My veteran father told me I showed symptoms similar to someone who had been through war.

[Gnompa]

Last year my father told me I was showing symptoms of someone who had been through a war, during an encounter in which I was trying to leave for class and he and my mom caught me in the kitchen and we're yelling at me. I told them I was not going to take this and tried to get to my car. My father pulled me back into the house and told me I was showing symptoms like someone who had been through war and I quote

"You look like someone who is coming off of dope. How do you think people outside see you? They can tell."

I have been homeless and had similar negative encounters with combat veterans since, ie screaming homophobic slurs in my face. Or threatening to bomb the shelter I was staying in.

What are signs of shell shock. Or combat ptsd? Is this true? My ptsd is so severe that it is diagnosable and I have been told by psych workers they "are not equipped to deal with this level of trauma" and then shipped out to facilities. Finally I became truly homeless and while homeless I met a 60 yo woman, and a wanderer, who told me I should find combat veterans, since the mental health system has not been helpful and I cannot adjust to life, and combat veterans may actually know what I am experiencing. I am going to be honest, I would not have gone to veterans before meeting her. But I guess it makes sense. I don't really have a specific question. But it might be helpful to get the perspective of a veteran on my experiences, and why my father said this.

 

[Friday]

Cha. We vets are known to be blunt. Which, at least to me, is one of the few things that cuts through all the damn BS. But then, same, I’m a vet myself. Most people without combat trauma prefer more gentle speech.

What are signs of PTSD? >>> Ptsd diagnosis

PTSD used to be exclusively restricted to veterans. It hasn’t been, for over 50 years. As sexual assault & other life threatening trauma? Causes. The. Exact. Same. Disorder. (PTSD). Or, rather, it CAN. But can also cause a whole host of similar/related disorders. But? Whether it’s combat, rape, domestic violence, or ice climbing accidents that are the leading cause of PTSD within a nation? PTSD is PTSD. In first world countries, people suffering PTSD are overwhelming people with childhood & sexual trauma. As such a small minority of people have experienced combat. In nations in war? Those ratios flip. In nations with extreme climate, or geography, it’s not violence with the home or abroad, but violence in sport or living. It ALL causes PTSD. And? A whole host of other problems.

See a trauma therapist. Where, regardless of whether you have PTSD or one of the many other results of trauma? You won’t be “too much” but completely normal. For them. As that’s exactly where their education, training, and experience lies.

 

[Gnompa]

Cha. We vets are known to be blunt. Which, at least to me, is one of the few things that cuts through all the damn BS. But then, same, I’m a vet myself. Most people without combat trauma prefer more gentle speech.

What are signs of PTSD? >>> Ptsd diagnosis

PTSD used to be exclusively restricted to veterans. It hasn’t been, for over 50 years. As sexual assault & other life threatening trauma? Causes. The. Exact. Same. Disorder. (PTSD). Or, rather, it CAN. But can also cause a whole host of similar/related disorders. But? Whether it’s combat, rape, domestic violence, or ice climbing accidents that are the leading cause of PTSD within a nation? PTSD is PTSD. In first world countries, people suffering PTSD are overwhelming people with childhood & sexual trauma. As such a small minority of people have experienced combat. In nations in war? Those ratios flip. In nations with extreme climate, or geography, it’s not violence with the home or abroad, but violence in sport or living. It ALL causes PTSD. And? A whole host of other problems.

See a trauma therapist. Where, regardless of whether you have PTSD or one of the many other results of trauma? You won’t be “too much” but completely normal. For them. As that’s exactly where their education, training, and experience lies.

I am not quite sure what you mean by gentle speech. However. I think you might be correct that I should see a trauma therapist. The problem is I cannot work full time due to physical disability and the mental effects of ptsd, and have not been able to access a good trauma therapist yet. However, this is a good reminder to check within my network again. What I went through doesn't have a whole lot to do with my father. I believe during that encounter though, my head was twitching from side to side, which is a tell that my stress levels have gone completely over the top. I had done that to a friend if mine during a normal conversation, my head twitched and I said something kind ot bizarre. But when I would go to classes, I could appear normal. I just am not functional. I try and can keep up the appearance of normalcy but I always end up collapsing again. Getting fired from jobs, becoming homeless, cutting people off suddenly. Luckily my memories are coming back, and they have been pretty rough to contend with. It feels like waking up from a dream, but I was walking and talking and many people seemed to think I was normal. I just wish I had myself again, it comes back in waves, but I feel so on edge I become afraid of my own friends, even my own shadow. I used to comfort myself by reminding myself that my resilience made overwhelming, even violent situations bearable or even normal, but now I am so broken down that my survival abilities have been failing. I am a 26 year old female, who has never seen combat and is highly educated, I just don't understand how I am in this condition.