Triggered And Dissociating

[recoveringfromptsd]

Flashback, a lot of things here are abbreviated because sometimes the words themselves can be triggering, and sometimes things get abbreviated for whatever reason.

 

[Jensen]

@recoveringfromptsd thank you.

 

[SeekingAfrica]

I had to struggle with this same thing tonight, I go to a trauma group run by one of the wor...

Honestly, sometimes if I catch myself starting to drift into memories or dissociating early enough, I can distract myself out of it(sometimes that works, and sometimes it means I just manage to contain it until I am done for the day and on my own, and then I have a crying breakdown), ground myself...but once it really gets to me, no grounding has worked...the things you mentioned don't help me...
Do you know any other grounding ideas?
May be there's something I haven't tried yet.

Right now my strategy is to try to make myself less stressed, to distract myself right away if I have the time when I get triggered...and if I don't have time and it's really strong, unfortunately, however much I hate that, I usually have to wait it out. However much I think "I don't have time". No one is asking if I do...:/
So anything I haven't tried, I would.

 

[joeylittle]

...a lot of things here are abbreviated because sometimes the words themselves can be triggering...

Just info for you, @Jensen, and anyone else reading:

We actually discourage abbreviations because they can be confusing, especially as this is an international forum.

We do not use trigger warnings or tiptoe around material in any way; if we did, every post would end up carrying a warning. So, we ask members to just be smart about what they expose themselves to, while here.

Back to the topic.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Flashback

Just FYI, FB for many means Facebook.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Sometimes instead of other things that makes my brain really foggy, like it floods me with a wave of sleep. I get sleepy very fast and to point where I can't keep my eyes open, like I'll almost faint.

I have this issue where I have waves of extreme exhaustion, head on lap like a herion addict. There is no predicting it and no controling it. I have to push through it. I have drank a thousand cups of coffee and handfuls of caffinee pills and it does nothing but raise my anxiety, which is still there with the head on lap exhaustion. It is f*ckING ANNOYING!!

I had all the medical check ups and tests and MRIs and CAT scans and blood tests and ultra sounds, etc and it is now on my medical record as a mental symptom. f*ck!

I'm sorry you have to go through this too! It's horrid!

 

[rjmeyer67]

Hey everyone,

I was planning a very busy day with few meetings and lots to do, but...but I had o...

I'm practically narcoleptic. Once I get REM sleep, I'm woken with a nightmares and cannot go back to sleep for at least an hour. My job is aware and gives me flexible schedule and telecommuting when practical. I
I walk, ride my bike in Wisconsin winter, or rely on my wife to drive. I only trust myself behind the wheel during short trips.
In a nutshell, do you have a support network during these times, can you develop one?

 

[rjmeyer67]

I had to struggle with this same thing tonight, I go to a trauma group run by one of the wor...

I was young during my trauma. I rely heavily on seeing today's technology to ground me in the present. First I have to realize I'm in the flashback which can be the hardest part for me sometimes.

 

[recoveringfromptsd]

I actually had to go to a hospital that specializes in trauma / ptsd to be able to get to a point where I can cope with flashbacks. I still have them, but most of the time I am able to get grounded. I have also had to make changes to my home to have grounding aids to focus on.

I had a CSA when I was 5 that was severe, but it was a one-time event, enough to make me a messed up kid and adolescent. But very much reachable. It was a group home organization that did the real damage to my thinking, as I had to endure 1.5 years of constant emotional and physical abuse, a rape by a staff member, and two separate rapes by clients. It was so bad that about a year in I was disassociating often in a constant state as the only way I could cope was to retreat into a fantasy world that was safe in my mind.

After that was over a year later I was gang raped and beaten in the shower of a shelter.

Almost all of my work in abuse therapy now is around what happened at the place during those 1.5 years. '

Since that 1.5 year abuse I have often had periods of extended dissociation sometimes observed by co-workers, and in the hospital where I would have repeated staring spells that lasted 20 minutes or more. And in one hospital stay they say I was completely catatonic.

@rjmeyer67 I can related to the sleep problems, I often have waking nightmares where the dream continues after I wake. But it was not possible for me to even dream until recently and that is with the use of meds, until I was one them I never reached REM sleep, sleep 3-5 hours most of the time, and would wake up at the slightest sound, a persons breath was enough to wake me up. I have to wonder if waking up from the slightest sound is part of my hypervigilance.

The most distressing and disturbing thing that I am have to deal with now, is body memories, sometimes when I am awake, sometimes when I am asleep and they wake me up and continue. It's like reliving the physical sensations of the abuse. The only way I have been able to cope with them with self harm to get relief is to go right to my DBT book.