Being Alone Intensifies Symptoms Of Ptsd

[LifeCutShort]

I am a loner, and I must say it makes dealing with trauma and depression much harder. The loneliness truly magnifies the intensity of the symptoms. I am isolated and wish I had someone to talk to. Being lonely on it's own is a very negative emotion, let alone combining it with PTSD and depression.

 

[Aqua]

@LifeCutShort I completely understand you. All my life I've been on my own. I had people around me but I didn't get involved in their lives. You are not alone here. We are here for you. I also suffer from ptsd. I can't promise your solitude will go away things just don't work that way but I can promise it will get easier knowing you have all of us who are here to help and support in anyway we can.

 

[VioletButterfly]

I understand. I isolate myself because I don't think others that I know right now could understand where I'm coming from and might even judge me and then abandon me. I would love to feel comfortable in being around others, but I feel different like I can't talk about what life is like for me. They don't have the same concerns as I do and haven't walked in similar shoes. That's what my mind and emotions tell me at any rate.

Being alone for me increases the intensity of symptoms as well because I have time to think about all of it over and again, to consider all options and angles. I analyze the heck out of my traumas and how to recover from them. It's grueling!

That being said, I also realize that I can choose to think about others things and to find interests that "distract" or "redirect" my thinking and behaviors so that I have more enjoyment and less angst in life. I'm just now working on this and trying to determine or rediscover what used to interest me and what interests me now so that I can do, learn, experience, and/or create things on my own and get myself up out of the quagmire of my traumatized emotional mind. I find that it's taking a lot of practice and concerted thinking followed by action to get myself up and going instead of sitting and thinking. Maybe this might help you?

I figure that these actions and more positive thinking might build momentum so that I can then tolerate being around others who have similar interests. I understand that I might need to make new relationships/friends where we share common interests. I'm rebuilding my internal house right now and looking at all kinds of materials that might help me to build the house of my dreams. I've lived in a rundown emotional shack for far too long.

I hope that you find something or some new way to help you along the path to healing and feeling better. :happy:

 

[LifeCutShort]

@Gaara Thanks for your kind words, I appreciate it. Loneliness on its own it just as painful as PTSD or depression.

 

[LifeCutShort]

@VioletButterfly I agree, being alone does make the mind dwell on the trauma leading to a downward spiral of decay and depression. I try to distract my mind with hobbies, but it is a short lived attempt, the trauma and depression always reclaims me. The momentum of positive thinking does not last long. As I am lonely, finding love with a partner would certainly help.

 

[Aqua]

@LifeCutShort I know. I've lived it too. Solitude is the most painful thing in the world but I truly believe those who know true solitude those who have lived in darkness and loneliness are the ones who see the hidden light that others don't notice. We notice all light because we have lived in darkness so long that even when there is a tiny ray of light we see it first. Let us be the light in the darkness that will lead you away from solitude. Let's do this together.

 

[falling_wave]

I'm so sorry, if you need to talk I am here. I have been struggling with this too in a big way and actually am right now despite being around my roommates. They have their own lives and agendas that I am not part of. I'm struggling and need someone but it's like they aren't here when physically they are. So please share what you need to and try taking a walk, going grocery shopping, or even something small to feel like personal contact for the day. I've found especially on the weekend that helps to seperate day and night and ease the mind a bit when you are alone.

 

[darrenS]

i think its part of our condition , ptsd certainly becomes an illness of isolation. I find that being alone can certainly intensify the symptoms, and if your not careful it can also make dealing with them a lot harder.

I remember listening to a marriage counsellor being interviewed, who had been doing it for decades and they asked him what he thought was the root cause of marital conflict. He stated it was loneliness and as humans we all suffer from loneliness, but the trouble comes when we expect others to alleviate it, and we must address it from within.

I do suffer from loneliness from time to time , but at the same time i am reasonably comfortable in my own skin and keep myself occupied for a good part of the time, i am very aware how much the symptoms can intensify and when this happens i tend to go for a drive or do something to break the cycle, otherwise it becomes a vicious and self repeating