Extremely Depressed After Good Month - Going Backwards?

[MesaRock]

Waiting to hear back from my therapist. I saw her yesterday. My grounding is breathing and positive self-talk....not quite fitting the bill.

Definitely stress cup @FridayJones do I just wait for it to pass?

 

[MesaRock]

Is this normal for being overloaded by triggers?

 

[Panda Bear]

Yes!!!!!!!!

I was inadvertently retraumatized by a my T during a particularly difficult session(no ones fault, a place we unknowingly stumbled) in the early spring of the year. It...was....horrid! Stress cup ran wild for a bit of time.

Experienced a lot of what you described. Not able to eat, anxiety running wild. Constant state of panic. The works. It was a very sad and difficult time.

T would call nightly and go through some grounding with me over the phone, because I wasn't able to make them work.

Obviously, I made it...because I'm here. But it was scary and Im so sorry you're hurting!!

 

[MesaRock]

Thank you @Panda Bear. This wasn't my somatic therapist who understands ptsd - this was my divorce couples counsellor who triggered me and she apologized and said I could talk to her today but I'm scared of her now because I don't think she knows how to talk me down. My trauma therapist hasn't answered yet. I don't suppose she will - she really won't do much between sessions.

 

[MesaRock]

if anybody has any grounding exercises I'd love to hear them. Sorry to be such an amateur with this. I just have breathing and that's it. Holding something cold or hot.

 

[Friday]

Is this normal for being overloaded by triggers?

Definitely normal!

PTSD is a really cyclic disorder. In general, the more stressors we're under? The worse our symptoms.

The good news about that is that we can plan for it to large extent; knowing that holidays/ moving/ new jobs/ new relationships/ sudden crisis/ and a whole host of other things raise our stress levels? Which increases symptoms? Mean that we can both set up our normal lives to pace stressors, and to bleed off stress. Especially during periods of high stress.

Eventually, I've gotten good enough at it to lead a really busy / super normal looking life... With virtually no symptoms whatsoever... Because my entire life was designed around layers and layers of safety nets. (Routines that bled off stress, habits that would kick me back up to normal fairly quickly if I dropped, etc.). Working my ass off to get back there.

There's more to dealing with PTSD than that... But it's one of the foundations of managing it.

 

[SabrinaB]

if anybody has any grounding exercises I'd love to hear them. Sorry to be such an amateur with this. I...

Walk, and keep on walking. Of all that I use this works the best, just put one foot in front of the other. Ideally outside, sometimes on the treadmill, but when in that state laps around the kitchen will do. Walk and breathe. Feel your foot hit the ground, connect with your body, look around and see everything around you. One step at a time, one moment at a time, that's all I need to get through.

Be patient and kind to yourself.

Hope you are feeling better and my heart goes out to you. It stinks like hell, but it will pass.