Do I Really Have Ptsd?

[Deleted member 1860]

I'm similar to pencil. I only had visual flashbacks for a few months. However, I've had emotional flashbacks my whole life.

 

[Grace511]

gotcha. I think I need my T to explain in detail the disorder to me. Reading about it is one thing, but hearing about it from a trained professional is another.

 

[Abstract]

Hi Grace,
Good luck with this. One thing I never understood is that there are many other things that fit the intrusive category. I think of some as "pictures" and other things can be sensations or smells that don't belong to the present. Nightmares relating to the trauma are also a possibility.

When I have had flashbacks they are short and don't run on for an absolute age like one sees on films. Its hard to evaluate time when one is in one of course.

The so called "emotional flashbacks" last much longer usually.

You therapist likely would have given the psychiatrist a detailed account of what she has seen or surmised and he would be evaluating the validity.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

I have visual flashbacks and emotional flashbacks. Thankfully I don't have many visual flashbacks. For me when I have a visual flashback I can see the memories as if I'm looking at a picture but I'm within the picture. Not holding it and looking at it. The specific scene is being played out as it originally happened.

I can see the abuser. I can hear or get like a knowing of his voice or words. I become terrified and feel overwhelmed with the exact same emotions and adrenaline as when the incident had originally happened. I shake and cry and feel like I'm not even in the actual room I'm sitting in. It's like I'm transported right back into the moment. It's usually very intense and thankfully short but it's exhausting and scary.

When I have an emotional flashback which I experience more often I feel everything I stated above only I don't have a visual. Sometimes I'll be having an emotional flashback and it won't register at first that I'm having one. I'm just suddenly aware of the intense physical and emotional reactions that are overwhelming me. It's usually when I start to shake that I recognize it as an emotional flashback. It tends to last longer for me too. Usually because it takes me a minute longer to recognize why I'm feeling all of this seemingly out of nowhere.