Poll Ptsd Forum Naming Conventions - Sufferer / Carer / Survivor / Supporter - Vote Now

[anni]

Definition wise certainly- suffering sometimes but that's when I get frustrated, like today because nothing is working properly. Why? Because some *sswipe thought it was ok to wish me not to be here. He's not here any more and I still am, although admittedly with bits missing. Surviving that gives me some sort of savage satisfaction which enables the struggle when need be. Survivor. Symbolic, that's all.

I'd have to say 'Supporter', but would think this role is possibly different for everyone based on personalities, severity of symptoms and need? Plus, in my case, I'm fairly sure my husband ( based on his personality, nothing else ) would equate 'Carer' with someone wearing a white nurse's dress and object on the grounds of testosterone abuse.

 

[Jestadud]

It seems to me that the trauma is the event and Ptsd is the after effect. So you survive the event but continue to suffer after effects. Yet if someone was to ask me how I'm doing I would be far more likely to say "I'm getting by, you know surviving" than I would be to tell someone that "I'm suffering".

As for my wife I can't think of her as either carer or supporter, she is my partner and although it's me who has Ptsd she is a partner in that as much as she would be a partner if I won the lottery, she gets her share of spoils.

I personally don't mind too much but do like to be able to distinguish on here who has it and who has to live someone that has it. I vote no change, sufferer and carer.

 

[Freddy_hiding_less]

All four words have their merits. My vote is for sufferer and supporter.

Sufferer, because surviving aren’t enough anymore, wanting to live more fully and trying to do that, I sometimes suffer from the consequences of what happened. This label doesn’t define me but it gives relevant information on why I am here on this forum.

But for anyone who finds strength in using the words differently, good on you!

Supporter because I think it’s welcoming also people that would feel calling themselves for carer's would be a bit over the top.

 

[Redtail]

Personally, I don’t think survivor fit this type of disorder. To survive you must overcome. PTSD is not curable therefore you suffer from it until there is a time that there is a cure, and then you could be a survivor.
You can be a cancer survivor, and holocaust survivor and vehicle crash survivor. But unfortunately you can’t be a PTSD survivor just yet.
I also voted for supporter, I am an adult, no one really cares for me anymore, but plenty of people support me.

 

[allitherapy]

I like survivor and supporter. I like these because I think I have survived my many traumas. I don't like to think of myself as suffering. I don't think I suffer from PTSD. I think it is something that is a part of me, but it is not all of me. It is something I learn to manage on a daily basis, just like I manage other things in my life. I also like supporter because I do not need someone to take care of me, but I do need people to support me. I personally feel sufferer and carer makes it seem like people who have PTSD are not capable of taking care of themselves. While this may be true for some, I don't think it's true for most.

 

[No Folded Hands]

Oh, this is an interesting conversation. It's enlightening to see the reasoning behind people's preferences. I voted, but I should let y'all know I will likely continue to refer to myself as disabled rather than use either "s" choice. (I like supporter best, but that's cool either way...) I am not suffering with PTSD. I am disabled. here's a tongue-in-cheek rendering of why I'd put it that way. :)

I suffered with somethingbadinside I could not understand, fix, or understand why I could not fix it, for years. Things got VERY BAD. I became actively suicidal; things were just that bad BECAUSE I could not fix anything no matter how hard I tried AND because I could not figure out WHY.

Of course, being alone wasn't helping either, and I got more and more isolated until I never spoke with anyone except co-workers. Maybe now and then a grocery store clerk or someone in some such position, when absolutely necessary. I am an introvert, but not to that point --it was truly isolating me.

And then, boy howdy, I heard that I probably had PTSD and got pointed in the right direction to start the VA claims process and force treatment. Sure 'nuff, I was diagnosed with moderate to severe levels of it. Ah ha...now I know WHAT is wrong...so now I can do something about it! (and of course, becoming solid with someone who'd seen me as my entirely competant self first, before he saw the PTSD , didn't hurt!)

WRONG. Not at first. Somehow, I still didn;t get too far. Worse, I was in school by then, and rising stress levels eventually pushed me into one of those mental shutdowns, the mental short circuiting situation. After clawing my way back out of that and managing to at least finish the term, I had the most amazing experience.

!!!GIANT LIGHT BULB MOMENT!!!

Whoa.....it's a disability. I have...a D I S A B I L I T Y....
I do not have a disease.
I cannot cure it.
I cannot fix it.
I keep failing because I keep trying to fix what's busted, and I can't do that...
THAT'S what a disability is...somethingyou can;t cure or fix like a disease or an injury.
Wow. That's awesome. I can STOP TRYING TO FIX THE UNFIXABLE
(and making myself crazy when it doesn;t work..."what's wrong woith me!"...NOTHING.
I just have...a disability. I can handle this. All I have to do is ...
Figure Out How To Work Around It
And
Live The Way I Decide To
It's just a mindset adjustment and an application of knowledge, experience, and ingenuity.
COOL!
I am disabled.
And just like that other vet in a wheelchair,
There are ways I can get to the second floor and the basement when I need to.
HURRAH!

:):):)

Then, boy howdy,

 

[brokenchild]

I voted supporter and survivor.

Supporter because as has been said, I don't need care nearly as much as I I need support. I can take care of myself but cannot always find ways to be supportive of myself.

Survivor because that is what I am. I, as someone else mentioned, do not consider myself to suffer from PTSD. At times I may be having a difficult time, but I have never really thought of it as suffering. I suffered during the abuse, I survived it, and I am surviving now.

I also like No Folded Hands description of it as an injury or disability. I have been injured, in many ways. My brain has been changed, that's a pretty big "injury" to me.

 

[becvan]

Suffer and support for me. I have not "survived" ptsd, I still have it! And really I despise the term carer. I do not need to be cared for thanks! I'm not a child and really dislike the reference as that is what it sounds like to me. A supporter would be so much more descriptive and less condescending!

 

[anthony]

There is already a very clear push towards supporter over carer, though certainly not clear on the sufferer vs. survivor, quite mixed. I will be changing carer to supporter.

 

[Nicolette]

Yeah, woo hoo! ..... I am now going to be a Supporter of the PTSD Club.... cheerleader outfits to be designed...watch this space.



I have my Pink PTSD Singlet of the PTSD Dog from the Cafe Press Shop as a start :D

 

[amethist]

I got my yellow one Nicolette.

OK who is going to choreograph the moves for this one. ROFL.

 

[Nicolette]

Hey, a few more dance lessons Amethist and I might be able to work on it with Anthony.... just not sure how he would look in a skirt (bring out the wax)