Other Research Brought Me Here

[Flyaway]

For me, hypervigilance means that I am aware of a million different details all at the same time. Usually a trigger will set this off, it might just be a smell... And suddenly I am taking in EVERYTHING: anything remotely out of place will stand out and I automatically begin to analyse the potential of whether its a threat to my safety. I notice every little gesture... every non-verbal and verbal communication- from the pitch of a voice, to how dilated pupils are, to how 'wet' someone's lips are, to what a person is doing with their hands... and am thinking rapidly, interpreting everything. Other things such as the wind, or any noises become more obvious and can feel like they are in the way- I get upset at it.

I have learnt not to react like I use to, I know how to talk myself through it. But it sounds like your character hasn't had therapy :) so they would react to the trigger. He would flinch or maybe cower if he saw anything remotely like a whip coming his way. Darkness, or cold stone might also be a trigger?

 

[Aprella]

Yes, the idea of stone is a great idea! I was considering that a small light might be a trigger as well seeing that the people who come to hurt him, always carry a torch so the approaching of a small light means pain...

@Jen93: thank you for the recommendations! I'd love to read the blog about Harry Potter. I love those books so much.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Please whatever you do, don't make L completely healed at the end! It would give a false impression of PTSD. Most of us have to learn to cope with it throughout life. We may go into remission, but our threshold for stress and retraumatization is permanently lowered.

Kudos to you for writing about PTSD and learning as much as you can.

 

[Lucycat]

Hello and thankyou for your honesty. This is a very difficult diagnosis to live with.

 

[Aprella]

The end would be something like L going into to therapy and there will probably be some kind of epilogue with x year(s) later were we see him again being better.

But the fact that you stay sensitive for stress and retraumatization, might be a problem seeing that L has a job that can be quite stressful at time... he's a singer in a band. Someone got any thoughts on how the PTSD can influence that? I was planning to let that band take a break until he is 'healed' though it probably won't be in the story at all.

 

[WillyKat]

Another poster already said this, but I think you'll find lots of characters in lots of stories that have the symptoms w/o the label. And frankly, it might make for better reading in your story to leave out the "PTSD" label; it might be a big distraction where the reader starts inserting all the nonsense in the media there is about PTSD. The movie "Girl Interrupted" is supposedly about Borderline Personality Disorder, but I don't believe they even once mention that term, and there's no need to.

I read something recently about ancient literature, the Odyssey for one, including stories about PTSD. Google for "ancient PTSD" and you'll get some hits on it.

I'm going to digress a bit about flashbacks. I suppose one persons flashbacks differ from another. I've seen movies try to depict a flashback as if the person literally thought they were back in combat or literally thought they were back in the alley or whatever. My flashbacks aren't like that, and for a time I didn't think of them as flashbacks. I never think that I'm back in the loft of the barn; my body and nervous system react as if I'm back there, but I'm still in the present trying to understand what the hell is going on. Mine never have a context other than the present moment. My point is that if you're going to depict a flashback, you may want to include the confusion, that horrifying feeling that you're panicking like you were during the trauma but you are very much in the present and well aware that you're not someplace other than where you are. OK, digression complete.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

PTSD is also delayed onset meaning it either doesn't present straight after the trauma but when triggered by something else at a later or persists through time and treatment. Post-Traumatic stress (but not as a disorder),however is not only curable with short term therapy, and sometimes just time, but it's also immediate after the traumatic incident(s). I don't know if that might be of some use to you.

 

[anthony]

Instead of sneaking around the forum, I thought to make an account and interact with people and hopefully I'll be able to understand more about it. I never have talked with someone who has PTSD and only have knowledge about the 'theoretical'.

Hi Aprella,

Welcome to the forum and goodluck with your novel series. Please be aware of this sites copyright policy, which you can read within the legal agreement you agreed upon registration. I would assume as a writer you have read it and are aware that everything here is copyright in part and full, including anything you write here...

I think the way you're doing this is actually very clever and its good to have people be upfront and honest, where those of us with PTSD can help writers as yourself depict more accurate accounts of PTSD than what some of the media portrays.

I would agree with you that many with PTSD do live relatively normal lives, it is usually only one area they're dysfunctional within as a result of their PTSD.

Please be respectful towards everyone with PTSD, as enthusiasm can at times cause issues with PTSD sufferers. Otherwise, I look forward to reading your insight.

 

[stuff]

I think for me, one of the main factors that gets overlooked is how much it affects focus and concentration. Part due to the hyperarousal symptoms which are exhausting, and part that is just this weird mental inability that comes and goes. As a high achiever when I was younger, this has been the most frustrating part, the inability to read a book for more than five or ten minutes or get through course material. It's frustrating to have a head that used to be a sports car, and is now a lemon with a faulty accelerator pedal.

Another factor, is how much we tend to suffer in silence. I come across as a very together person, it gets hard for even close friends to comprehend what I go through with the exception of my roommates who get the brunt of me, because of how I manage to hide my symptoms. I think a lot of us do that, or go into isolation.

I am the lead singer in a band. It makes for very weird times. I have social phobia, and I hate performing, but I do it because the guys in my band would quit if we didn't play shows. I sometimes get triggered on stage and have worked with a therapist for four years to get better about it. It can be hell on earth at times though.

 

[anthony]

Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler has always struck me as the most accurate depiction of PTSD from Hollywood, to date. How he lives, interacts with others, secludes and then starting to integrate a little better by the end, though still just starting his recovery. He lets one person in... as that's all he can deal with. His therapy sessions reminded me of my initial sessions.

 

[Nin]

Your book concept sounds interesting.. I love getting lost in a good fantasy book. Just thought I'd give some insight about what it's like for me. As far as the hyper-vigilance thing: I've always compared it to movies and shows of people on meth (like Spun). Noticing everything. They fly, the sound of a car in the distance, the smell of your neighbors cooking. All senses are on alert and everything may be a threat.

And as far as breakdown. I had one right before I was diagnosed. Every night the panic and disassociation episodes got longer, more consuming. I started sleeping only a few hours a night and only when my body broke down with pure exhaustion (or a few drinks). Then it crept into my days and I began having episodes at work and in the grocery store. I couldn't escape it. I felt like I only had two modes: terrified or exhausted. Finally I decided that death was preferable to the daily torture of constant fear (though by this point the lack of sleep was clearly distorting my mood and judgement). Luckily I told my husband my plan and he admitted me to a hospital. That was the first night I had slept a full 8 hours in months. I finally felt safe.

I had a thought about your characters trauma though... how is he suppose to recover? Therapy often involves discussing and exposure to the traumatic event. If I told someone I had PTSD from going to another dimension, I'm pretty sure they'd lock me up and treat me for something a bit more delusional.

 

[Abstract]

Mysterious Skin is not a bad depiction (be warned anyone with sexual trauma as it is very graphic) and a not too bad one is The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

With the first we have two typical reactions to sexual trauma (acting out or isolation and social problems), flashbacks and fragmented memories are well depicted as are triggers, differences in how people react to a situation, self esteem consequences etc.

The second we have avoidance, social isolation and difficulties with relationships, avoidance and denial, a PTSD rage incident, the confusion between love and trauma and the severe possible consequences such as depression and suicidal ideation. Especially when compared to the siblings.

I think how people actually look from the outside to others depends on a lot of things. The severity of the PTSD at that point, how good someone is at hiding it, how much they dissociate and the relationship with the person through whose eyes we are seeing it and the situation.