry, bit off tangent!

I agree with the others - seek out someone new, who specializes in trauma, and ask them to evaluate you. Regardless or not if you are diagnosed with PTSD or otherwise, it's important you seek help, and lots of support to help you through this very rough time.

Most importantly - do not feel what you went through is invalidated if you didn't get an 'official' diagnosis of PTSD. Trauma is trauma - and what you went through is a very traumatic experience. What term is applied to it (or not) does not mean it is any 'less' awful. or that you don't deserve plenty of help and support to heal from this. Take care!

 

[Pencil]

one month

Okay, thanks, I did wonder about it when I started the post.

I still think it is important to note that only a certain percentage of people who experience trauma develop the disorder. And for this reason I agree with others who say that a diagnosis is important.