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Sufferer New From UK - Not Getting Better Despite Counseling

philthespark

New Here
Hi there, I'm from the Uk, I'm a 57 year old male who's had mental health problems for many years, several years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD, and yes at first I thought it was a wrong diagnosis as I'd been led to believe that such a condition was only suffered by people in the armed forces, I soon learned that this isnt the case and ever since have made it my mission to educate people about PTSD. Despite having a great number of counselling sessions I'm not getting better, well not in the way I want to so I'm hoping that someone here will be able to give me some advice and guidance.
 
hello phil. welcome to the forum. sorry for what brings you here but glad you are here.

I'm not getting better, well not in the way I want to

therein lies the rub for my own recovery. i started therapy in 1972 and STILL haven't consistently gotten my way in the healing process. the times "getting better" have met my expectations have seldom been sustainable. i keep snapping back to the same old me when i get my way. sometimes i feel like a small child attempting to force a puzzle piece into a mismatched piece.

plying therapy tools to my control freakitis has gotten me much further. if i actually **knew** what i needed, i probably wouldn't be sick in the first place. trusting my therapy support network remains harder than hard for me, but? ? ? works in progress. . .

but that is me and every case is unique. gentle support while you sort your own case.
welcome aboard.
 
hello phil. welcome to the forum. sorry for what brings you here but glad you are here.



therein lies the rub for my own recovery. i started therapy in 1972 and STILL haven't consistently gotten my way in the healing process. the times "getting better" have met my expectations have seldom been sustainable. i keep snapping back to the same old me when i get my way. sometimes i feel like a small child attempting to force a puzzle piece into a mismatched piece.

plying therapy tools to my control freakitis has gotten me much further. if i actually **knew** what i needed, i probably wouldn't be sick in the first place. trusting my therapy support network remains harder than hard for me, but? ? ? works in progress. . .

but that is me and every case is unique. gentle support while you sort your own case.
welcome aboard.
Many thanks for your kind words, its interesting that you mention puzzles, its one of the building blocks of psychiatry apparently, the theory they are taught is that we are all a certain 'shape' and we all fit into a certain hole, a bit like one of those shape sorter toys for little kids, you know, square, circle, rectangle, triangle, we all fit in a hole. However there are a number of people, like, me, you and I suspect many others who are an oddball shape, we dont fit into one of the holes, so the best thing to do is throw us back into the box, hopefully we'll sort ourselves out.
 
so the best thing to do is throw us back into the box, hopefully we'll sort ourselves out.

i'm okay with that. so are the most effective of the shrinks i've worked with. meet the peer support network and another welcome aboard.
we get by with a little help from our friends. i see my pros as reference books that never leave the library and need to be gotten back onto the shelf as soon as possible. as valuable as reference books are, it be my peers who help me figure out how to use that valuable information in the world outside the library.
 
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Hiya Phil, I'm also from the UK and have cptsd. I was a complete wreck but have healed a great deal. So much happier 60-70% of the time. I'm interested in your comment that you "haven't got better in the way you would like" could you expand on that?

What does being happy mean to you?
 
Hiya Phil, I'm also from the UK and have cptsd. I was a complete wreck but have healed a great deal. So much happier 60-70% of the time. I'm interested in your comment that you "haven't got better in the way you would like" could you expand on that?

What does being happy mean to you?
Hi, basically I just want a few of the things I would have had if things had been different, OK so I have a wife, I have a daughter from a previous relationship who hates me, apparently according to her mother its all my fault we split up, she kept me from seeing my daughter for many years and poisoned her mind against me, but thats really not relevant. We all want a career, a nice home and a family, I live in a horrible council house in a really bad area, I have no family to come and visit me and I feel so unsafe in the area that I wont even walk to the local shop.
I cant help thinking if I hadn'thad all that abuse at school things would have been so much better, I qualified as an electrician and that should have set me on the road to success but the PTSD got in the way, I feel I've been treated badly by the healthcare professionals too, in fact it wasnt until this morning in a conversation with a new GP that I discovered it is actually complex PTSD that I have, hells teeth I had no idea there was such a thing!
I've learned more about the condition in the last 24hours reading things on here than any of the so called 'healthcare professionals' have told me in years, I resent the fact that my medical treatment is governed by the are in which I live, I tried various drugs and none really worked except Diazepam, its a known fact apparently that certain people only respond to certaind drugs. I got myself stable and used to self medicate, I could make a months supply of the drug last for 3 months, then one day I requested a repeat prescription and was told they wouldnt give it as 'drug addicts abuse Diazepam'
In my previous job we were drug tested at regular intervals, at no time was I pulled up for having anything in my system that I shouldnt have, I even went so far as to formally request a drug test from my GP, based on the fact that they seemed to be accusing me of being a drug addict! This was refused, "we're not saying you're one, we're just saying we dont want to give it to you because drug addicts abuse it" figure that out.
And to cap it all they've lost my medical records, so they say that they want me to go throughthe ordeal of trying all the other meds again, 'one ,might work'! I tried them all and they didn't, even changing my GP wouldnt help because no decent GP wants to work in the area.
If I had been a layabout, not tried to build a career, never worked from leaving school, had a criminal record etc then I'd say 'oh well I deserve this' but I did nothing to create the situation I'm in. I am even experiencing a lot of discrimination when I try and find a job, I cant go back to my old one due to mobility issues due to arthritis, I applied for jobs with both the police and the fire services as a call handler, based on my experience as a volunteer with them some years ago I thought I was in with a chance, wrong! The police said that although they know me and they agree I'd fit in well I should work for them as a volunteer for a couple of years first, the same thing happened with the fire service, work as a volunteer then we'll consider you. Now thats all very well and good, but not being able to claim benefits leaves me with one big problem, what do I live on while doing all this voluntary work? I seem to do well at interviews until the ugly spectre of PTSD raises its head, then all of a sudden they lose interest. I love helping people, I'll stop and help people with punctures if I see them, I always stop if I see a road accident and a few years ago there was an acciddent outside our local supermarket, the loud bang was thought to be an explosion, people were running from it, not me, I ran to it, I helped the injured and rang the emergency services. I used to wake up at night with horrible nightmares and do you know in spite of some of the horrible stuff I've seen at accidents I never dream about them, every nightmare involves what happened at school. I really think I need to be out there helping people and making a difference, this will give me a real boost to my self esteem, the only issue is I need paying for it. Every time I help out at an incident I'm on a high for days, I acheived something, I made a difference out there, I thrive on it.
 
Hi there, I'm from the Uk, I'm a 57 year old male who's had mental health problems for many years, several years ago I was diagnosed with PTSD, and yes at first I thought it was a wrong diagnosis as I'd been led to believe that such a condition was only suffered by people in the armed forces, I soon learned that this isnt the case and ever since have made it my mission to educate people about PTSD. Despite having a great number of counselling sessions I'm not getting better, well not in the way I want to so I'm hoping that someone here will be able to give me some advice and guidance.
Welcome! 😊

What symptoms do you not get better from?

(Hint: Therapy isn’t the best treatment for ptsd ime)
 
Do you have any hobbies? Sports/arts? It sounds like you could do with focusing on something like that for a while. Why can't you claim benefits?
 
Welcome!

Despite having a great number of counselling sessions I'm not getting better, well not in the way I want to so I'm hoping that someone here will be able to give me some advice and guidance.
You sound just like me - age and all - except I am from 🇨🇦. I started my journey because of pain issues and was told "your mind can't create pain like that" by an MD.

Long story short - yes it can. Dealing with (I'm guessing) trauma from long ago can take time. It's a bit like archaeology, you gotta dig down and clear away the dirt and debris to get to what you are looking for. Like I said to someone the other day - its whats really messed up about PTSD, it screams at us through nightmares and other symptoms to be found - yet it hides itself from our conscious minds.

A great place to start and a great thing to learn about before you find that trauma is this article. One of the hugest bits of help I have gotten outside my T's office....
The ptsd cup explanation
 
Hi, basically I just want a few of the things I would have had if things had been different, OK so I have a wife, I have a daughter from a previous relationship who hates me, apparently according to her mother its all my fault we split up, she kept me from seeing my daughter for many years and poisoned her mind against me, but thats really not relevant. We all want a career, a nice home and a family, I live in a horrible council house in a really bad area, I have no family to come and visit me and I feel so unsafe in the area that I wont even walk to the local shop.
I cant help thinking if I hadn'thad all that abuse at school things would have been so much better, I qualified as an electrician and that should have set me on the road to success but the PTSD got in the way, I feel I've been treated badly by the healthcare professionals too, in fact it wasnt until this morning in a conversation with a new GP that I discovered it is actually complex PTSD that I have, hells teeth I had no idea there was such a thing!
I've learned more about the condition in the last 24hours reading things on here than any of the so called 'healthcare professionals' have told me in years, I resent the fact that my medical treatment is governed by the are in which I live, I tried various drugs and none really worked except Diazepam, its a known fact apparently that certain people only respond to certaind drugs. I got myself stable and used to self medicate, I could make a months supply of the drug last for 3 months, then one day I requested a repeat prescription and was told they wouldnt give it as 'drug addicts abuse Diazepam'
In my previous job we were drug tested at regular intervals, at no time was I pulled up for having anything in my system that I shouldnt have, I even went so far as to formally request a drug test from my GP, based on the fact that they seemed to be accusing me of being a drug addict! This was refused, "we're not saying you're one, we're just saying we dont want to give it to you because drug addicts abuse it" figure that out.
And to cap it all they've lost my medical records, so they say that they want me to go throughthe ordeal of trying all the other meds again, 'one ,might work'! I tried them all and they didn't, even changing my GP wouldnt help because no decent GP wants to work in the area.
If I had been a layabout, not tried to build a career, never worked from leaving school, had a criminal record etc then I'd say 'oh well I deserve this' but I did nothing to create the situation I'm in. I am even experiencing a lot of discrimination when I try and find a job, I cant go back to my old one due to mobility issues due to arthritis, I applied for jobs with both the police and the fire services as a call handler, based on my experience as a volunteer with them some years ago I thought I was in with a chance, wrong! The police said that although they know me and they agree I'd fit in well I should work for them as a volunteer for a couple of years first, the same thing happened with the fire service, work as a volunteer then we'll consider you. Now thats all very well and good, but not being able to claim benefits leaves me with one big problem, what do I live on while doing all this voluntary work? I seem to do well at interviews until the ugly spectre of PTSD raises its head, then all of a sudden they lose interest. I love helping people, I'll stop and help people with punctures if I see them, I always stop if I see a road accident and a few years ago there was an acciddent outside our local supermarket, the loud bang was thought to be an explosion, people were running from it, not me, I ran to it, I helped the injured and rang the emergency services. I used to wake up at night with horrible nightmares and do you know in spite of some of the horrible stuff I've seen at accidents I never dream about them, every nightmare involves what happened at school. I really think I need to be out there helping people and making a difference, this will give me a real boost to my self esteem, the only issue is I need paying for it. Every time I help out at an incident I'm on a high for days, I acheived something, I made a difference out there, I thrive on it.
Hi, I felt like crying as I read your story. You are obviously intelligent and have a lot to offer, you have determination and dont' give up. You are obviously a kind person and a brave one. My recent experience with a man with CPTSD is so heartbreaking, like you he has 'tried everything' and nothing seems to work. He came off his medication saying he just wanted to be 'normal'. Four and a half months later he has isolated himself and cut me off completely after 3 years of a close friendship; he says the only way he can cope it to be on his own. His anger surfaces regularly and more often and his sense of despair is very real - yet he refuses to go back to the doctor; he seems to think time will heal but his condition is severe and I can only see him deteriorating as there is no cure for PTSD only managing it. There is however a glilmmer of hope. Where I live there is an ex-serviceman who had/has PTSD, he lost one of his legs in the Iraq was. His therapist bought him some paints and brushes and told him to start painting. Despite his reluctance, he did just that and now has a shop/studio in Whitby, North Yorkshire. He says 'painting saved my life'. I bought some painting equipment for my friend's birthday. I am no longer in touch with him (he has cut himself off from me). but I sincerely hope one day he will lift that brush and just try it. Ady Wright Fine Art. Perhaps you could get in touch with him, he does welcome PTSD sufferers and is better placed than me to help you. I will you every good wish and all the luck in the world to get on that journey to peace. It is very obvious you have a lot to offer. You are a brave man, keep trying and you will succeed. xx
 
I feel I've been treated badly by the healthcare professionals too, in fact it wasnt until this morning in a conversation with a new GP that I discovered it is actually complex PTSD that I have, hells teeth I had no idea there was such a thing!
That seems to be pretty universal. Most MD's absorbed very little about mental health care - to their patients detriment.

I had the same experience in a way and saw a bunch of doctors, had a ton of diagnostic work done for pain issues and in the end it was me who ended up asking to talk to mental health professionals to start the process. So it's not just you or where you are. It seems the medical establisnment would much rather treat results than root causes.
 
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