Can Ptsd Develop Over Time?

[Melody coates]

Idk if there's already been a thread on this but i'm really curious. does PTSD develope over the years? Or is it just like BAM! PTSD? Can you show symptoms early in life and then get it full blown after another event?

 

[whserenitynluv]

There's are different classes of ptsd, it can be one event, or a string that shows up later. Mine showed as a young child but they called it an attention deficit issue.

 

[Justmehere]

Can you show symptoms early in life and then get it full blown after another event?

This is how is happened for me. It's also common for people to go through trauma and be ok, for awhile, only to have symptoms start showing up many years later.

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

I experienced a car accident two years ago and started showing PTSD symptoms about 4 months later. Once I started trying to process that trauma, I found that there was a whole lot more to process from childhood.

 

[risingsun]

Can you show symptoms early in life and then get it full blown after another event?

Yes, because it can become compounded with other traumatic events.

 

[Whirlwind]

Can you show symptoms early in life and then get it full blown after another event?

I had many PTSD behaviors as a child/young person but after I left and started my own life, it all just faded away. I did carry elements along but I was unaware and it did not impact my life problematically.

It was mid life and I randomly had several difficult things happen within a short time. It was almost comically bad timing which kick started my PTSD in a terrible way. Old compulsions from childhood resurfaced out of nowhere, etc.

So yes, events can trigger it, it took some major events in my case. Its a shame, I wish it had all stayed where I had buried it all.