CPTSD Trigger causing severe distress

[Mattie34]

I'm 22 years old, getting into my first healthy relationship. Everything has been going so great. Recently, I've had a huge PTSD trigger by him not answering his phone. The past two weeks have been a huge rollercoaster of emotions. Wanting to push away, convincing myself I don't love him even though I know that isn't true because I want to build a life with this man, intense panic attacks and wanting to avoid him, contradictory feelings of needing him. I've already communicated everything with him, got an addition to my anxiety meds, also working through it in EMDR and working to get a second therapist. I'm still struggling with really bad intrusive thoughts and self sabotage feelings. Any tips on how to soothe CPTSD triggers and reactions. This is so frustrating because just a couple weeks ago I was doing so well and so in love. Now I'm just spiraling into severe emotional distress. Am I normal for feeling these things?

 

[arfie]

hello mattie. welcome to the forum. sorry for what brings you here but glad you are here.

This is so frustrating because just a couple weeks ago I was doing so well and so in love. Now I'm just spiraling into severe emotional distress. Am I normal for feeling these things?

"normal" is a subject from which i recuse myself. "normal for me" is the only norm i worry about and this is normal for me. "frustrating" is an understatement in my own turns of this not-so-merry-go-round. by some celestial miracle, i have only had one husband and we have been together 45 years. even during the years we had to live separately while i dealt with this vicious cycle, we held the love sacred and kept moving forward. family is bigger than a shared address.

what i do to soothe my trigger events is too big a subject to tackle in a single sitting, but sharing within my therapy support network --like you did with this very post-- is one of my more effective tools. just getting it out of my tormented brain and into the real world is allot, all by its lonesome. my therapy supporters often contribute important reminders and techniques.

but for the love of my life, i thank the cosmos he doesn't have the experience to understand and i carry these frustrations into my therapy support network to share with people who DO have the experience to understand. i wouldn't wish this understanding on a cow patty, but i am ever so grateful to have the help in untangling these psycho snot knots.