Civilian Ptsd?

[pontifixmax]

I took the opportunity to check out the Combat PTSD forum and I couldn't beleive how much I could relate to what some of the people there were saying, in particular the stuff about being hyper-vigilant and being prepared to mobilize at any given second. Funny thing is I've never been in combat, not in the military sense anyways. In civilian life, however, through my work I deal with unpredictable and out of control situations where violence is rife and I find myself constantly watchful and quick to respond to any real or perceived threat. The sensory overload can be intense at times, especially with radios crackling and sirens wailing all the time. It takes me a long time to wind down after a shift, if I do at all since what happens there often stays with me even when I'm not working. Anyone else here experience similarities to what I described in civilian life?

 

[Jacquie]

Yes

 

[SpokaneSunshine]

Im not sure whether I feel the same as a military person or civil servant or not. I always feel like the proverbial pooh is about to hit the fan, but I don't work as a civil servant, so I dont think I would call it ready to mobilize. I still have trouble processing this ptsd diagnosis, as I associate it with military and civil servants, not with civilians such as myself. But I can definitely relate to some of the things they describe such as the hypervigilence. Sorry I'm typing on my phone in the thrapist's office I hope this made sense!

 

[Nemone]

Well, I'm not an expert but I think any situation where you feel in danger will cause that sense of vigilance. I was in the military but my issues from the military didn't come from combat, they came mostly from things that happened in training school. I think the feeling of not being in control and/or thinking you could die is what is the worst and it doesn't matter if it's combat or just a violent situation in civilian life. Situations where you feel helpless are the worst.

 

[Lucycat]

I think PTSD is PTSD regardless of the cause. Many of us here have the diagnosis from trauma unconnected to combat. That is why there are 3 sites. Those whose issues are related to combat, those whose issues are related to sexual abuse and for those whos just wnat to discuss PTSD in itself regardless of cause.

The symptoms for everyone are the same - and different - regardless of the reason why. Hypervigillance is one of the easier recognised symptoms.

 

[Froggie]

When I came online last year, I was so utterly surprised of the "unlimited" sources of PTSD. Everyone has hypervigilence, and so many other symptoms .. ha ha ha ... like me tonight, can't sleep ... due to what ... you guest it : good ol' PTSD.

 

[wcdean]

Mine is from a car accident... and I feel the exact same way (no combat experience). To me and my interpretation, it comes from not allowing or not wanting to allow yourself to be put in a vulnerable situation ever again. So you are constantly "on alert". You hear stories of people going into restaurants or banks and shooting people, so you/I constatnly look for the nearest exit, have a planned evacuation route, and don't sit with your back to the room. It is a defense mechanism that I believe, again, comes from feeling so vulnerable and helpless at one point (what ever point caused your PTSD) that your body refuses to relax for fear that something bad may happen again and by golly, we have lived through it once and refuse to let that happen to ourselves again. So we stay vigilant and aware of our surroundings to the point where we don't even enjoy the meal/movie/etc.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[Gamereign555]

Trust me, it drives us all nuts.

 

[Bordo66]

True story,

I used to look around every 5-10 seconds and always check every window

 

[Nemone]

Heh, yeah, when I was sort of off my meds for a couple days because I forgot to call in for a new prescription I ended up getting really bad recently. My husband had been leaving the windows open for those days because of the nice weather and I think I ended up with hay fever at the same time. I kept having bad dreams and waking every couple hours in the night sweating, if I could even sleep at all. I stayed in bed for about 3 days just exhausted and also just annoyed because I couldn't enjoy the things that I normally enjoy doing. When my husband went to work and the kids went to school my paranoia level while alone was through the roof. I tried to nap and enjoy the quiet but I kept thinking I heard a noise, wondering if the door was locked, and basically just feeling like there was a monster patiently waiting outside the door to attack me as soon as I let my guard down. It's difficult when your sense of reason is telling you that you are safe but your emotions and senses are telling you that you are going to be killed at any moment. When the mood finally passed (and I got more meds) I was like... thank god... so now I feel really happy and am enjoying not feeling all psychotic. Of course a lot of that could have been withdrawal but I've never had that happen before when I didn't take my medicine for weeks. I sort of feel like the mood passed on it's own before I even took the medicine though I don't really get it. I guess when I'm sick from allergies I just feel even more vulnerable than usual and since it's even harder to sleep when I'm like that my stress level shoots up.