Can people with ptsd actually function?

[hithere]

it's not that I feel like the world is unsafe, it's the fear that I will lose control of my emotions and mind, which would lead to someone calling the police on me

This symptom and these thoughts are classic "panic disorder" "agoraphobia" and you can improve this greatly in a quick period of time with the right kind of work. This was a specialty of the therapist that I received the most damage from doing "trauma" work--however, great at this kind of CBT work, and improvements can be quickly made here with good CBT and exposure/response work. I can really say not only from my experience but also many, many studies out of major universities around the world.

Here is a great workbook to use, and if your therapist has any good CBT skills perhaps take about 4 sessions and work just on this symptom and your life will improve, and it carries over to other areas of life as well.

""Mastery of Your Anxiety and Panic" by Dr. Barlow and Dr. Craske. It can also provide "structure" for your therapy sessions. You can improve on this symptom and start having some freedom from the Panic. Yes, PTSD is the underlying source, but you don't have to do trauma work to make wonderful improvements with panic. Panic is a beast, a bully, and a liar. What ends up happening is we panic because we are afraid of panic. So we put behaviors in place that we then believe stopped the panic when in fact it just made panic stronger.

Get some good "tools" under your belt, practice those tools in a "safe" environment first for awhile, then set up a structured "heirarchy" of exposures and start slow. You'll be amazed.

And I think if you buy the book through myptsd website link to amazon the website will get an affiliate benefit. Good Luck!

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

@hithere Thank you for the suggestion! I will look into the book. I definitely feared the panic in the beginning which led to more panic attacks. I also feared the insomnia which worsened the insomnia and led to benzos.
I'm trying to find a way to not care too much about the insomnia. It's been stable these days with mirtazapine.

 

[shatter eyes]

Yes we can function, it may take more work than people without PTSd but it is very possible.
Balancing therapy and listening to my scanner signals usually helps me function better... if i overlook symptoms and ignore them they bite me in the ass...then i am not functional for days.

Interestingly in high stress situations where normal folks panic and cannot function is where i function well and think clearly. Its weird as if my system has adapted to high stress situations...but if anyone ask me what i want to eat on a safe sunny day i am DUH I DUNNO.

PTSd symptoms slide back and forth on a spectrum depending on our environment, stress cup levels, fatigue, etc.

???

 

[Gs172003]

Yes we can function, it may take more work than people without PTSd but it is very possible.
Balancing therapy and listening to my scanner signals usually helps me function better... if i overlook symptoms and ignore them they bite me in the ass...then i am not functional for days.

Interestingly in high stress situations where normal folks panic and cannot function is where i function well and think clearly. Its weird as if my system has adapted to high stress situations...but if anyone ask me what i want to eat on a safe sunny day i am DUH I DUNNO.

PTSd symptoms slide back and forth on a spectrum depending on our environment, stress cup levels, fatigue, etc.

???

Agreed.

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

Makes sense, thanks shatter.
I've been doing emdr and talk therapy with the therapist, but it really hasn't touched my symptoms. I'll ask he to help me more with phobias and anxiety next time.

Right now, my brain is completely disabled and it's stayed that way since coming off the benzos. Never a clear symptomless moment. Agoraphobia, monophobia, intrusive thoughts, rumination, cog fog, short term memory issues, derealization, insomnia, vivid dreams. It's taxing and exhausting on the body's yet my brain never feels tired. I can never take a nap or feel relief from these symptoms.

 

[frogthroat]

Who has the luxury of "not being able to function?" I work full-time and live on my own. If I ever let myself go off the deep end I'd be screwed. I did this even during a period of being temporarily hospitalized for my own safety. There's not many people who have someone willing to take care of them and being institutionalized is a punishment so you wouldn't want to end up living in a psych hospital because you have no rights whatsoever.
If you're not in therapy you can find a therapist that will help you learn to manage the distress PTSD symptoms cause. Then you can begin to process and relearn healthier coping mechanisms yourself. It's not a perfect or quick process but it's better than having the extra worry of not knowing if you can survive on your own or not.

 

[joeylittle]

I didn't know agoraphobia could be a symptom of ptsd. When you say work on baby steps, does that work to help with agoraphobia? Are you able to overcome it? My derealization, agoraphobia, monophobia is CONSTANT. it never goes away no matter what I do, where I am, distracting, in therapy, whatsoever. It's like my new altered reality, which is so disabling.

I know you asked another poster this - but I have a small suggestion - From the way you described the agoraphobia and monophobia, I wouldn't be so sure you have both...In any case: how we think about things greatly affects our emotions and our behaviors.

You may be overly fixated on the diagnostic labels, and it could be interfering with working through the symptoms. Whether they are separate and independent phobias, or byproducts of PTSD, or side effects from benzo withdrawals - there are treatment approaches available for all three of these possibilities.

Is your therapist working specifically with you on this stuff? (Forgive me if you've stated that elsewhere in the thread, you could just direct me to the relevant post).

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

@Just-a-lady
Thanks for the response,
However your comment is based on the assumption that those who cannot function are choosing that because they have the "luxury" to do so. That's not the case for me. I have hundreds of thousands in debt from school, no savings, no house. I am temporarily staying at my folks because if I WERE on my own with no family member to help, I would most definitely end up institutionalize or homeless based on my symptoms which prevent me from functioning. The fact that you and many others CAN work and function in society is great and says a lot about the severity of your symptoms, but does not mean the minority of us who are disabled can too. At least not now when the symptoms are running rampant every second of every day.

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

@joeylittle

No problem and thanks for your input,

I haven't yet start working on qthese phobias with my therapist yet, so far we've just done talk therapy and emdr (alternating weekly).

I definitely want to start with her. I've mentioned cbt with her but it doesn't seem like she knows specific techniques because she keeps on giving me these general goals. But no specific techniques to achieve the goal. shes a trauma therapist, so maybe she only has her set of knowledge. I don't know how appropriate it would be to have different therapist, one for emdr and one for phobia/anxiety.

 

[joeylittle]

I've mentioned cbt with her but it doesn't seem like she knows specific techniques because she keeps on giving me these general goals. But no specific techniques to achieve the goal.

If you haven't expressed this to her in these direct words, I'd suggest you bring it up next session. Don't be afraid to be very clear and explicit - that this is stuff you can work on, but you need to be given specific, doable tools.

I don't know how appropriate it would be to have different therapist, one for emdr and one for phobia/anxiety.

You could also ask her about this. You're experiencing debilitating symptoms right now, and are finding yourself unable to live your daily life independently. Spending more time getting help might be a good idea for you, right now.

A PHP (partial hospitalization program) can also be a good way to get some routine plus coaching on CBT - are there any of those available in your area?

 

[Ptsdmiracle]

@joeylittle
Those are all great suggestions. I haven't had any tools yet that have been given to me by my therapist. I will ask her about this. I've only heard about deep breathing and that's it.

As far as the partial hospitalization program, doesn't sound like a doable option for me. I can't be left without my family due to fear, intrusive thoughts etc, and any disruption in sleep environment will make my insomnia worse. I've also had a horrible experience with hospital staff being treated inhumanely when I had anxiety. So... I'm gonna go with your first 2 suggestions!

 

[Deanna]

As far as the partial hospitalization program, doesn't sound like a doable option for me. I can't be left without my family due to fear,

You can't be with your parents forever. I agree with Joey Little. Partial hospitalization is where you need to be and then your parents pick you up for that day. Of course, you would have to ask them first. But, if you are in your 40's, you'll eventually have to take care of the problem.. Perhaps its going full time to not rely on your parents so much. So, I would say that's why he mentioned partial and you're pretty manic in your writing here ( just sayin')