Ptsd From Being In A Police Station

[Friday]

and as for the symptoms being common in many disorders... can you suggest what other disorder I might have then, so that I can inform my doctor that they need re educating.

First off, I am not the site. I am a member of this site, who has PTSD, and knows -as would anyone who read the diagnostic criteria, doctor or layperson- that for PTSD, a CriterionA stressor is required. Embarrassment over a nudity taboo being broken simply doesn't meet diagnostic criteria. If there was a CritA Stressor in your life previously, that changes matters, as just about anything can trigger previously caused PTSD, which is why I asked.

The following is not a complete list, by any means, but just to give you an idea since you seem so skeptical of any other disorder sharing symptoms with PTSD...


Anxiety Disorders per the DSMV that share symptoms with PTSD

Anxiety Disorders
Separation Anxiety Disorder
Selective Mutism
Specific Phobia
Social Anxiety Disorder (Social Phobia)
Panic Disorder
Panic Attack (Specifier)
Agoraphobia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Substance/Medication-Induced Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
Other Specified Anxiety Disorder
Unspecified Anxiety Disorder

Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Hoarding Disorder
Trichotillomania (Hair-Pulling Disorder)
Excoriation (Skin-Picking) Disorder
Substance/Medication-Induced Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder
Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
Other Specified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder
Unspecified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder

Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders
Reactive Attachment Disorder
Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Acute Stress Disorder
Adjustment Disorders
Other Specified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder
Unspecified Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorder

Depressive Disorders
Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder, Single and Recurrent Episodes
Persistent Depressive Disorder (Dysthymia)
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
Substance/Medication-Induced Depressive Disorder
Depressive Disorder Due to Another Medical Condition
Other Specified Depressive Disorder
Unspecified Depressive Disorder

Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders
Illness Anxiety Disorder
(additional disorders not listed)

________

Other disorders which include anxiety, intrusive thoughts, etc. include Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Bipolar & Related Disorders, Schizophrenia Spectrum & Psychotic Disorders, Disassociative Disorders, Substance/Medication/Addiction Related Disorders, Sleep-Wake Disorders, Personality Disorders, Neurocognitve Disorders, etc... All of which create a differential list well over 100 items long. http://www.psychiatry.org/file library/practice/dsm/dsm-5/dsm-5-toc.pdf

 

[The Albatross]

I think I ll stick to what I know and self harm, It distracts me from the constant videos all day long, I don't wake up with panic attacks and feeling somebody touching me - because im unconscious and I dont have any body memories during the day as im too ill to do so. I am not waiting another year trying something that might eventually work in a years time.. that is way too long for me.

Hmmm. I think @daisychain23 I would re-examine that thought. Since you have already experienced the consequence of being drunk and breaching the peace resulting in arrest... it wouldn't be a stretch to suggest that sticking to what you know and self harming is most likely not in your best interests and that continuing the maladaptive coping pattern could result in more unwanted or unintended consequences.

So far as the " I am not waiting another year trying something that might eventually work in a years time.. that is way too long for me" thought... I would soberly weigh "waiting for treatment" against "self harming with booze or the DOC (drug of your choice) for a year and what your continued use might look like in a year.

 

[Queen Boudica]

Yes, @albatross is right. If you continue to self-harm you could find yourself forcibly committed in a mental health hospital and that could also be abusive.

 

[The Albatross]

Doubled back to add... I am a co-occurring behaviors PTSD and SUDs (substance use disorder syndrome - booze is my DOC). I backtracked from alcohol addiction/abuse recovery to the PTSD diagnosis... and for me the alcohol issue was a maladaptive coping behavior for the traumas. But in the opening post... the poster suggests that the trauma was the consequence of being arrested while drunk. It may very well be that the behavior of drinking to excess to cope was established to cover mental/emotional pain or traumas before the incident.... or that substance abuse caused the consequence of arrest and the treatment received at the police station/jail. Sort of like a "which came first the chicken or the egg" question to me... but I can be entirely wrong.

If you @daisychain23 would like to do something for a year as you wait for treatment for PTSD or another mental health disorder... I strongly suggest your use it to address the drinking and get into recovery. Your outcomes will be improved should you do so and you have the extra added bonus of reducing the risk of more consequences.

 

[The Albatross]

If you continue to self-harm you could find yourself forcibly committed in a mental health hospital and that could also be abusive.

I absolutely did not say that in any way shape or form. Lizio, I find that comment to be potentially damaging to the poster and "awfulizing" thinking.

There are any number of potential consequences of self harm.

 

[daisychain23]

thanks Friday jones... so what you are saying is that I might have any of those many many things... well if anybody thinks im hanging around to find out which of 50 possible disorders I have they can think again.. as if they are all similar it is actually impossible to know which you have with 100 per cent certainty.

thank you lucycat. I have tried distraction, but it doesn't work anymore, the video still plays in my head.i have also tried only thinking about it for a small amount of time a day as im aware that your head needs to think about it in order to recover, but I cant get it out of my head in the first place and even if I can, once I start thinking about it it wont go away..

As for the police cell, no I don't have a drink problem, and they removed my clothing for self harm, but they are not supposed to just leave you naked for any reason at all. I did complain and the police said that there was no cctv in the cell so I have no proof and no evidence. its their word against mine and police always get believed... they didn't call me a medic they just left me there.

thanks guys , but as you say, everyone has their way and I have mine,

 

[Queen Boudica]

Why is that damaging. It is a true fact that those who self harm could be commited. It happened to my sister. So no I don't think pointing out what could happen is damaging @The Albatross. It is just speaking truthfully. IF you play a dangerous game you need to know what could happen

 

[Lucycat]

Link Removed


"Definition
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that may develop following exposure to an extremely threatening or horrific event or series of events characterized by reexperiencing the traumatic event or events in the present in the form of vivid intrusive memories, flashbacks, or nightmares, typically accompanied by strong and overwhelming emotions such as fear or horror, and strong physical sensations, avoidance of thoughts and memories of the event or events, or avoidance of activities, situations, or people reminiscent of the event or events, and persistent perceptions of heightened current threat, for example as indicated by hypervigilance or an enhanced startle reaction to stimuli such as unexpected noises. The symptoms must last for at least several weeks and cause significant impairment in functioning."

This is from the ICD 11 Beta draft.
It is the ICD that is more commonly used in the UK - and it is what a Doctor here will go by. I appreciate that this is not the current ICD 10, but it is the draft for the proposed new version, due for release in 2017.

What I am getting at, is lets forget the diagnosis. She has been diagnosed by a doctor, can we not let that rest and offer practical support. As has already been stated it could be that this experience has triggered a reaction to a previous DSM 5 Criterion A anyway.

Clearly this new member has issues and she has seen her doctor. I am not sure that us simply telling her to stop drinking is helpful - in fact I read it as a very judgmental statement when we don't know the facts or the history. She is asking for support and the advice given here is to stop using the only coping mechanisms she knows! Even a good T will not advise that as the first line. In the long term certainly, but you need to replace it ( self harm +/ - drinking) with something else that enables continuous coping.

I get that she is coming across with a slightly aggressive attitude, but to me she sounds alone and very frightened by this experience that is being dismissed. She is being told here, that the very person she has gone to for help - her GP - is no good because people on here don't agree with his diagnosis. So, 'we' have removed her one safety net just like that.

I am sure if I were forcibly stripped naked- anywhere - I would probably need to be sectioned. To me it sounds horrific. It is not merely a taboo, it is about the sexual threat, not being in control (the Police are in a Position of Power) and nobody believing her. She has said there is no CCTV, so she has no proof, no evidence and no ability to complain that would be taken seriously. Sadly I can see this as a sick 'joke' on the part of the Police and have no reason to doubt the story given.

Please can we stop the judgment and start offering sincere help.

 

[daisychain23]

Thank you lucycat, at least somebody understands me...I don't have a drinking problem, but I do drink to try any block out everything. I have tried so many things and nothing works.. that's why I really don't want to spend ages trying something and it ends up not helping me.. its frustrating and only makes me feel like there is nothing and nobody that can make it all go away.. I just want to be me again..

I do feel very alone with this as I have no one to talk to about it and when i try, I get people saying unhelpful things, I tried an online cbt thing that someone suggested called moodgym and that didn't help as its all about depression and im not depressed.

I try not to self harm, but I really don't know of anything else to do that works.. there are so many different things that people try and I don't know which one to try first. what if I pick the wrong one, and do that instead of self harm... if It doesn't work, then I cant cope as self harm is the only way that I know how to cope.
In my past I have been raped by my own dad, which I reported last year, and raped in October 2012. these things have never bothered me before and I was fine until I went to the police station, now that just wont get off my head. I know things can trigger p.t.s.d and im aware that it could have triggered some underlying thing from 1 of those rapes. I don't know, all I know is what happened in the police station is the thing that is bothering me the most, the thing that is in my constant videos, make sme anxious, weary and I hate police cars, in fact I moved areas because I coukldnt bear to go outside in fear of seeing the police cars or the police that did this to me.

I am so confused about who touched my privates and why that I don't know what to think. was it allowed.. and why would they do that. I cope with that in the weirdest way. its like I can only have a sexual relationship if the sex is slightly b.d.s.m ish ... like you are being hurt,, as that's what I felt in the police station.. it reminds my body of the experience and makes it go away, but it doesn't go away.. its like im feeding it. this is all so confusing ,upsetting and distressing to me, I just really wish that I would never wake up. maybe being admitted to a hospital is the way out.. at least someone will listen to me and help me. that's all I want at the end of the day, some help to go back to being me and being happy.

 

[Kefira]

I get that she is coming across with a slightly aggressive attitude

Please can we stop the judgment and start offering sincere help.

The posts not questioning the diagnosis and simply suggesting an open mind to try to learn new skills to gradually replace the destructive ones have been met with the same aggression.

I see no point in asking anybody on here

Has been stated several times while putting words in our mouths and "thanking us for our advice". Personally, I see no point in answering someone exhibiting trolling behaviors who appears to be unopen to any of the responses received so far.

ETA: posted at the same time as the OPs response. I'm really glad you feel at least one of the responses was helpful @daisychain23 and that you seem more open to trying to find a solution. I get that it can be frustrating and it can take a long time. But there's no magical easy way through that I've found. I think you'll find support here as long as you want to look for it.

 

[Chava]

Personally, I see no point in answering someone exhibiting trolling behaviors who appears to be unopen to any of the responses received so far.

It feels insulting to offer some ideas and to every one have basically the same response: "thank you for the advice, nothing works for me and I'm done trying stuff" (I'm summarizing all responses into that statement, not a direct quote). Why come on a peer-support forum then? What, specifically, DO you want from us? Are you just looking for a magic pill? We don't have it.

I've tried distraction for 20 years. It's starting to work (meaning I'm rarely self-destructive and I fully enjoy the distractions I've chosen for myself).

 

[Lucycat]

In my past I have been raped by my own dad, which I reported last year, and raped in October 2012. these things have never bothered me before and I was fine until I went to the police station, now that just wont get off my head.

Well done for sharing that Daisychain. I am sure that is the cause of your PTSD and the Police station has triggered those thoughts, feelings and memories that you have been blocking out. It makes perfect sense that you are having an extreme reaction. The body memories and flashbacks you describe are likely a muddled combination of the rapes and the police station.

I was abused by my father when I was a child, yet it was a phone call from the police that triggered my melt down and subsequent diagnosis of Complex PTSD. I was told for a long time ( on here) that it was a rubbish diagnosis, but it will be in the proposed ICD 11 that I mentioned before. The important thing is to get the help. I had an extreme fear of the telephone for a while, even though that was really stupid. Hopefully you will get over your fear of the Police in due course, although I expect you will always be wary of them.

I understand that you are on a waiting list for therapy, but have you also investigated therapy from Charities that support victims of rape? I don't have experience with them myself but I know there are other UK members on here that have, and have found them helpful. To be honest I think being admitted to hospital is an unlikely solution. There are now very few mental health beds since 'Care in the Community' came into being a number of years ago. As most of the members on here are not from the UK, I get the impression that accessing hospital is easier for them as they can choose to be admitted if their insurance covers it. Similarly if they are compulsorily detained ( sectioned) there are very different rules and regulations here to the US. Some of the horror stories you will read simply would not be permitted in a UK hospital.

If you feel you would like to share more about the rapes, there is a specific section of the forum for sexual assault where other like-minded members are sharing their stories.