Poll Do You See An End To The Symptoms In Your Life?

[The Albatross]

Yeah... Albatross, lone things we are... but self sufficient, self propelling, with wind and weather wisdom. It is though hard to find attachment. Something I'm struggling with at the moment, and intermittently throughout my life. It is a weird dichotomy, how to love and how to be alone.

 

[ericaboo]

My first reaction is that healing = being in control. Now I am redefining what being in control could mean. Instead of eradicating my triggers and reactions, which are actually a part of who I am, I would be satisfied to manage myself better.

Anthony's description sounds so much better than what I can accomplish right now, but not the perfectionistic idea of being healed that I once chased after.

What is normal? I'm coming to believe there is no such thing...

 

[LhasaLover]

Exactly... normal is relative.

 

[who am i kim]

I am going to say no, being 50 I have had it all my life, it is a part of who I am. I can see that I can help lessen the ptsd, but I do not believe that it will ever go entirely.

 

[Tanishq]

I am an odd man. I see symptoms will be ended and I will be cured.

I believe scars will be there, just like when you get hit by something very huge and that leaves a scar on your skin. Your wound will be healed, but scar will be there.

 

[Mercy]

I don't know if healing from so any rapes, mind control and tortures will be able to be healed. I hate, I do mean hate flashbacks. They are not in my control as the British PET scan experiment has proved.

I want to be free but it feels like I am a longish tether and cannot go beyond it. I don't want the rest of my life to still be captive to pain and horror.

 

[surviving_it_all]

I definitely see an end to the symptoms. As each one gets smaller and smaller, I can't help but believe that eventually I could be symptom free. PTSD has affected all aspects of my life and personality. This damage was done, it is not like a physical injury that only worsens. I am sure that all my wounds will heal to a healthy level. I hope to one day have strong healthy relationships and an environment that supports this healing rather than sets me back into traumatic survivor mode.

 

[hodge]

I'm looking at this discussion 8 years later, and I still have symptoms. I hoped to be wrong but I wasn't. It is really like my brain has permanently changed. I can't concentrate on anything for more than 15 minutes. After that, I get overwhelmed, overstimulated, whatever, and I have to stop and rest. But sometimes I push myself. Sometimes, I have to, like when I have lunch with a friend, for example. I get so overloaded, I get home and am nauseous, dizzy, and have to lie down for awhile. I don't even need triggers to get like this. It's just a pure concentration problem. My psychiatrist says it's a combination of anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation. Maybe so, but it really does feel like my brain is different somehow. I used to be be able to concentrate on something for hours at a time. I earned a master's degree more than 20 years ago, for God's sake!

 

[DharmaGirl]

After 2 years I have to change my answer. My symptoms are worse now then they were 2 years ago. I will continue to hope and expect that I will get better at symptom management and mood management, but right now I haven't.

 

[tacit]

Absolutely I do..but how quickly can be another thing & it may also not be exactly what you think it would be either?? ;)

Cheers :)

 

[Spekx]

This seems like a strange question, has anybody ever been "cured" of PTSD? I don't think that things that have been seen, can ever be unseen. I don't think that experiences can ever be un-experienced. I think the trauma is forever, but learning to cope with your symptoms can help you live with the trauma. (if that makes any sense).

 

[falling_wave]

Yes. Although I still struggle with symptoms looking back to how I reacted to stressor just a few years to now there is an extreme difference for the better. Yes I slip often and somedays feel like the worst possible but that's just because I'm not looking backwards. I think I've grown and I've worked very hard to utilize therapy as much as humanly possible. I think when I am more settled in my career, living situation, and in a stable relationship if I continue to work hard my symptoms could leave me.

Just to add: I think the immediate reactions will always be there but I think with time I'll be conditioned to react against my impulses thereby returning to normalcy.