Sufferer Hi I Am New

[EricaP]

Hi
I have recently been diagnosed with PTSD. and started Exposure therapy. I am having difficulty understanding how it will help me and at the moment it is stirring things up. I was caught in a bush fire as a 10 yr old and escaped from our burning house through smouldering forest. It has been hot recently with reports of fires in our state (I live in Australia) so this is making it harder.I wonder how other people have dealt with similar situations.

 

[Friday]

Welcome to the forums! :)

Exposure therapy is exactly what I have always done with most PTSD symptoms, first on my own; blunting triggers, reducing time spent in & recovery time after anxiety & panic attacks, getting my footing back in the world, etc.; and now looking at working with someone to go after root causes. Retraining my brain, and same time my heart & mind.

The post below really well explains what exposure therapy is, what one can expect, and how best to go about many different forms of it.

Link Removed

 

[intothelight]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Nikie]

Welcome to the forum it will help sharing your feelings around here and yes it will stirr up emotions .. .. Hugs just keep writing it helsp

 

[ms spock]

Hello and Welcome to the Forum @EricaP.

Doing exposure therapy before you are stable and living in a safe place is not at all helpful, and it can be counter to the direction you are going in. Something to consider. Is your therapist actually a trauma therapist?

The fires burning out of control, in Australia, might be triggering to you at this time, perhaps consider limiting your news intake each day - and don't do TV at all? Something to think about?

I am involved in a lot of bush fire prevention measures and in bush fire prevention proactive chainsawing down (and clearing) of feral trees to make fire breaks. In the long term it might be helpful for you to be involved in something like this to help you gain a sense of control.

There is a book called The Biggest Estate On Earth : How Aborigines Made Australia by Bill Gammage, and it is well worth reading as it goes through how Indigenous Australians, used fire to control, shape and farm the different nations that they lived on throughout Australia. If you can't afford the book you can listen and watch them on youtube. So you get a sense of how things used to be managed well, and not out of control like it is now. Perhaps not something to do until you are actually stable.

Please make sure if you have a bush fire coming your way that you clear out several days in advance. Keep yourself safe.

Good luck in your healing!

 

[EricaP]

Hello and Welcome to the Forum @EricaP.

Doing exposure therapy before you are stable...

Thanks for your comments. I don't think volunteer work clearing firebreaks is practical for me. I am also a carer for my husband so I have limited time. Also I don't think I would have the strength to do it.
The area we are living in now is supposed to be low bushfire risk but this doesn't stop me worrying. In the past I have visited family rather than going home if there were fires nearby or if at home left the house and gone somewhere safe. i worry about being caught out trying to escape as a car has less protection than a house. Fires can appear with little warning so leaving days in advance is not practical if you don't know it is going to occur.
My psychologist isn't a trauma therapist but I have been seeing him for some time to assist with multiple issues so I prefer to stay with him rather than explaining everything to someone else. One of the problems is that if I put off dealing with the PTSD there will always be things going on to make things difficult. My husband has a degenerative condition which is progressing more rapidly now causing lots of stress but this is not going to go away until he dies which could be decades away as his contition won't kill him just affect quality of life and amount of assistance required.

 

[ladee]

@EricaP, welcome. Hope you come back and look around, post how you are doing, sometimes just writing helps us to see things more clearly. I have worked with people who have what your husband does (if I am reading right) and know how very very stressful that is by itself.... and the tireder we get, the more our symptoms occur... so happy you are here. Write often... very supportive people here. sending you :hug: if you accept them.

 

[ErikaP]

Thank you for the reply & support

 

[EricaP]

@EricaP, welcome. Hope you come back and look around, post how you are doing, sometimes...

I saw my psychologist last Wed. After discussing what has been happening he decided the dailyreading I was doing for exposure therapy was too much /counterproductive as I was focusing too much on fires & the risk and becoming more restricted in my activities. We have changed focus at least for the summer to much more practical things I am going for a walk each morning & gradually increasing the distance and swimming in a lake nearby once a week and doing some gardening in the early morning or evening when it is cooler. The aim is for me to get fitter, recover from an injury I had and learn to do things which are worthwhile during the summer rather than avoiding everything to avoid getting sunburnt, hot, or caught in a bushfire

 

[ladee]

Self care !!! Since I am not very good at that , I am sure I will learn a lot from you. And the things you are doing sound so relaxing. so positive and healthy. I wonder sometimes if we go about our therapy backwards, in some cases, it would seem learning to care about our self first would help somewhat with all the work we do.... Happy to hear your T is on top of things and saw that you needed this first. Please keep us updated. I want to learn the rewards of self care. sending :hug: if you accept them.

 

[EricaP]

Thanks I was doing well but am now feeling really stressed due to reports of bushfires and the smell of smoke. I have checked and the fires are nowhere near me but that doesn't stop me reacting badly

 

[ladee]

I am sorry @EricaP, that this is haunting you and that you live in fear. I can not say I understand, not having that to deal with, but can say I am understanding of your feelings.
Fear is real. Is there somewhere I can read your story so I feel I am more informed? Please let me know. Hope you can find some relief today and are able to relax some.