RussellSue
Not Active
I was reminded again in here that there is a fundamental difference between the reasonably well-adjusted adult who develops PTSD and the traumatized child who walks out into the world with an abnormally formed brain, finds coping a struggle and meets up with more trauma often in the form of abuse, broken relationships and other things that upbringing might have prevented or guarded this person from.
Those of us who have been on the PTSD pony for a while have no doubt seen evidence of the differences. Nevertheless, it is easy to lump ourselves and each other into a generalized box, expecting the same sort of recovery ride as the next person with a trauma related disorder.
In my own recovery I am felt a lot of disappointment in myself because other people were recovering completely around me and I worked hard for decades but could not pull that off. But my trauma started very early and didn't stop for a long time.
I also feel like there is a lot of fear among people who have a good chance at a full recovery because frankly, people like me make PTSD look like a life sentence and bring other disorders to the table that maybe even make it look worse than it is.
I feel like PTSD statistics are often confusing because we do all get thrown in the same box. You wouldn't read up on bone cancer with a spot of skin cancer on your nose or vice versa. It would be very hard to understand what you might expect if you did.
What I am getting at is that while it is great that we can focus on our similarities and be supportive of one another, we should be careful about thinking we are on the same sort of road as the next person --- this shit has major variables. Comparing ourselves with those around us can cause depression and anxiety.
Has anyone else been confused, depressed, anxious or disappointed because of statistics, seeing people recover or not recover, because your symptoms seem to be worse than the next person's?
What is your best defense against letting other people's recovery cause you to judge your own? -- I still do it from time to time, so I would love to know.
Those of us who have been on the PTSD pony for a while have no doubt seen evidence of the differences. Nevertheless, it is easy to lump ourselves and each other into a generalized box, expecting the same sort of recovery ride as the next person with a trauma related disorder.
In my own recovery I am felt a lot of disappointment in myself because other people were recovering completely around me and I worked hard for decades but could not pull that off. But my trauma started very early and didn't stop for a long time.
I also feel like there is a lot of fear among people who have a good chance at a full recovery because frankly, people like me make PTSD look like a life sentence and bring other disorders to the table that maybe even make it look worse than it is.
I feel like PTSD statistics are often confusing because we do all get thrown in the same box. You wouldn't read up on bone cancer with a spot of skin cancer on your nose or vice versa. It would be very hard to understand what you might expect if you did.
What I am getting at is that while it is great that we can focus on our similarities and be supportive of one another, we should be careful about thinking we are on the same sort of road as the next person --- this shit has major variables. Comparing ourselves with those around us can cause depression and anxiety.
Has anyone else been confused, depressed, anxious or disappointed because of statistics, seeing people recover or not recover, because your symptoms seem to be worse than the next person's?
What is your best defense against letting other people's recovery cause you to judge your own? -- I still do it from time to time, so I would love to know.