Is It Possible...

[Whitebird]

Is it possible?
Someone with PTSD ( childhood trauma ), no bipolar, no BPD, no personality disorder.
Thanks in advance

 

[digger]

Is what possible? :confused:

 

['B']

Yes it's possible to have PTSD and not be be bipolar or have bpd

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

Yes absolutely. Just because there is a higher prevalence of some disorders to co-exist, does not mean that these disorders on their own are less common. Actually I'm pretty certain the opposite is true - more people have only one disorder, lucky them! Some people have PTSD and one other disorder such as depression or anxiety and then some people (like me) just come along and hog all the acronyms because we're greedy ;)

 

[silkleaves]

So greedy Kas!! hehe! That did make me laugh. :D

But yes, definitely possible to only have one mental illness on your plate. Just like its possible to have a combination of related, or unrelated mental illness. By that I mean, there could be a pre-existing illness prior to the trauma...which would be an unrelated illness. Or there could be additional ones piled on, like depression / anxiety as a side dish because of the effects of PTSD.

Either way, the conditions can bounce off each other and heighten it so that one condition which might possibly have been manageable otherwise, is now overwhelming and more apparent... That's just my observation though.

 

[StellaBlue]

...and it's possible that some of the other coexisting disorders are because of (or symptoms of) PTSD.

 

[Meadowsweet]

It's possible to have been through childhood abuse and have no disorder. That doesn't mean a person is unaffected, or that their abuse was somehow lesser than another persons (an assumption too often made). It can sometimes mean that their coping mechanisms have enabled them to cope on the outside.

It's also worth noting that diagnosis is wholly dependent on visiting a doctor and what that doctor diagnoses. If you go to different doctors, or go to doctors at different times in your life, it is more likely that you will end up with a list of different diagnoses. Likewise, if you never seek help (or get sectioned) then whatever mental health issues you have won't be diagnosed.

Sadly, for some people who have always been abused, no one cares enough to ever say that they might be helped. The diagnosis then has terms like 'lazy', 'delinquent', 'alcoholic', 'druggie', 'good for nothing', 'tramp', 'crazy' etc.

I'm sure that kas-can-fly was only joking, but I don't think people with only 1 diagnosis are 'luckier' than people with multiple diagnoses. They are all just a reference for symptoms. In my mind, there's too much emphasis put on diagnostic labels, and not enough on the traumatic experiences of the person.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

I was only joking in the metaphorical sense. It's all tragic. I'm sorry for the implication. Though in my experiences some people do suffer more, therefore some people must suffer less (though all and any suffering is too much) though I doubt the number of diagnosis' make the difference. I promise I meant no offense or harm and this post is made in total sincerity.

 

[GWhizz]

Of course it's possible for anyone to experience a traumatic event and have resultant post traumatic stress, whether or not they develop or have any other pre-existing disorder. And as @Meadowsweet rightly pointed out, not everyone experiencing trauma will end up with a resultant disorder. An example for me is this: I have PTSD from childhood trauma/abuse. I had a traumatic birthing experience and was told I'd likely experience flashbacks etc from it - I didn't and I feel that I have no issues related to the birth. I did have postnatal depression which has resolved, but was related to my fears of being a bad mother and unable to cope in that regard more than anything. My only diagnosis now is PTSD due to childhood trauma.

Just curious, have you been or are you awaiting a diagnosis?

 

[Whitebird]

I was diagnosed with PTSD 6 months ago. My therapist usually asks me questions about the symptoms of bipolar and my answers are always negative. I was just curious about the possibility of co-existence of PTSD and other disorders ;)

 

[silkleaves]

Yeah, I think that's a good thing to do...get the full, or maybe I should say, get a fuller picture of what's going on. That I think is the pro of making sure to get diagnosed from a professional, because they know the questions to ask to get to the heart of all the things that may be going on with someone.

And then, also know all the cues to know when we are lying our butts off because we don't want to seem "so bad"...or was that just me?! lol Yeah...there was a bit of "I just met you, I know something is wrong with me but if I answer yes to everything you might institutionalize me, so I'm gonna throw in a no every once in awhile" But in additional sessions, she revisited some stuff I had said no to so that we could talk about it some more, I guess I wasn't too convincing...

 

[Ladyghosthunter]

Yes! I have PTSD with mood disorder (unspecified), if that is what you're asking. I was misdiagnosed for so many years.