Just Watched American Sniper. !

[Deleted member 20280]

As the Title Indicates. Except for me has caused a really nasty Military flashback. Panicking now.

 

[anthony]

Looking forward to watching that myself...

 

[Deleted member 20280]

Thankyou - @anthony

 

[Sighs]

Sorry to hear you were triggered. Hope you feel better soon.

 

[Deleted member 20280]

Whether Airman, Sailor, Soldier or Marine. You all had my Six, and I yours brothers and sisters.

 

[Friday]

Made the executive decision not to watch it... Unless I have something warm, willing, and able to lose me'self in after. ;) Now, if it had been Aussie Sniper, or UK Sniper? I'd risk it. For whatever reason, different uniforms/ accents/ slang... It doesn't hit as hard. Ditto historical stuff. But they say 'the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there'. Hoping its a good flick!

 

[Ronin]

How you doing, Santa?

As to topic, I watched it. Apparently. Also have no idea what went on after like half of the movie. The bf has an idea we're not watching war movies together any time soon though.

So totally my sympathies.

 

[risingsun]

I can relate to watching movies with images and/or themes that can be triggering. A lot of times I will even know beforehand from the title or description that it may be triggering and usually I'm right. We must always guard our mind from that which we allow into it even if we suspect it may cause a flashback on the slightest level. It kind of seems unfair that we just can't watch and enjoy "whatever we want" like the rest of the world but it is better to be safe than sorry, right? And maybe, just maybe, by filtering that which we let in, we are not missing out on much anyway. I am sorry that you had to endure such a nasty flashback. I do hope you are doing better.

 

[holdenmonty]

I have made the decision that I am not going to see that movie until I feel as though I have prepared myself enough to see it. I would love to see it but I know that it would trigger me to bad just from watching the previews on tv.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

You're braver than I. I can't watch stuff like that. Even the previews make me panic!

 

[Pam15carterray]

My husband just had a panick attack at the movie theater. Thank God he was with 2 army buddies who carried him out, after he passed out. This is a first for him. He's never shown signs of PTSD before. What's next?

 

[Friday]

Thank God he was with 2 army buddies who carried him out, after he passed out. This is a first for him. He's never shown signs of PTSD before. What's next?

What's next depends on a lot of factors. If he's never shown signs, he may just be past master at hiding them, as a whole helluva lot of active duty people are, especially in certain MOS's (in my job, it was considered normal/ "everyone" had it / we trained each other to hide the symptoms & how to cope with them)... Or this may be something of a one off / not be PTSD at all. Which would be good news. There are actually a lot (dozens? Not sure the exact number. But many) trauma related issues/disorders, many of which are short lived. And even otherwise neurotypical people will have the occasional anxiety attack in response to stress (often mistaken as a heart attack until ER says your heart is fine).

The first step is generally diagnosis. This ends up being a problem with active duty military personnel, cops, firefighters, paramedics, etc... Because for many it effectively ends their career. So, even if it isn't PTSD but a shorter acting problem, many if not most military/first response avoid diagnosis like the plague. Until it becomes unavoidable (freaking out at the wrong time&place, losing your family, threat of jail, already losing your career, etc.).

I'd suggest starting here, (PDF needs to be opened). https://www.myptsd.com/threads/understanding-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd.86476/