Is It Possible To Have Ptsd From Being Cheated On?

[The Albatross]

Hostility? I didn't read any.

 

[Deleted member 28812]

1. Indirectly, by learning that a close relative or close friend was exposed to trauma. If the event involved actual or threatened death, it must have been violent or accidental.

Is that true because I learned that my husbands, friends and family members have been exposed to trauma and since I asked the friends and family members for their stories I do not feel like the same person and had sort of "flashbacks" or whatever about what happened to them.
Really not trying to seek attention here.

 

[Friday]

@Lemontree... That's the (first part of the) diagnostic criteria from the DSMV. I just cut and pasted. :)

I think it's used primarily in cases like the parents of a kidnapped child, or the spouses of people who live through a terrorist attack (like those who weren't actually in the twin towers, but whose loved ones were, while they waited below), and other situations where the actual trauma is happening to someone else... But I'm not super up to date / nor feel confident on how it's applied.

Something else to look into, as well, is 'Secondary PTSD' where those who live with people with PTSD start displaying the symptoms of PTSD, themselves. It's not "true" PTSD, but a related thing. Im pretty sure there are a few threads on it in the supporter's section. I've seen a few around, but haven't bookmarked any.

 

[Deleted member 28812]

I noticed that I sometimes feel unsafe and picked up some of my husbands fears, e.g. disliking some of the sounds he dislikes but then sometimes I feel very safe. It really depends... and I do have flashbacks of things I never saw.

I have been told a person can only get secondary PTSD if their husband is violent towards them and mine is not.

Sorry for derailing the thread *leaves*.

 

[Friday]

I have been told a person can only get secondary PTSD if their husband is violent towards them and mine is not.

I could be wrong... But that sounds wrong. PTSD if their husband is violent towards them makes sense. But I'd be really surprised if critA stressor is required for Secondary PTSD.

Sorry for derailing the thread *leaves*.

Maybe a new thread? I'd be interested in learning more about both! I haven't spent much time looking at or into either, although I think @SimplySimon? had a thread running on the friend/loved one aspect of CritA that was really interesting, I never chased it down further / was caught up in my own stuff.

 

[Lucycat]

'no'

you cannot get PTSD by a partner cheating.

By all means have a go at the partner - but if you want a diagnosis of a legitimate disorder then you need more than that. In any country.

 

[anthony]

Is that true because I learned that my husbands, friends and family members have been exposed to trauma

The actual criterion, as written exactly from the DSM V, is:

A. Exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence in one (or more) of the following ways:

1. Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s),
2. Witnessing, in person, the event(s) as it occurred to others,
3. Learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or close friend. In cases of actual or threatened death of a family member or friend, the event(s) must have been violent and accidental.
4. Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the traumatic event(s) (e.g., first responders collecting human remains; police officers repeatedly exposed to details of child abuse).

You can read it at: Link Removed

I've lived in a war zone for a small part of my life, I've actually been sexually molested as a child.

This is actually why you could have PTSD, IF you got diagnosed, as self-diagnosis is nothing more than your self-assessment based on symptoms. Online self-assessments are dangerous and do not depict the physical / behavioural aspects related to confirm specific aspects.

If you got cheated on, that was the icing on the cake for your specific internal stressor level. In other words, the point you can take no more and thus your psyche broke. PTSD though can only be recognised due to your prior actual trauma that befits criterion A, being exposure to war and sexual abuse, both of which are abnormally traumatic events that fit PTSD.

Don't confuse the underlying cause with the cause that tipped you over the edge, for the underlying cause to surface through.

 

[anthony]

Added: If you want me to be even more specific... I used to smoke. Smoking kept my PTSD under control, allowed me to function and continue working, living life. I gave up smoking as I figured it was best for my health. That one simple act allowed PTSD to come through and rip me downwards. There was no stopping it once it got hold... I even took up smoking again later on and it couldn't cap what had been uncapped.

I didn't get PTSD from giving up smoking... I got PTSD from my operational deployments.

People need to apply some common sense when self evaluating, and this is why self assessments are so dangerous, as people typically have very limited knowledge of what they're doing, then take that limited knowledge as though factual and complete. In essence, you have a small piece of the puzzle, nothing more.

 

[Deleted member 28812]

Maybe a new thread? I'd be interested in learning more about both! I haven't spent much time looking at or into either, although I think @SimplySimon? had a thread running on the friend/loved one aspect of CritA that was really interesting, I never chased it down further / was caught up in my own stuff.

*lol* If you want to start a new thread and ask questions feel welcome :) Maybe there is also other supporter who have something to add :)
I feel that a thread like this might offend many sufferers and don't want to start it.

I started this thread https://www.myptsd.com/threads/tackle-hypervigilance-club.50200/ and talked about how I picked up my husbands hypervigilance (such as fear of loud noises, fear of germs) and everybody hated it and tried to tell me that this was not how I was feeling.

 

[Deleted member 28812]

Learning that the traumatic event(s) occurred to a close family member or close friend. In cases of actual or threatened death of a family member or friend, the event(s) must have been violent and accidental.

But that is very common, isn't it? Wouldn't most people be traumatized according to this definition?
In my case. I always knew some bad things had happened to some of my loved ones but I did not mind so much until I asked them for their stories and then I had some pictures in my head and felt "unsafe" and sad.

Does that make sense? It was not the fact that those things happened but the fact that I asked for details.

 

[anthony]

The term "close" is defined as somebody within, or near within, your daily life. This would not apply to long lost friends, friends you see once a year, family members you see once a year, so forth. This is "close" family and friends, being you have a near daily connection with that person, whether it be in person or phone, but you are both within each others lives closely.

So no, it narrows things quite drastically by definition of the term used. This is what I mean about people reading into things versus reading the DSM or ICD and exacting term usage as defined by those publications. They define terms quite specifically... but when people replicate them upon the web, these strict definitions and meanings are often not replicated due to extent needed to do so.

Then... you have approximately 60% of the USA who is exposed to a trauma meeting criterion A within their lifetime, however; only around 8% of those actually get PTSD, and then of that 8%, only 6-8% get lifetime PTSD.

PTSD is actually still quite rare in the scheme of mental health disorders, contrary to the media and society trying to claim PTSD for everything and anything remotely stressful or traumatic in life. The actual disorder is rare to get. People get lots of disorders due to trauma, PTSD is only one... anxiety and depression are the normal ones to get, both of which overlap symptoms with PTSD and hence people get confused because all they can think of is post traumatic, so they must have PTSD. Which is wrong.

Learning about someone close, you also have to note "violent" and "accidental" in that reference.

People keep trying to minimize the catastrophic nature of the terms used... and that is one of the problems in reading a diagnosis online versus understand the underlying severity for diagnosis.

 

[chad81s]

the anthony guy that answeredyour question obviously doesnt understand ptsd very well. you most certainly can develope it after being cheated on. most people wouldnt but some people have much more fragile emotional states than others. ive been seeing therapists for it for a while. dont listen to Anthony. the answer to your question is yes you can.