Research Ptsd And Ot - Student Request

[LPOT]

Hi all,

I am currently an Occupational Therapy student and am doing a research project on PTSD. I am researching general information about the disorder, its etiology, prognosis, treatment options, and how PTSD affects those who are living with it. As part of my assignment, which I will be completing by 2/15, I would love some information from anyone who is willing to share with me what it has been like for them to live with PTSD. I guarantee to keep all personal information confidential and will ask that any posts to this thread be deleted upon the completion of my research if you wish. I would really like your help as it is very important to me to keep this assignment as real as possible and to get a true understanding of PTSD, making no assumptions. I would also love to hear about any experiences people have had with occupational therapists and how they perceive OT and its role in managing PTSD. Thank you so much for your help and I look forward to learning more from you all.

Sincerely,
LPOT

 

[EloiseLandau]

Wasn't aware OT was advertising itself as a therapy method, truth to tell. How does it work?

 

[LPOT]

In many situations, OT works with patients on promoting independence, life skills, and engagement in the things that are most meaningful to the patient. For instance, if a patient's anxiety is getting in the way of their ability to go golfing, which they love to do, an OT could potentially work with them on developing some mechanisms for handling that anxiety so that they might be able to resume participating in that occupation. OT's often work in mental health settings such as hospitals. They work on what we call ADL - activities of daily living - such as grooming, dressing, bathing, eating, etc. But they also work a lot on social interaction and participation. An OT session in a mental health setting could be a group session that requires patients to interact with each other and become comfortable socializing and communicating with others again.

Unfortunately, I do not have personal experience in this setting yet and wish I could give you more specific information but do not want to lead you astray.

I hope this helps answer your question!

 

[LPOT]

Eloise - would you mind sharing some of your story with me?

 

[LPOT]

Hi all -

I posted a few days ago in the therapy section but wanted to get the information out in a greeting message as well.

I am currently an Occupational Therapy student who will be working in a mental health setting for 12 weeks this summer. I am researching PTSD and how it has affected those who have been recently diagnosed or suffered from PTSD for some time. This coming week, I must present to my fellow classmates about PTSD and would love to have information that goes beyond what the research says. As part of the project, I would like to talk with anyone who is willing to share their story with me. In addition, it would be wonderful if anyone who has had any occupational therapy following a PTSD diagnosis would like to share what OT did for them, if they found it helpful, and how their experiences could have been improved.

My goal is to become the best OT that I can and I feel that the books we are assigned to read and the research we can dig up only goes so far. It would mean a lot to me to have your help with this assignment.

Best wishes,
-LPOT

<may seem like a duplicate post due to two threads being merged into one>

 

[BloomInWinter]

Hi (((((LPOT)))),

Occupational therapy has been denied to me and everyone I work with in this and my last three jobs, so I wouldn't be any help.

Most employers and primary care docs in our area say no unless you keep pushing for it then, it takes such much letter-writing it just is beyond what I have the energy to do. It's hard enough to keep up the paperwork just to get my regular T. apointments partially covered. ...and I am a state employee with the 'good' insurance in our area.

Thank you for having an interest in helping those with PTSD. I hope my children's world allows them to get such help if they need it. It sounds wonderful.

 

[EloiseLandau]

"to get a true understanding of PTSD, making no assumptions."

I'm not being disparaging, but you probably will have your work cut out for you just trying to get an academic understanding. Getting a true understanding is like reading about cancer.... you can read-read-read but until the day the tumour sample comes back malignant, you won't know.

That's a good thing, by the way. I don't imagine any of us here who have PTSD or CPTSD want new club members.

I think for me, I need people to understand that concentration and memory can be total crap. So sometimes a whole exercise has to be shown all over again. I don't generally like to be touched unless you're someone I really trust. Loud noises will result in me being peeled off the ceiling with a spatula. Some days my coping skills will be non-existent, others will be okay. The most innocuous thing can set me off. I can tell you stories about my parents and other people that might keep you awake at night. I need to feel as if I am listened to. Let me know where you are in relation to where I am.....to my horror, I have struck out at people when I wasn't aware they were there.

These things are indicative of someone who is constantly in "survival" mode, as adrenaline is being pumped and pumped, ready for flight or fight. I need more patience, I need more understanding, I need less judgement. (Or, just because you don't see it as traumatising, well, who's standing on what side of the fence here?)

That's my initial response. What's it like living with it....let me ponder a bit more

 

[LPOT]

Thank you so much. I know that really understanding is not something I am capable of doing in many ways, but I want to learn and try to understand as much as possible.

This summer I will be working in a mental health setting for 12 weeks. In many ways, I am using this assignment to help prepare myself for that and just the bit of information you've begun to share is doing just that. One of the most important things to me as a practitioner is to always put my clients first and understanding where they in terms of what they need for others to really understand is a huge step in being able to do that.

 

[LPOT]

BloomInWinter - that kind of information is so important for me to know! One of the most frustrating things about learning about the medical field in general is learning of such disparities in care. Thank you for sharing and I sincerely hope that it becomes easier to receive the care that you want in the future.

As far as being of any help - you already have been! And if you would like to share any of your story with me, that would be wonderful, too.

 

[catjudo]

LPOT--
I have merged your two threads together as they are really the same information and request, therefore only one thread is necessary. Also, I have moved it to the appropriate forum.

Thanks,
Catjudo

 

[Arctic]

0t ot ot

You will need to get along with my psychologist and navigate. Neuropsych assessments an outcomes. You need to know our trauma has changed the core of who we are and what we can and can't do. You need to read about our files first before meeting us cause talking about trauma is beyond what we are capable of. Your hekp with sxheduling and making lists are important. I rely on my ot these days as much as my psych. The ot needs to be in comm with psych to be aware of current coping mechanisms for anxiety is key. OT makes it "ok" to be where you are at to deal with ptsd. While your psych is dealing with what happend, OT helps with the daily stuff that is the outcome of the incident. Ot helps with the practical things how am I going to make it through my work day setting up task lists and goals. And break time. And quiet time if needed cause of anxiety and flashbacks. How to deal with different people and personalities while managing ptsd is great too.

Hope this helps

 

[Brussell4]

What is it like? Well, to be honest, after a while it's sort of something you don't really notice all the time. It's just a part of you, and it influences the way you behave and respond to certain things in life.
I am a recovering opiate/opioid addict, and I saw and did and experienced a lot of horrible things. Until recently, I have just tried to bury it and move on. In other words, run as far from it as possible. Unfortunately, though, you can't run from something like this, it always catches up.

It certainly makes doing very simple things difficult. It's difficult to hold onto a relationship of any kind, and even more difficult to actually let people in and trust them, especially if the situation that ended up giving you PTSD involved lack of trust and made you afraid of trusting others. The biggest thing is that you feel like no one in the entire world can relate to you, as if no one could ever understand. And for the most part, hardly anyone actually can. There are some, but no one can completely relate to your experience, because everyone experiences things differently. I mean, other people with PTSD could relate to the PTSD part; recovering addicts can relate to the addiction and recovery part; and others who have seen people die in awful ways can relate to that part. But no one can relate to them all in the exact same way as I experience it. So, there are people to relate to, but they are uncommon, hard to find, and only partly relate.

You will often find yourself doing borderline crazy things. A few years ago, if I woke up hearing a noise outside or inside my house, I would freak out, grab a weapon of some kind and get situated in a defensible location of the house. After about 10-15 minutes of breathing hard and being terrified, I would think to myself "what the hell am I doing?" and then go back to bed. This was a problem because I lived in the 'country' where many animals and insects constantly make sounds in the night. In addition, I have trouble sleeping because I am afraid of the dreams. I also do things in my sleep that will scare another person if sleeping next to me.

But I personally have not sought help or anything like that. That's probably because in my experience everyone I have ever known (including myself) have ended up overmedicated and worse off from therapy. So, I just do what I can with the problems I have. I can say the most difficult part is that ever since recovery I have felt as if I was somehow removed from the rest of society, as if I am looking into society from the outside and cannot ever participate in a normal manner, and see others as if they are almost living through some kind of weird trance I don't understand. Everything, all the formalities and things people naturally do, just seem so silly and fake to me. I don't know, it's hard to explain but it's quite frustrating.

Anyways, those are just a few of the aspects of what it is like, at least for me. If you have more specific questions, message me or something.