is this a ptsd trigger? Extreme reaction to cockroaches

[hope4us]

i have ptsd from domestic abuse and getting strangled. every time i see a cockroach in my house i literally freak out and lose it. its like it awakens this burning rage inside of me, i scream, throw things, and break things every time it happens. I cant control myself. other bugs do not bother me, except for hornets. but those make me feel different. with hornets i get terrified and have a panic attack. with cockroaches i get extreme explosive uncontrollable raging anger. it doesnt seem like a normal reaction. but now that ive thought deep into it, i remember when my ex started to abuse me we started getting roaches in our old apartment because the nasty neighbor left like 40 bags of trash in the apartment on the other side of our wall. so im wondering if this is a ptsd trigger? if not, than why would they make me so incredibly angry?

 

[Sideways]

Unless cockroaches are in some way linked to your traumatic experience? No, this is not a trigger.

The good news? Is it's incredibly normal. Loads of people react like that to specific bugs, and cockroaches are right up there as one of the ones that make people totally lose their shit!

Me? It's Huntsman spiders. See one of those and I act like someone who is demonically possessed. It's borderline arachnophobia in my case, because it does impact the way I function each day (weird checking behaviours all over the shop!).

The weird thing? Is that if you would like to get rid of this issue? It actually doesn't matter if it's a ptsd trigger or just a "Simple Phobia" (simple in the medical sense, not the sense that its easy or small) - treatment will be the same.

Find a therapist that does exposure therapy. One day, you could get to the point where a cocky crawling up your arm would be a totally meh experience (although, why you would want to befriend cockroaches is beyond me!).

Humans go berko over weird stuff. It's incredibly individual, but there are really common ones (spiders, cockies, snakes).

So, for me, despite how terrifying it is every time I see a Huntsman spider - I can see the funny side. This is me acting totally insane, but in a situation that actually makes me incredibly normal. And I like being a normal human sometimes, even if it does involve crazy behaviour!!