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Bram

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Hey everyone

Been looking over the internet a couple months and came across this website. I'm a 26 year old male from Belgium and I'm wondering if I might have ptsd. My mother killed herself when I was 12 years old. My brothers and father just went on and so did I. I hated going to the funeral. I hated talking about it in school. The only feeling I had was shame. Whenever the subject suicide came up I started sweating, red face,... So embarrassing. People asked me why I didn't cry. Well...I just couldn't and didn't wanna talk about it. My cat that died two years earlier moved me more than my mothers death did. After she died we all started living on ourselves. There was no longer an emotional bond between me and my brothers/father. I rather didn't have their company around me. It made me nervous. Couple of years later I discovered alcohol and was drunk every weekend. Time passed by and was able to finish my education successfully. I quit drinking cause it was getting problematic. Around 22 Depression kicked in and never left. I started seeing therapists to figure out what was wrong. Eventually I thought it was caused by stress from school and the alcohol. Four years later and things only got worse. I have these episodes of turning completely into myself and all I wanna do then is lie down and sleep. I tend to isolate myself from everyone nowadays. My mind is always in a fog and concentrating is so difficult. I'm emotionally totally numb. Could these things be caused by the fact my mother died traumatised me? I read there should be flashbacks when you have ptsd. I never had flashbacks about it. In the period she died I hardly ever thought about her or visited her grave. Thanks for reading.
 
Welcome to the forum!

Yes, it is possible you could have PTSD, or some of the symptoms of PTSD, from the sudden death of your mother. However, none of us can diagnose, and especially not online. I suggest talking to a therapist or doctor about the possibly of PTSD.
 
Hi. Welcome to the forum.

I've been in a somewhat similar situation. (Friend tried to kill self, didn't succeed.) I was diagnosed 5 years afterwards. Shame is completely normal. It was a normal reaction. However, this also sparked a little bit of concern for me.

People asked me why I didn't cry. Well...I just couldn't and didn't wanna talk about it.

The same thing happened with me immediately after. I thought I was broken. My brain actually shut down, and I was just going through motions. It wasn't until five years later I started to feel something, or even remember it.

I would suggest talking to a therapist about it. We can't diagnose you; but maybe if you spoke to someone specifically about your mother's death it would help with the grief. I know it's difficult to talk about being a witness, but it does get to feel a little better each time.

I wouldn't worry about the "non-flashbacks". Maybe they will come, like they did for me after I realized I'd been traumatized. If they don't though, that's okay too. In fact, that's actually great news.

I'd talk to a psychiatrist and a therapist first though before self-diagnosing or diagnosing anything.
 
You don't mention a number of PTSD symptoms. Regardless, its important to see a professional who can diagnose you. Trauma can turn into anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. That is, trauma doesn't always turn into PTSD. It sounds like you are experiencing anxiety and depression IMHO.
 
My mother didn't die of suicide, but she threatened it often. If she would have died it would have been traumatic. As it was, her threats were emotionally abusive, and, yes, traumatic for me.

Welcome to the forum. No diagnosis from me either, but I can relate to the decline you described. You will probably find people here you can relate to. I don't relate to everything I read on this forum, but I look for the similarities, and by gosh, there are a lot!
 
@Bram Welcome to the forum!

Losing a parent to suicide is traumatic and how a family responds can either mitigate or exacerbate the damage of the loss. Unfortunately no one comes equipped to deal with a situation like that and emotions get pushed aside and never really dealt with. Regardless of what your diagnosis might be, it is important to get some help so these issues don't keep negatively affecting you life right now.

There is a lot of good information on this site for dealing with some of the symptoms you are facing. I hope you find this site beneficial.
 
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