is it normal to alternate between severe & mild periods of PTSD?

[sickfaery]

like let's say for 3 weeks it sucks really really bad, the next week it's like you don't have ptsd almost, the week after it's hell, then for the next two weeks it's like you got nothing. that type of thing?

also is it normal that some triggers don't trigger you nearly as much during certain periods. like for ex something can be an extreme trigger, and other times it's just light unless you focus on it too long or stuff like that.

 

[Chitoshi]

So for me I have to be very conscious about the small triggers that can stack up over the course of a day. I could be FINE in the morning, then a series of small triggers can lead to one big overwhelming mass of "I can't take this anymore." Kinda like "straw that broke the camel's back," I think the idiom is.... Anyways, yes, I can have a trigger that usually doesn't bother me or that I can usually handle on my own that may trigger symptoms more severely on some days than others given the level of stress I have had in a day.

Over the course of my every day life, I rarely run into a major trigger that will take me out for days, but it can happen. I am way more likely to run into many small triggers over the course of one to multiple days, culminating in one overloaded sensory/trigger day to full meltdown.

I'm not sure if that phenomenon has an official name, so someone else help me out if there's a name for it.

I also have other things going on like Generalized Anxiety comorbid with my PTSD, so this is also a mitigating factor for me.

It helps me immensely to recognize things that put me in stressful situations as well as manage my triggers so that I can weather them when unavoidable. I use Spoon Theory and the Stress Cup Theory to help me recognize and manage when I need a break and help me put names and words to my needs.

I hope this helps a bit!

 

[Friday]

That’s PTSD for ya. Cyclical & highly responsive to stress.

(See the stress cup explanation for a fantastic conceptualisation > Things that don’t bother you when your stress is lower &/or exquisitely managed? Go off like a bomb when badly managed or too high.)

 

[joeylittle]

It's incredibly normal, @angelxbaby - I really encourage you to read the article Friday linked, above, it's very helpful for understanding what's going on with PTSD flare-ups.

 

[Freida]

Anniversaries can send my ptsd into orbit and then, once it's over, its back to just the normal blah blah/distress/blah blah of the ptsd day

 

[reallydown]

Yup. I was reasonably stable for a period and now it seems to be getting worse again. The triggers I thought I learned how to manage are back with a force they haven't had in a while...It is indeed cyclical, as someone noted above.

 

[EveHarrington]

VERY normal!

to me, healing means that the roller coaster with its highs and lows becomes something more like lower rolling hills over time as it flattens out and I heal more.

 

[Freida]

Yep'
Mine always gets worse around anniversary dates. I thought I was going nuts till I learned it was a ptsd thing