Events In Boston... Ptsd?

[BostonLisa]

I live in the town where the events took place Thursday night and Friday. I spent the day watching things unfold on TV and was anxious most of the day, but more tired than anything (I had been up since 3:00 AM Friday morning after receiving a reverse 911 call from my town alerting me to the events).

Yesterday morning, after a good night's sleep I went about my day. I started to realize things were not right when I felt disoriented on my way to an appointment, after realizing I was driving in the wrong direction and having to focus on my driving. By noon I had a ringing in my right ear followed shortly by a loss of hearing/feeling blocked. After that I read an email from an old friend asking me if I was ok and I started sobbing uncontrollably (which is unlike me).

I know the events had an effect on everyone, but I am concerned and wonder if seeing things unfold on TV can trigger this and if the ear problems are symptomatic of PTSD?

I don't want to be melodramatic about this, but am concerned. I have struggled with anxiety and mild depression off and on in the past.

Thank you

 

[JustBe]

Hi, I would suggest that you first contact your Doctor for advice and a possible referral.

 

[Hashi]

BostonLisa,

I know how distressing and disorienting something like that can be. I was travelling to work in London at the time of the London bombings in 2005, and then went through slowly finding out what had happened, seeing the effect on other people as well as myself, and being in a city on full emergency alert (roads, public transport and mobile phone networks closed down etc). Also the subsequent reactions in a heightened state of alert, which included the hunt for collaborators and the police shooting an innocent person by mistake.

It caused me anxiety and distress, and I was very jumpy the next few times I went into London, but that wasn't PTSD. I hadn't directly witnessed death or injury right in front of me, or been directly threatened by that myself. It was a very upsetting experience, and one which people in everyday speech might refer to as traumatic, but the way I experienced it (hearing about it, seeing the news etc) didn't meet the criteria for trauma which can cause PTSD.

Obviously I can't say anything for certain about someone else, and you should always see a doctor if you think you need to. I would only say that I think anxiety and its symptoms, which can include things like blocked hearing and ringing in the ears, are completely understandable in the circumstances. Anxiety is one of the symptoms of PTSD, but anxiety often occurs in other situations too. Also, you're bound to be feeling shock, and that can freeze our feelings for a while. Anxiety is one of the likely feelings when you do unfreeze, along with various other emotions.

I recommend talking with people about it as much as you can, especially talking to other people in the city who are going through the same kinds of reactions as you. It's a lot to take in, and I imagine you must feel very shaken. It can take time for those feelings to subside. Talking to other people can help you to see that the way you're feeling is normal. Alternatively, it can alert you if you feel that your reactions are unusual or more extreme than might be expected.

If the way you're feeling keeps getting worse, you remain concerned about what your reaction is, or if you feel it's out of proportion to what you might be expected to feel, then I'd definitely recommend seeing a doctor or therapist. In that case, whatever it is, it's something that you would do well to seek assessment and support for.

I'm very sorry for what's happened and how you're feeling. Normally, those feelings will subside in time and I hope this is the case for you and others who have been affected as you have.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Yes, speak with a doctor. At this point you can't be diagnosed with PTSD as there is a time component to the disorder (many don't know that). That doesn't mean you don't need help with coping. A lot of people experience symptoms after a traumatic event, but these symptoms subside and don't develop into PTSD. I'm not discounting your experience in any way. I am urging you to seek help now so that your symptoms don't manifest into the full blown disorder.

And yes, ear ringing can be caused by stress. I've had it my whole life except when I was doing Neurofeedback. (A big reason why I'm going back to therapy.) I even saw an ear/nose/throat doctor who said my ears are structurally fine and that there's a theory that some types of tinnitus originate in the mind, not the ear. Interesting, as that seems to be my experience with it.

 

[heidi]

It kind of seems unlikely to me that this could happen. If you had any thing in your past with echos of what happened in Boston then maybe it could have triggered something.

 

[reallydown]

To me the operative words here are that you live in the town where the events of Thursday night and Friday took place...That is, at the time everyone was potentially in a life threatening situation, and that is scary. Having said all that, I will echo the others and say that the best thing is to see your doctor.