Question For College Students With PTSD

[IAHC]

Greetings everyone,

I am a college faculty member with PTSD, and so I know how it impacts my classroom. My college asked me if I would be willing to put together an hour long presentation on the challenges faced by students with PTSD to be attended by the rest of the faculty. I know full well what it is like to have it, but mine came after I was a student, and so I don't know what it is like from the other side of the podium. If you are a student with PTSD, what is it that you wished your professors knew about your struggles? Are there particular types of assignments or projects that are especially challenging for you? (In my case, I shy away from any group or committee work because it makes me uncomfortable). My college is making a serious attempt to raise awareness of all mental health issues, not just PTSD, which affect our students in hopes that it will help faculty be more aware and also more attentive to the needs of those students.

Hi!
Sleep deprivation is a big factor of my life that I wish my professors understood. But the biggest issue for me is how frequently professors bring up sensitive topics ( maybe because I picked a history degree) that they go over in full details. I once heard a professor bring up sexual assault in detail and I had to run out of the room. I isolated myself until the end of class and she just kind of looked at me weirdly when I came back to grab my stuff. I didn’t feel like I could emotionally handle explaining to her WHY I needed to leave. If there were trainings on how students who have been assaulted might react when it’s brought up in class that would be a really good thing! And that’s amazing your school is doing this, I think it’s so important!

 

[lil_fighter]

I am training as a counsellor, so have had a lot of in-depth personal therapy as part of my training. My course is naturally triggering as we are constantly encouraged to self reflect, talk about life experiences, discuss our clients' experiences some of which may be triggering. It is a place where I have to navigate what feels safe and who feels safe. As we have to work in groups a lot of the time, there is a lot of focus on sharing and talking about challenges we face. It is a constant battle with being present and learning but only sharing when I feel able to and not just because I am told I have to. My tutors are supportive and know about my life experiences, that could be due to the nature of the course and the subject but I have met people in helping professions or Psychology who are shockingly lacking empathy so perhaps I just got lucky having good people on my course. It is hard when I see clients as part of my placement who have had a similar experience to me and that is why being in therapy myself is an invaluable experience on a personal and educational level. I studied for three years prior to starting my current course and then took a break just to get myself into the zone of being able to write essays, meet deadlines and work through difficult moments. It has been a long time coming as I wanted to do this 10 years ago.

I also work four days a week, when I am not at university (my course is one day a week) and my work place is somewhere where I feel safe, I know a lot of good people and I think my day job gets me through my studies. I work in an educational setting in a supporting role so I am able to empathise with students who have PTSD or other challenges as I understand first hand how hard it can be to study.

 

[starvingGrad]

Masters student with CPTSD who ran into issues with a supervisor who themselves had an abusive childhood.
Societally:
I wish that there was more awareness about the vast range of traumas/events that can cause PTSD/CPTSD, and emphasis that not every person has the same experiences or treatment progression.

Not all trauma/abuse is physical abuse, there are many forms and they can be equally harmful to survivors.

Just because one person handled their condition one way doesn't mean that other people will be the same.

No, I don't need to be "cured" to be "normal", therapy will not make me "healthy" or back to "normal" it teaches me how to cope with my symptoms and avoid bad periods.

For teachers:
I often feel like people won't believe that I have CPTSD because during the limited time they spend with me I appear "normal" (i've had really bad counseling experiences in universities: councilors denying my experiences occurred, victim blaming/shaming, gaslighting, insinuation that I'm crazy or unstable). This puts me in a bind, I either feel I can't disclose because I'll be further victimized, or I feel that I have to disclose everything to gain credibility, or show multiple medical reports to prove it... I have trouble knowing who to trust with information, if someone says "I have PTSD" (or CPTSD) just say "Ok what can we do to support/help you achieve your educational goal?"

Lack of communication doesn't mean incompetence or lack of interest, it may just mean the symptoms are currently bad, if you notice a long period of no contact reach out to the student as they may have trouble initiating a talk about their symptoms interfering.

Asking for help can be difficult.

Working from home is often more productive for me, having flexibility/alternative formats of fulfilling projects is extremely helpful.

If you have similar trauma in your past, try not to project your experiences/healing journey on to the student. They may be in a different stage of realization or treatment than you went through or are expecting them to be at.

No, I'm not a harm to myself or others, in fact I'm skittish and afraid or even paralyzed most of the time due to hypervigilance. I get overwhelmed and tired easily, and I sometimes neglect basic necessities like eating.

My PTSD doesn't affect my intelligence... I may be more forgetful or withdrawn but I'm not stupid, or "not meeting my potential" because I'm "lazy".

Know that this situation is extremely frustrating for me, my limitations don't define me as a student.

 

[12birds]

I'm a senior, currently struggling to keep up on school work. The biggest thing for me is attendance and fortunately most of my professors let me get away with missing class. When I'm in class I'm attentive and I engage the material, but I miss 4-6 class periods a semester.

I try to save them for things like the flu or whatever, but there are days where I just can't get out of bed. Or I didn't sleep at all that night. Sometimes I feel so anxious and overwhelmed I have to leave class because my flight instinct is kicking in.

I don't need anyone to give me special treatment as far as work load, I just need a little bit of room with the attendance policy.

I suppose the trouble is that I don't talk to my professors about this. Only ones I have taken more than once know that I struggle with mental health issues. The onus is on me to ask for help, but I'm also pretty ashamed to miss class. I love school. It's just hard to balance.

 

[Moniq]

I am currently a student. A few suggestions I have are:

- professor exhibiting a bit more understanding of a student comes to them with an issue.
I went to a professor expressing that I have difficulty with group work and I was told she wasn’t my therapist that I needed to get it together.

- don’t try to fix the student.
Another professor noticed I don’t like being crowded, I would stand in the back of the group if we had to gather. She made the comment in class that she would have me get over this (while placing a hand on back). This led me to avoid the Professor.

- allow the student room to be.
Professors frequently try to force me engage with them or other students. The more they try to force this the more I feel like I do not fit in.


I am glad your organization is looking become educated about students that have mental health challenges.

 

[Fadeaway]

I'm not in college anymore, but one thing I specifically remember is being frustrated at not being able to remember things. I could remember being engaged in classroom discussion and being interested in the topic but for the life of me once I got home couldn't remember the subject matter. It was so frustrating