PTSD causes and factors?

That was interesting to read @Abstract

And yeah, although my IQ may have been high as a child I guess it really had no bearing on how I dealt with all the trauma I suffered. Books smarts doesn't help much with that, obviously.

IDK, I guess when I read your sentence stating "Apparently, factors like intelligence are something." I instantly felt offended (which isn't your fault though) and was thinking nope, I was smart and still developed PTSD, so that's wrong.
 
it was about time. 20 years of marriage to a narcissist that verbally, psychologically, and sexually abused her, it takes a toll. But you can be traumatized without developing PTSD.
My mom was married for 45 years to a narcissist who verbally, psychologically, and sexually abused her. She was also raised by an alcoholic dad who physically abused her mom, and her mom emotionally and psychologically abused the kids.

My mom did not develop PTSD! She did not have support. She is not intelligent. But she is completely cut off from her feelings or sense of self. She lies and is a chameleon, and she is enabling which comes across as caring. She just lives in the world, serves her husband, and accepts her fate. She doesn’t complain. She is super resilient—I think being cut off from feelings and sense of self helps her with that.
 
My mom was married for 45 years to a narcissist who verbally, psychologically, and sexually abused her. She was also raised by an alcoholic dad who physically abused her mom, and her mom emotionally and psychologically abused the kids.

My mom did not develop PTSD! She did not have support. She is not intelligent. But she is completely cut off from her feelings or sense of self. She lies and is a chameleon, and she is enabling which comes across as caring. She just lives in the world, serves her husband, and accepts her fate. She doesn’t complain. She is super resilient—I think being cut off from feelings and sense of self helps her with that.
I am so very sorry! And that is also very interesting. It shows that so many complex factors are involved! Does she care about others?
 
Hi! Not at all saying that is what I believe. Just listing it along with the other stuff I read when I was obsessing about this stuff. Nothing I read said it was THE factor. Just one potential risk factor. And then we get to how do we judge intelligence. IQ etc is massively fallible. And learning disabilities and neglect and cultural stuff can impact enormously. Frankly my family and other stuff messed with my ability to learn. I think I am less stupid than I seemed. Or certainly than I was treated.

I've almost never found a bunch of as intelligent and wise people as I have on this site.

This actually makes sense to me. I'm quite intelligent as well, my family is in general. But my ability to learn was impaired by PTSD in grade school.
 
My mom was married for 45 years to a narcissist who verbally, psychologically, and sexually abused her. She was also raised by an alcoholic dad who physically abused her mom, and her mom emotionally and psychologically abused the kids.

My mom did not develop PTSD! She did not have support. She is not intelligent. But she is completely cut off from her feelings or sense of self. She lies and is a chameleon, and she is enabling which comes across as caring. She just lives in the world, serves her husband, and accepts her fate. She doesn’t complain. She is super resilient—I think being cut off from feelings and sense of self helps her with that.
My question with this is, has she ever been safe enough to deal with poor mental health? My mom didn't show any signs of trauma aftermath until three years after she divorced my dad. I didn't until I was 16 years old (spent a lot of time alone at night). What would happen if she was by herself a while? This sounds so much like survival mode.
 
Does she care about others?
In her own way she believes she cares and in the social circle she surrounds herself with they all speak the same language of codependency.
What would happen if she was by herself a while?
She has never been by herself her entire life. She was living with her parents when she got impregnated by my dad and married him. After she and my dad divorced she got a new boyfriend right away and we were living with her when all that happened.
 
Wow... That's wild. What kind of support do people really need? It's hard for me to fathom since support is a concept I just don't get. Like my husband and family are there for me but I don't know how to let them help me? It's always been an internalized battle for me.
I think it's anything that makes them feel safe. Could be family, or therapy, or medical professionals or friends. When they walk away from whatever situation they were in the need someone who is waiting on the other side to offer help.

That's the managing your own terror part. If you don't have anyone to share it with, you have to use what is left of your own mind to try to sort everything out and it just overloads you. So you shut it down, pretend it's not a big deal, and try to move on. But our brains don't work that way --we need that outside person to help us make sense of it. So it turns into "symptoms" that will remain until the original trauma has a chance to come out.

Or so I've been told 😊
 
I think it's anything that makes them feel safe. Could be family, or therapy, or medical professionals or friends. When they walk away from whatever situation they were in the need someone who is waiting on the other side to offer help.

That's the managing your own terror part. If you don't have anyone to share it with, you have to use what is left of your own mind to try to sort everything out and it just overloads you. So you shut it down, pretend it's not a big deal, and try to move on. But our brains don't work that way --we need that outside person to help us make sense of it. So it turns into "symptoms" that will remain until the original trauma has a chance to come out.

Or so I've been told 😊
I'm very interested in this theory... Do you remember where it came from?
 

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