• 💖 [Donate To Keep MyPTSD Online] 💖 Every contribution, no matter how small, fuels our mission and helps us continue to provide peer-to-peer services. Your generosity keeps us independent and available freely to the world. MyPTSD closes if we can't reach our annual goal.

fear visualizations - symptom?

Status
Not open for further replies.
I am curious if anybody has had a similar experience or C-PTSD feature that is similar to what I experience. (see number 3)

When I am startled by a noise or person, I will typically respond 3 different ways:
1) intense fear response and vigilance or avoidance
2) emotional flashback, non-visual
or
3) intense visual experience that is similar to the features of a flashback, but is instead about what I believe is about to happen to me in the now. It is not the same as an anticipation of a similar past event, because I am imagining something that has never happened to me.

I call these fear visualizations because they seem different than intrusive thoughts. This could be a left over feature of hearing domestic abuse as a child from another room. I responded by visualizing what was happening because I could not see what was happening.

Anybody else? Does this have another name?
Thanks for your input.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I get all of these. With #3 I generally refer to as catastrophizing because I come to the worst possible conclusion and it ends up playing in my head like a movie when I am way overwhelmed and over-stimulated. I don't have C-PTSD though, and maybe what I experience is different from what you are describing.
 
I believe because some of my major trauma happened during sleep or at night, I experience #3 quite often when I lay down to sleep. I never realized it was a symptom until now.
 
#3 quite often when I lay down to sleep. I never realized it was a symptom until now.
It’s not a symptom of PTSD to ruminate or obsess on things that they’ve never experienced, and aren’t tied to trauma. But people with PTSD often have more going on, than just PTSD. Whether other disorders, life stuff, or personality.

For example?
Anxiety Disorders and OCD: In OCD there are recurrent intrusive thoughts, but these meet the definition of an obsession. Additionally, the thoughts are not related to a traumatic event. Neither the arousal and dissociative symptoms of panic disorder nor the avoidance, irritability, and anxiety of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) are associated with a specific traumatic event. The symptoms of separation anxiety are clearly linked to separation from home or family, rather than a traumatic event.

A good therapist can help you break down exactly where/how these patterns are coming from. Which is one of those super-useful things, as different causes have different best solutions in managing them.

If you’re interested in learning more about PTSD symptomology? There’s a really good breakdown, in the following link >>> Ptsd diagnosis
 
I am curious if anybody has had a similar experience or C-PTSD feature that is similar to what I experience. (see number 3)

When I am startled by a noise or person, I will typically respond 3 different ways:
1) intense fear response and vigilance or avoidance
2) emotional flashback, non-visual
or
3) intense visual experience that is similar to the features of a flashback, but is instead about what I believe is about to happen to me in the now. It is not the same as an anticipation of a similar past event, because I am imagining something that has never happened to me.

I call these fear visualizations because they seem different than intrusive thoughts. This could be a left over feature of hearing domestic abuse as a child from another room. I responded by visualizing what was happening because I could not see what was happening.

Anybody else? Does this have another name?
Thanks for your input.
Hello @PretzelPopcorn,
Yes! Both items 1 and 2. Not so much item 3 for me, but I can totally understand that happening.

I am in a near constant state of hypervigilance. Any interaction with people brings on 1 and 2 almost without fail. I can rarely ever just "be" anymore.

Oh the joys of C-PTSD!
Woodsy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top