Poll Do You Believe That PTSD Affects You Physically and Mentally? If so, How?

[ClancyBoy]

Can't say it affects me physically, unless you count the adrenaline rush and the damage done to my knuckes from punching concrete :D

 

[Snoozer]

Complex PTSD effects my life daily in that I am continuously questioning

 

[mightsurvive]

I obviously sufer from the mental health problems associated with ptsd. I aslo am sick or gag, shake, get headaches, ache in my back, neck and legs. screw my forehead up (if that counts) and much paler in colour (people haev commented without them knowing that i have any personal problems), have lost weight and gained weight depending on meds. Hmmm cant think of any more at the moment but wil add more if i do later.

 

[sunnydaze]

physical/mental

I have suffered from chronic pain for 40 years. Recently, I found something non-drug that helps with the pain and now I see more mental problems arising. I think the pain overshadowed the mental problems that I face now. I blamed the mental problems on the pain but now I can see I had the problems all along but thought it was due to the pain.
sunnydaze

 

[TaraJ]

I have not been formally diagnosed for PTSD, but I feel very strongly that this is what I have. It negatively impacts my daily activities, and my bedroom is a direct reflection of that. I cannot make myself move during the day, because I feel like I'm dreaming. I noticed that I only feel alive when I put on makeup and fix my hair. Otherwise, I feel as though I'm stuck in some kind of stillness..where time does not exist. I have wasted many days because of it. Days when I had solid plans of accomplishing tasks on my house. I know that my boyfriend was annoyed with me. He always asks me what I did in the house, cause he feels like I'm just lazy. I just can't bring myself to try to tell him how completely unreal I feel each day, and wait for him to tell me how ridiculous that sounds. There's no way he could ever understand.I often feel unreal or as if I've just pulled back inside of a memory which pains me. It's not as if I'm thinking about the events, it's as if I'm there again. I'm crying because of how someone made me feel, and the pain is deep in my chest. That has happened many times at work, and my boss was startled when I froze in place and did not move for several minutes.
She came over and began rubbing my shoulder, to try to 'wake me up' from whatever was happening to me. Something could remind me of some painful time in my life, and suddenly I'm frozen in time. When I 'come to' I find that I'm either hyperventilating, or slumped over and not breathing. Sometimes my face is wet from tears. So yes, this really does affect me greatly. Not only emotionally, but physically as well.

 

[coolgirl]

I've known for many years, if I dwell on certain subjects in my mind, it does affect me physically. My job requires alot of strength, so if I let myself get in a position or rather in a situation that's going to bother me mentally, it's frightening.

 

[mouse]

Ptsd affects me both ways, mentally I have intrusive thoughts, inability to deal with conflict, the need to not use my brain,feeling like I cant comprehend anything more, i suffer nightmares, insomnia, and anxiety attacks.
Physically I can get run down, fatigued, I have pain to deal with as well as elevated heart rate.

 

[Deleted member 1606]

Oh, Yeah

I am always feeling some level of anguish. As a child, my stomach was always so tied up in knots that I ate very little. My parents thought I was rebelling.

So drank lots and lots of milk. And I think the hormones in that stuff affected me. I became really attracted to girls at the age of six.

 

[Mary Elynne]

I have suffered from PTSD since childhood.... severe migraines for most of my life... I have Crohn's Disease, chronic sinusitis, severe esophagitis during CD flares, high blood pressure, and most recently have been told I may have MS . My 'ms' symptoms began 5 years ago after a very traumatic event reminiscent of my earlier childhood traumas and later abuses and losses. I woke up one morning unable to walk, raise my arms from my bed.... it took months for me to regain any strength... I then could only walk with crutches as I was prone to very bad vertigo that made me fall often. I could only walk a very short distance before my legs gave out on me or "locked"... I have been using a scooter to get around most of the time if I have to go any further than one block. I am plagued with sudden fatigue so severe that I can barely hold my torso up. I am now on disability .
My family doctor suspects that while my mind was still able to function all these years while I helped my two small children with their traumas and recoveries, my body took the brunt of it all. I think she may be right.

 

[patrick]

I'm newly diagnosed with PTSD, complex, chronic, with delayed onset, so am going back and forth between denying I have it and blaming every problem I have on it.

My health problems seem mainly self-inflicted; COPD due to smoking. And stuff I'm reading lately discuss the prevelance of smoking in veterans with PTSD.

Atrial Fibrilation, probably due to alcoholism. I've been alcoholic for 40 years, grateful to be in recovery now, at least most days. Is that a mental or physical thing?

Days when I'm so tired I can't move, usually closely related to days when I'm so depressed I don't want to move. Days when I just can't seem to get warm and days when every joint hurts to the point I think I must have arthritis, though I know I don't.

Before being diagnosed with PTSD I knew for certain that all of my physical problems were of my own doing. Now I get mad at myself and feel like I'm sniveling when I'm tempted to blame any of them on the disorder, but am still tempted to do so. Is that mental or physical? It sure as hell feels wierd to me. I don't know what I'm talking about. I'm feeling crazier now than I ever have.

 

[freya]

I have both physical and mental complaints that I think are, or may be, the result of PTSD.
Physical: A lot of stress-related things like muscle tension problems (carpal tunnel syndrome), infected gall bladder, when younger a lot of ear- and throataches (less resistance because of stress), headaches and migraine, unexplicable stomach pains.
Mentally: I've been diagnosed with psychosis and bipolar disorder. I feel that the PTSD makes communication hard for me and this causes a lot of stress that can lead me to loose mental balance.
(I find meditation and yoga very helpful in this respect).

 

[ericaboo]

Breathing problems, digestive problems, TMJ, sleep deprivation, sensitivity to pain and light, panic attacks, sweating, shaking, lack of self care, worsening of my adhd symptoms, paranoia, anger, distorted thinking, no appetite, headaches, spaced out, weak muscle tone, dizzy, clumsy, withdrawn, insomnia, can't concentrate...