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I have had dentures since 1987, so I no longer have a problem with grinding my teeth at night. Prior to that it was not unusual for me to wake to broken teeth. Grinding your teeth is just one of those not uncommon PTSD symptoms. Most likely the symptom will not go away until you either work...

In the US VA system there is a claims process for any injury the veteran considers to be service related. I know many veterans who are compensated in excess of 100% due to injuries like you mention in addition to their primary claim. I have never bothered to file for compensation beyond the...

That's the feeling. Ted

The hospital is a good safe place if you are in danger of hurting yourself, but offers little in terms of therapy. For really good therapy there are inpatient programs. You might want to have your T check out inpatient programs for you. The reason would be that you want to learn to live better...

It's all about getting to the feelings you stuffed when you were doing what you did to survive in the hostile environment. Those intense feelings are the core that drives your ptsd symptoms. Work toward expressing them at your own pace, in a safe place with a safe, trained person. Approaching...

We had a class called "Affect Management" when I was an inpatient to work on stuff like this. You acknowledge the pain is not physical, so what is going on is touch is triggering old, painful stuff. What you feel is what you feel, so don't try to deny what you feel. Stuffing unwanted feelings...

I have a lot of trouble with anxiety and panic in waiting areas. What I did to reduce the problem at the VA was to locate a peaceful place (within reasonable distance of my therapist's office) and ask my therapist to pick me up there instead of the waiting area. It helped a lot. Ted

When you start a medication it can take a few months for the initial reactions to pass and the long-term response to stabilize. Similarly, when you change or discontinue medication it can take a few months for the new mix to stabilize. If I were making a major change in my medication I would...

I think you did very well. Stuff happens in the real world. You were alert and when something didn't seem right you checked it out and took appropriate action. Good job. And once it is safe, all the anxieties and second guessing pops into your head. That's normal for us. Let the intrusive...

I had to take my granddaughter to see Justin Bieber's movie twice. The price of grandfather hood :). But now Justin's old news. Now it's One Direction and the new British invasion. Ted

PTSD is all about intrusive feelings making us uncomfortable in our current situation. Recovery is all about learning to manage our behavior with the intrusive feelings raging in the background, behaving appropriately in our current situation, participating appropriately in our set of current...

One of my favorite songs is "Questions" by the Moody Blues which is all about this question. If we were to define "pure altruism" in the manner suggested, then there could be no such thing because social interaction consists of sets of reciprocating interactions. Pure altruism in the context...

A friend of mine dove on a grenade when he realized several of us were caught in the open by a well designed booby trap. I consider that an altruistic act, so yes, I think altruism exists. Ted

I have one friend from group who's tremors are so bad he picked up the nickname "Shaky Jake.". Mine aren't quite as bad as his, but I've had tremors as one of my PTSD symptoms since 1968. Mine haven't gone away. They get worse under stress and around certain anniversaries. They, like any PTSD...

Good work! Good press for people learning to live with PTSD is very much needed, but at the same time I would suggest keeping the details very simple and general. I have had articles done on me for memorial day (US) a couple of times and what you think you say and what the reporter writes can...

We are people who have some additional challenges in our pursuit of life, liberty and happiness due to some prior experiences that were beyond our control. Mindfulness can help us work through those challenges, as well as help us through other life challenges as well. For about three years I...

PTSD became covered by the American Disabilities Act in April 1997. If you have the formal diagnosis and are working, your employer is required to make reasonable accommodation for your needs. I worked for years with time off during work hours to participate in therapy, and days off now and...

You did good getting yourself to the psych ward. I was medically retired due to ptsd in 2001 (Vietnam, Desert Storm). You'll have some administrative challenges ahead with the VA claims process and the SSD claims process, but if you stick with the processes and therapy you will come out well...

Our challenge is to learn to live better with our symptoms. Your current need is to get a reasonable (and satisfying) nights sleep, otherwise you will (or are) be in a state of sleep deprivation that will only contribute to the worsening of your ptsd symptoms. When I finally addressed my need...

If I knew who he was (beyond the guy who picked me up hitch hiking as an adolescent and molested me) I would tell him I forgive him and report the incident to the appropriate authorities. Ted

As Ned said, it's not paranoia. It's that feeling, like you said, but it's very different than paranoia. For me it was the feeling of an imminant ambush. The hypervigilance would kick into overdrive and I would be consumed with the need to figure out who was plotting to ambush me and once I...

Kind of ... it's not about the strength of the urges, it's about acting appropriately in your current situation. When you use the psychological tool to manage your behavior in your current situation, first by learning not to act on the old stuff then by learning to act appropriately (the way you...

It was normal for me. I learned to keep a notepad for my next session, then when a thought or feeling popped up I would make a note to remind myself to bring it up next session, then once I made the note I would ground myself and return to my current situation. I think physically doing...

Grandchildren are good :) I have eight grandchildren ranging from 14-23 and one great-grandchild born last October. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren make really safe and wonderful relationships for people with PTSD to become involved in :) Enjoy your new grandson Jimmy! Ted

It's our task to learn to live well in the normal world with all these leftover thoughts and feelings about how to survive in the hostile environment raging in our minds. Old stuff interfering with current stuff. One of the hardest and most damaging elements of PTSD is friend or foe stuff. We...