Can PTSD flares make you exhausted/fatigued?

[SeekingAfrica]

I've been having rough time getting closer to holidays. Yesterday was the hardest so far, and today I woke up feeling like a truck ran me over, or like I had been to an exhausting trip. Which I think does happen to me a lot when I have few days of being hypervigilant, panicked, having nightmares etc. The last 'flare'- if I can call it so- I had was june/july when I moved and all the new things lead to a huge bad flare. So my memory is a bit fuzzy on how often it happens to me after flares, I think it does. It's making me really angry at myself, because after a really dark day where obviously it's hard to be productive, you sort of want to get back on the horse, take control of your schedule. So waking like this has been frustrating. Like my mind was clear so I made nice todo list, easily started doing tasks, but my energy crashes every 2 tasks super easily and I am not even having a complicated day, task-wise....

 

[Freida]

Yep.
Knocks me on my ass.
Part of the challenge for me is that my ptsd sets off my fibro - which means I'm in bed a day or two after a really bad round. I've had to work really hard to learn to let myself rest and not beat myself up for being lazy, useless, pathetic, etc. And that has been tough, tough, tough! But I've also learned that if I give myself that extra bit of time I can regroup more effectively once I'm up and about so....there's that I guess.

 

[starvingGrad]

Definitely. Encountering a trigger is like someone pulled the plug on a bathtub full of emotional and physical energy- my whole day grinds to a halt. The next day even if I'm motivated I'll spend all day working on getting through two or three basic tasks and pass out before 9pm and oversleep the next morning.

Nightmares for me are usually followed by staying awake avoiding sleep/more nightmares, if that next night I can't sleep my hyper vigilance has kicked in, I'll be woken by something small within an hour of passing out- I'll be so tired I want to smother myself with the pillow. Dead on my feet the next day, can't do anything and its hard to go outside on my own- everything is jumping out at me and I hate everybody, cue the numbness. If I'm lucky I'll pass out or it repeats until my body physically overpowers my brain. This cycle usually upsets my schedule for the entire week.

 

[hithere]

For me this is a yes! and a yes! --, and it was Thanksgiving here in the states a few days ago--and I was having very weird moments of feeling like I had alheizers trying to prepare the day the entire week prior to it. I hosted my family of origin for dinner, where we all pretend we are the most amazing family in the world, but in reality we all pretend my mother's serious mental illness and homicidal violence doesn't exist. (Side note: I actually do believe we are all amazing--and thus have a hard time with my subconscious mind that tells me a different story. another side note: I now have knives in my kitchen for the first time in my grown up life and don't have tell everyone to bring their own knife, and I actually have a good sharp knife to prepare foods and only get the whilly-nillys a little so that is progress!) --

So I was trying to rearrange furniture to be sure everyone can sit around the table, because that's important to me. I couldn't make a grocery list, or a to-do list; and let's face it: thanksgiving dinner is one of the easiest meals to prepare, with not that many ingredients, and one of the most fun to make because it is easy, and you're on feet all morning bouncing back and forth between tasks. YET, I couldn't make a grocery list, I couldn't set up a timeline for cleaning the toilets, or washing all the glasses and wine glasses--I broke down at LEAST five times a day for the week prior to the holiday in the middle of the house and cried out of frustration because my brain would not function. I took mulitiple hot showers, and crawled under the covers. For me it makes me EXHAUSTED fighting my subconscious mind. I can only make it through by collapsing into the overwhelm, taking the time to be totally f*cked up, resisting the desire to get smashed, then getting up dusting myself off and moving ahead.

I did achieve my goal. Thank you for the post, because this describes me to a "t" during "flares" as you call them!

 

[Friday]

Damn straight.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

Thank you for sharing everyone! That did help. I also went hard on selfcare- took time to organize myself, worked on doing more yoga and meditation and journaling again... have therapy set for Friday... Then I got sick too, so things are a bit messy and exhausting right now. I am just trying to take it one thing at a time, cause sometimes, it's all you can do.

 

[Survivor3]

Yes....

I get exhausted by PTSD flares. I've been having one all day. It's about 8 hours now and I feel as if I've been in a fight all that time. I haven't done anything or achieved anything. But i feel battered and bruised.

 

[blackemerald1]

Yes absolutely. I have no choice and like others have mentioned various other maladies take the opportunity to jump up and rule.

 

[Mee]

Yes absolutely. I have no choice and like others have mentioned various other maladies take the opportunity to jump up and rule.

Beginning to get understanding of this is really life changing for me. Instead of chasing a physical health cure that doesn’t seem to exist , paying attention to my mental health and it’s limits might just be a help for my body forever too.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

I've been having one all day. It's about 8 hours now and I feel as if I've been in a fight all that time. I haven't done anything or achieved anything. But i feel battered and bruised.

I'm so sorry about that! I've had such days and they are brutal! When you haven't had them in a while you almost forget how bad it is. I hope you are feeling better, or will, soon.

Beginning to get understanding of this is really life changing for me. Instead of chasing a physical health cure that doesn’t seem to exist , paying attention to my mental health and it’s limits might just be a help for my body forever too.

True. A while ago I learned not to look at this as something to 'cure' but rather something to manage: with good periods where self care manages it enough to be non-noticable to outsiders and have decent days myself and bad periods where all sort of reawakens again and it takes a lot of different elements and help to get it under control. When I have days that feel impossible and backslide into symptoms I haven't had in months.
Anyway. I think it is somehow soothing writing it out on here, like, I'm not just going crazy. On my end, since I was physically sick this took a backseat for a moment, and I am rigorously working on self care to contain it as much as I can. I have to say, it's somewhat working. I am for sure not at my best productive self, but I am feeling a lot better mentally than last week. I have been journaling pages and pages, reading fiction, meditating and doing yoga daily though. And took day naps which I haven't in years. But things are starting to balance out a little and I am so praying it lasts.
I am not sure for anyone else, but I find December very challenging in general...without PTSD flare on top.