Can people with ptsd actually function?

[Ptsdmiracle]

Is ptsd a manageable illness that one can have while functioning in society?

Asking because I'm absolutely not functional with symptoms ranging from agoraphobia, monophobia, cognitive issues with planning, decision making, short term memory, derealization, inability to handle any stress, intrusive ruminative thoughts. None of my nightmares or thoughts are actually related with the traumatic event anymore, yet I still have these symptoms. I'm starting to think that most of my symptoms are coming from benzo withdrawal rendering me dysfunctional. I know I have ptsd since ive been diagnosed with this, but I wonder if I have to heal from benzo withdrawal first to be semi functional.

So to those who have ptsd without another illness affecting symptoms such S benzo withdrawal, is it possible to have a job, relationships, etc?

Just trying to gain some insight as to what's what in my complicated situation, most of my docs are clueless as to what's benzo withdrawal even is.

 

[piratelady]

Is ptsd a manageable illness that one can have while functioning in society?

I have ptsd and I’m functional. I’m married, I have a full time job. It’s hard. Some days I have to go home and just shut down. But it is possible. It’s all about managing the stress cup.

I also have times where I feel like I can’t do it at all. It’s overwhelming. But those times pass and I have therapist and tgis place to help me cope with those times.

 

[Friday]

The entire point of Trauma Therapy is to get PTSD symptoms as close to zero as possible. The vast majority of people with PTSD do get there. (I want to say 94%? Right around there, in any event.) So, a person can have PTSD, but still work their way down to having few if any symptoms whatsoever.

And then you have people who -even when highly symptomatic- are still highly functional.... as well as people who struggle really hard in some areas of their life whilst maintaining others. Just as an example, people whose relationships suffer but work doesn’t, or the reverse people whose work suffers but their relationships don’t. As well as people who are losing by degrees in different areas of their life, so they’re not on their A game, but are still very much IN the game.

You put those groups together? People who have largely recovered &/or managed their symptoms to a degree to be where they want in life, and people who’ve always -or mostly- maintained a moderate to high degree of functionality? And what you end up with is that at any given time the overwhelming majority of people with PTSD are doing pretty damn well for themselves. Whether they’re symptomatic right now, or not, or used to be.

***

Personally, I’ve been in all representative groups ;) I’ve been
- Highly symptomatic / Highly functional
- Highly symptomatic / Non-functional
- Mild > Moderately symptomatic / Non-functional
- Mild > Moderately symptomatic / Highly functional
- Asymptomatic &/or Managed / Highly functional

You may note that -for me- there isn’t a lot of gradient between Highly functional & Non-functional... even though there’s a gradient in how symptomatic I get. That’s just how I operate. No idea why/how. I just tend to keep it together until boom! I lose it all in one go, and conversely, I can (and do!) try to get things going in small pieces slowly, but everything just tends to come together and snick into place. The second part may be some distorted viewpoints; disqualifying the positive, not seeing how much progress I’m making, etc.... but since I have literally gone from homeless with no prospects to wearing a bespoke suit and signing papers on a flat and car and job in less than 36 hours... more than once??? :banghead: I’m not sure how distorted that thinking actually is. My ability to lock shit down and handle myself? Seems to be a very on/off kind of deal. I can be struggling near the edges of either for aaaaaages, but when it all goes sideways or all comes right, it’s a very fast thing with me. Again, no idea why.

What I CAN say, is that when I’m doing well? I have parsed/deconstructed/analyzed those years down to their component molecules, and while there are a helluva lot of moving parts in the details? It basically all comes down to exquisite stress management. Not that I limit stress in my life, so much as my life is perfectly balanced to be able to anticipate and absorb any blows that come my way.

 

[Deanna]

Is ptsd a manageable illness that one can have while functioning in society?

Asking because I'm absolutely not functional with symptoms ranging from agoraphobia, monophobia, cognitive issues with planning, decision making, short term memory, derealization, inability to handle any stress, intrusive ruminative thoughts. None of my nightmares or thoughts are actually related with the traumatic event anymore, yet I still have these symptoms. I'm starting to think that most of my symptoms are coming from benzo withdrawal rendering me dysfunctional. I know I have ptsd since ive been diagnosed with this, but I wonder if I have to heal from benzo withdrawal first to be semi functional.

So to those who have ptsd without another illness affecting symptoms such S benzo withdrawal, is it possible to have a job, relationships, etc?

Just trying to gain some insight as to what's what in my complicated situation, most of my docs are clueless as to what's benzo withdrawal even is.

Most people, I know, know I have PTSD because I've told my inner circle. My psychiatrist also says I'm BPD. I've been on all levels, myself. ( trust me.. Never institutionalized) I work and have a boyfriend, and a ?. Pets really help. Do you have a pet? I was diagnosed in my 50's. 50 freaking years and no one paid attention.

 

[siniang]

Keep in mind that PTSD is a spectrum. Everyone diagnosed has a different set of symptoms, each of which acts out on a spectrum. Quadrillion different combinations possible.

Also, PTSD is very often cormobid with other mental disorders and whether nor not these are diagnosed and managed impacts functionality as well.

So I'd be careful to make an umbrella statement . For what its worth, there are probably way more people that have high-functioning PTSD than those on the extreme end that don't. And the whole goal of therapy is to either eliminate symptoms where possible or to learn to manage them to the point of being as functional as possible in spite them.

It's also my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) that PTSD - as many mental disorders - never goes away completely and can flare up at any given time.

You seem to struggle quite a fair bit. Are you currently in therapy? For how long have you been?

 

[hithere]

yes I was and am able to have relationships, long term relationships, career. my problem was I used to "work" to avoid ptsd and once that was removed and I started to deal with it, it made it more difficult for me to work, but I still worked even through painful and mishandled trauma therapy. I do not share with anyone in my life about the ptsd, (which is probably a symptom of ptsd, lol!)
making the "unconscious-conscious" and becoming "self-aware" has finally started to pay off, but it has not been fun or easy getting this point.

Also benzo withdrawal has it's own hell. For myself, I didn't really get progress on the ptsd stuff until I got sober. I was doing therapy, working, but the alcohol and the work-a-holism helped me function, and when removed made functioning very hard. First because I had to "withdraw" from alcohol and work--and the anxiety was sky high as a result of the withdrawal.; however, I needed to get sober from workaholism and alcohol in order to really get the unconscious to be conscious. The subconscious mind is very powerful. Every day I was leaving a new place of work and feeling like I wanted to do drugs, drink, and be depressed; until it hit me what the triggers were--there were things my brain was associating with the trauma that I haven't dealt with yet. Once I "saw" that and made the subconscious -conscious I could then have a relief of the symptoms of wanting to get looped up. I just acknowledged the shit the brain was associating with the new location. I couldn't allow these painful things to emerge until I stopped medicating them.

 

[Deanna]

yes I was and am able to have relationships, long term relationships, career. my problem was I used to "work" to avoid ptsd and once that was removed and I started to deal with it, it made it more difficult for me to work, but I still worked even through painful and mishandled trauma therapy. I do not share with anyone in my life about the ptsd, (which is probably a symptom of ptsd, lol!)
making the "unconscious-conscious" and becoming "self-aware" has finally started to pay off, but it has not been fun or easy getting this point.

Also benzo withdrawal has it's own hell. For myself, I didn't really get progress on the ptsd stuff until I got sober. I was doing therapy, working, but the alcohol and the work-a-holism helped me function, and when removed made functioning very hard. First because I had to "withdraw" from alcohol and work--and the anxiety was sky high as a result of the withdrawal.; however, I needed to get sober from workaholism and alcohol in order to really get the unconscious to be conscious. The subconscious mind is very powerful. Every day I was leaving a new place of work and feeling like I wanted to do drugs, drink, and be depressed; until it hit me what the triggers were--there were things my brain was associating with the trauma that I haven't dealt with yet. Once I "saw" that and made the subconscious -conscious I could then have a relief of the symptoms of wanting to get looped up. I just acknowledged the shit the brain was associating with the new location. I couldn't allow these painful things to emerge until I stopped medicating them.

PTSD people can self medicate. Pretty normal. I drank at night after work. Again, high functioning. I don't particularly give a rats as% who has a problem with me being PTSD.. I take one benzo at night to sleep. I no longer drink and am on the right medication.

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

Thank you all for the reply and the insight. It gives me perspective on the spectrum and where I'm at and what realistically I can aim for. I'm trying to tackle this med free (soon), since I'm on mirtazapine now at 1.5mg.

Yes'm I'm in therapy and have been in therapy once a week for the past 3 months, we do emdr sessions every other week. The interesting thing about my ptsd is that's I'm able to revisit literally every thing about the traumas without feeling triggered, fear, or any other intense emotions really, so when we do emdr I'm telling the story with no issues. The weird thing is I'm having all these bizarre symptoms 24/7 that leave me disabled, literally, I feel like someone with dementia or who had a stroke. My picture (currently) seems to fit more with the withdrawal stage of coming off benzos. I must be one of the unlucky ones that got hit hard.

 

[Tinyflame]

"Is ptsd a manageable illness that one can have while functioning in society? "..

As I get old, sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. Depends what's in my life/ what's come down. I'd say the mechanics and understanding have gotten better, the limitations and weariness of it have gotten much worse, as has my body.

 

[The Albatross]

So to those who have ptsd without another illness affecting symptoms such S benzo withdrawal, is it possible to have a job, relationships, etc?

Yup. Yes it is. In fact even with PTSD and other illnesses... if you set your sights on it, remain willing/open/honest... and work your ass off to not only deal with the trauma or substance Rx or otherwise issues... but to learn/acquire new skills and management techniques it is entirely doable. AND worthwhile... most worthwhile thing I ever did in my life.

 

[Starfish]

The entire point of Trauma Therapy is to get PTSD symptoms as close to zero as possible. The vast majority of people with PTSD do get there. (I want to say 94%? Right around there, in any event.) So, a person can have PTSD, but still work their way down to having few if any symptoms whatsoever.

And then you have people who -even when highly symptomatic- are still highly functional.... as well as people who struggle really hard in some areas of their life whilst maintaining others. Just as an example, people whose relationships suffer but work doesn’t, or the reverse people whose work suffers but their relationships don’t. As well as people who are losing by degrees in different areas of their life, so they’re not on their A game, but are still very much IN the game.

You put those groups together? People who have largely recovered &/or managed their symptoms to a degree to be where they want in life, and people who’ve always -or mostly- maintained a moderate to high degree of functionality? And what you end up with is that at any given time the overwhelming majority of people with PTSD are doing pretty damn well for themselves. Whether they’re symptomatic right now, or not, or used to be.

***

Personally, I’ve been in all representative groups ;) I’ve been
- Highly symptomatic / Highly functional
- Highly symptomatic / Non-functional
- Mild > Moderately symptomatic / Non-functional
- Mild > Moderately symptomatic / Highly functional
- Asymptomatic &/or Managed / Highly functional

You may note that -for me- there isn’t a lot of gradient between Highly functional & Non-functional... even though there’s a gradient in how symptomatic I get. That’s just how I operate. No idea why/how. I just tend to keep it together until boom! I lose it all in one go, and conversely, I can (and do!) try to get things going in small pieces slowly, but everything just tends to come together and snick into place. The second part may be some distorted viewpoints; disqualifying the positive, not seeing how much progress I’m making, etc.... but since I have literally gone from homeless with no prospects to wearing a bespoke suit and signing papers on a flat and car and job in less than 36 hours... more than once??? :banghead: I’m not sure how distorted that thinking actually is. My ability to lock shit down and handle myself? Seems to be a very on/off kind of deal. I can be struggling near the edges of either for aaaaaages, but when it all goes sideways or all comes right, it’s a very fast thing with me. Again, no idea why.

What I CAN say, is that when I’m doing well? I have parsed/deconstructed/analyzed those years down to their component molecules, and while there are a helluva lot of moving parts in the details? It basically all comes down to exquisite stress management. Not that I limit stress in my life, so much as my life is perfectly balanced to be able to anticipate and absorb any blows that come my way.

I hear you Friday. I can have it all together one day and then kaboom I can handle nothing! This happened yesterday: I was clear minded, paddleboarded with a friend, did errands, had a few great chats with others..... In my head thinking I will never go low again. It seemed impossible to go down to the lowfunctional state ever again....Then a situation came up that required a decision (having to do with hiring a person to do some painting), the signals I was getting and the fear thoughts that were coming up completely overwhelmed me and woke me up at 1am and would not let me get back to sleep. Today I am a basket case, in pajama's, in my cocoon, trying to settle down.
This pattern plays out weekly....probably every 3-4 days or sometimes 2-3 days.

I was wondering about the 94% figure for getting as close to zero as possible on symptoms for sufferers who go to therapy. It seems pretty high to me. I have been in therapy and still am. It definitely helps but I cannot see myself ever getting to such a high percentage of zero symptoms. Being age 65 and getting diagnosed and in therapy for about 5 years, I am getting the impression that I may be able to get to a place of management of symptoms but probably nowhere near 94% symptom free. It has been an acceptance with me.......at least I am not homeless, at least I can function enough to take care of myself and do some interactions socially with select situations......etc. Maybe you can clarify a bit what you mean by the 94%, if you don't mind. It could be my age.... seems like many on this site get diagnosis at an earlier age before really establishing hard core non-functional patterns and start dealing with it early on. Hmmmmmmmm

yes I was and am able to have relationships, long term relationships, career. my problem was I used to "work" to avoid ptsd and once that was removed and I started to deal with it, it made it more difficult for me to work, but I still worked even through painful and mishandled trauma therapy. I do not share with anyone in my life about the ptsd, (which is probably a symptom of ptsd, lol!)
making the "unconscious-conscious" and becoming "self-aware" has finally started to pay off, but it has not been fun or easy getting this point.

Also benzo withdrawal has it's own hell. For myself, I didn't really get progress on the ptsd stuff until I got sober. I was doing therapy, working, but the alcohol and the work-a-holism helped me function, and when removed made functioning very hard. First because I had to "withdraw" from alcohol and work--and the anxiety was sky high as a result of the withdrawal.; however, I needed to get sober from workaholism and alcohol in order to really get the unconscious to be conscious. The subconscious mind is very powerful. Every day I was leaving a new place of work and feeling like I wanted to do drugs, drink, and be depressed; until it hit me what the triggers were--there were things my brain was associating with the trauma that I haven't dealt with yet. Once I "saw" that and made the subconscious -conscious I could then have a relief of the symptoms of wanting to get looped up. I just acknowledged the shit the brain was associating with the new location. I couldn't allow these painful things to emerge until I stopped medicating them.

gosh, hithere, I so relate to the workaholism and alcoholism distracting me from the PTSD recovery and do find it easier since I have a pretty low-triggering job (semi-retired) allowing me to gradually reduce workoholic tendencies as well as ending alcoholic consumption for a long time now which allowed me to get a diagnosis of PTSD and find therapy, books, this forum, and the numerous strategies for coping even though coping does not look nearly as functional to the outside world as it looked when using alcohol and work to cope.

Thank you all for the reply and the insight. It gives me perspective on the spectrum and where I'm at and what realistically I can aim for. I'm trying to tackle this med free (soon), since I'm on mirtazapine now at 1.5mg.

Yes'm I'm in therapy and have been in therapy once a week for the past 3 months, we do emdr sessions every other week. The interesting thing about my ptsd is that's I'm able to revisit literally every thing about the traumas without feeling triggered, fear, or any other intense emotions really, so when we do emdr I'm telling the story with no issues. The weird thing is I'm having all these bizarre symptoms 24/7 that leave me disabled, literally, I feel like someone with dementia or who had a stroke. My picture (currently) seems to fit more with the withdrawal stage of coming off benzos. I must be one of the unlucky ones that got hit hard.

Best wishes on your journey, ptsdmiracle. I tried meds for a few years and found they hindered me also. I highly support all those who take meds and those who do not. Just yesterday I had the thought I maybe would do better on meds but then remembered I feel more in control of choosing constructive ways to handle my symptoms (usually) than when on meds..... I stayed in bed for days while on meds , even lost my ability to use my computer and think very clearly ......went off in January of this year.....definitely was a journey in the beginning but have become much more functional through the months. Reiterate, this has been my experience with meds but know others who they help immensely. as siniang said in this thread.... it is different for each person....no "one size fits all" with this condition, that's for sure. And yet getting a chance to see the spectrum of experiences others have on this site has really helped me see my situation in perspective thus allowing me some hope inside that all these symptoms can be manageable and sometimes not so much on any given day.......this perspective keeps me keeping on!!

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

Best wishes on your journey, ptsdmiracle. I tried meds for a few years and found they hindered me also. I highly support all those who take meds and those who do not. Just yesterday I had the thought I maybe would do better on meds but then remembered I feel more in control of choosing constructive ways to handle my symptoms (usually) than when on meds..... I stayed in bed for days while on meds , even lost my ability to use my computer and think very clearly ......went off in January of this year.....definitely was a journey in the beginning but have become much more functional through the months. Reiterate, this has been my experience with meds but know others who they help immensely. as siniang said in this thread.... it is different for each person....no "one size fits all" with this condition, that's for sure. And yet getting a chance to see the spectrum of experiences others have on this site has really helped me see my situation in perspective thus allowing me some hope inside that all these symptoms can be manageable and sometimes not so much on any given day.......this perspective keeps me keeping on!!

Thanks so much crushed! I really appreciate the encouraging words. And congrats on being med free! Wow, you lost the ability to use the computer initially? May I ask what drug it was? I've come to realize that any medicine that goes in my body 1)hugs it and 2)gives me a toxic feeling the longer I'm on it. I also had many many cognitive difficulties (still do) coming off the benzo, and since the withdrawal can last a long time, I'm pretty sure I'm not out of the woods yet from the withdrawal symptoms. These days, it's all about passing time and distracting myself using any method. I hide away in my house away from everyone, watch tv, crochet, play some games, do a little walking, call it a day. It sucks, but it's literally all I can handle at this point. Hopefully time will heal.