Do You Have PTSD?

[Die Hard The Hunter]

Die Hard what is meant in the vietnam vets reference?
Gunchief

That was just my initial impression of the condition. Most professionals will include other traumas as well, but some people still associate PTSD with combat. Having "flashbacks of Vietnam" is practically a cliche, although not a very funny one.

 

[Gunchief]

Thank you for replying and clarifying it.

 

[cherryblossom]

Yes, here, I can say that I have PTSD. To myself, I can say that I have PTSD, but to the real world - no. Admitting it to myself makes me feel less abnormal. Getting the diagnosis made sense, but it hasn't really started the healing process.

It's an interesting question. In my experience, any 'mental health issue' still has a stigma attached. And I work in health care. Here (on this forum), it is accepted, but in my world it is not.

I'd like to say that "I have PTSD, but it does not have me", yet it invades every inch of my being. I cannot escape it, and so far, cannot heal from it. The fact that it is only manageable and not curable is particularly daunting, because I cannot live like this forever.

 

[ANCHOR]

I'm with you DieHard...THE LABELS SUCK...

I'm with you DieHard...the labels are completely insensitive in one of the most sensitive times of a person's life. Living through the trauma is harder than experienceing the trauma sometimes, because of all of the labeling in the psycotherapy "industry" (that's right, I went there). All of that crap you go through to find a good therapist is actually complicating the PTSD; it adds to the trauma. How on earth do they not get this, as educated caregivers?:mad:

(Sorry, maybe I should be on that other thread - bad therapists. :dontknow: )

 

[Lionheart]

I have PTSD and sometimes think I was born with it. Sad thought huh? Oh well, it is what it is; just a thought. I know that I inherited this disorder from people who are much sicker than I am.
(Ever feel like the flower growing through the crack in the sidewalk? I know I do).

 

[Manic11]

When I first posted this thread, I had trouble admitting it. After seeing so many people talk about having PTSD, I started to accept it.
Now I have trouble even typing 'PTSD'. It's like I have to hide it. No one can know. I can say anxiety. I can call it anxiety but I also have trouble saying "trauma". Right when I say it, my first thought is "I've had no trauma in my life". If someone knows my story and what has happened to me and knows I have my anxiety issues (see there I go again) I still can't say it. I end up stopping whene it comes to saying these certain words and saying "Well...you know...yeah".
Is this just denial?
What is this?
How do I get passed it? I'd like to accept it...

Manic

 

[pandora]

I think we just have to acknowledge it as a disease..one that was and is NOT your fault. Knowing that you are doing everything to help yourself and that it is something I cannot change..helped me.

 

[Cate]

I have ptsd and I accept it (obviously I have no choice).

Some days it's really bad and, on good days, I feel on the verge of being 'normal'. I don't want the ptsd to define who I am....I want it to be an experience and/or a journey in my life that I have to go through.

A very close friend of mine once said to me, "When you find yourself in Hell you can't go around it, you can't pretend it's not there...you have to go through it." When we go through Hell we learn and then we become inspiration to others....whether or not we want to be. I think this is where humility and wisdom come into play.

I'm still learning but I'm trying to be good student.

Hang in there, y'all. :occasion:

Cate

 

[Manic11]

I think we just have to acknowledge it as a disease..one that was and is NOT your fault. Knowing that you are doing everything to help yourself and that it is something I cannot change..helped me.

Maybe thats part of the problem with me accepting it...
I blame myself... I'm ashamed.
And I feel like what I went through was nothing so for me to refer to it as a trauma is wrong...
I don't know. Apparently complete denial helps people.
Maybe its easier to do that lol

Manic

 

[absence]

This may sound weird but I've accepted my schizophrenia and ADHD diagnoses much better. I'm having a hard time accepting PTSD as a potential. Maybe it's because I've only started therapy recently. I don't know.

I'm still struggling with whether what I've gone through is traumatic enough. I keep thinking what I've gone through is no big deal. I lived through it so it couldn't be trauma. I'm not understanding why I feel so stuck. I just want to get past it and go on with my life and forget about it.

But I'm starting to think the only way out is through. I want to be better.

 

[sigh]

I am another person who was relieved to hear that I have PTSD. My current psychiatrist believes it covers all the "other" problems I have, e.g. eating disorder, anxiety, migraines, problems with my body. It's as if it were right out of a manual. I remember the first day I spoke of the abuse, staring at the picture on the wall in his office. I remember telling my brother, thinking he would be the supportive one--and he was not.
It's nice to not just be crazy or a hypochondriac. It doesn't matter about curing it--because I know the abuse has been hard-wired into my brain.

 

[cragger65]

I have some trouble with it. I was in a serious car accident (broken neck, brain injury, coma, paralysis), but that didn't break me. I fought my way back, and was even doing martial arts after a year.

But the 2 insurance companies took a heavy toll, and finally pushed me over the edge about a year and a half after the accident. So... is my PTSD from the accident, the insurance companies, or my "giving up", allowing myself to get knocked off course after the breakdown?? I struggle with the guilt, maybe I always will. And I feel like PTSD is just my convenient "excuse" for failing a lot of the time.

Tough one. Good topic.

Lionheart, I loved your image of a flower growing through the crack in the sidewalk. I've had a similar image of the grass starting to grow under a rock once it is lifted. Good image.

And Cate, your post is very encouraging, inspiring and wise. Thank you for that.