Hi,
I was diagnosed with PTSD after leaving a very violent and controlling relationship. I also suffer from agoraphobia, depression, and anxiety.
Prior to this, I was a very strong, confident person who had a career in higher management. I was quite a resilient, resolute person and it took a great deal to upset or unnerve me. However, since the end of my relationship and the beginning of my illnesses, I have gradually become less and less able to deal with things, deliberately withdrawing myself from social situations, ending relationships with friends and family and for the last year or so have virtually been unable to leave my home. Although I feel relatively safe in my home (due to the fact I have very little communication with the outside world and have made my adjustments to my home to finally be able to feel safe), I am really not able to deal with events that happen such as terrorist attacks, deaths and even the UK leaving the European Union has had an unexpected effect on me, with me feeling uncertain of the future. I do not watch or read the news, do not watch 'live tv', can only watch certain TV shows (having watched the same 5 or 6 tv shows I feel able to watch, repeatedly for the last year or so) and actively avoid anything where I may come across any news. However, this is almost impossible to do with news being virtually everywhere, Facebook, radio, mobile phones and even on your homepage when accessing the internet so I am still unwantedly 'made aware' of certain things like the Orlando shootings, the attacks in Nice and most recently the attacks in Germany. On each occasion, these incidents have a tremendous effect on me, with them making extremely emotional, even more anxious than usual and I usually end up becoming somewhat obsessed with the incidents, reading about and looking into them, trying to make some sort of sense out of what has happened. This usually makes me more determined not to leave my home and securing my home further. I also have episodes of disassociation which these incidents usually trigger them happening more frequently.
I understand that I have no control over these 'happenings' and I cannot stop or prevent them, yet I do not understand why they have such a great effect on me. I do not know how to deal with the feelings I have when these events happen and unless I literally sit in an empty room with no interaction with the outside world, I am going to have to continue to hear of these incidents and deal with them as best I can.
Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with how I feel when hearing of such news? Does anyone have the same problems as I do when trying to comprehend such atrocities?
I guess ultimately I do not know what my posting on here will achieve as no matter what these events will continue to happen and I will continue to struggle to deal with them. Any advice or suggestions will be gratefully appreciated.
I was diagnosed with PTSD after leaving a very violent and controlling relationship. I also suffer from agoraphobia, depression, and anxiety.
Prior to this, I was a very strong, confident person who had a career in higher management. I was quite a resilient, resolute person and it took a great deal to upset or unnerve me. However, since the end of my relationship and the beginning of my illnesses, I have gradually become less and less able to deal with things, deliberately withdrawing myself from social situations, ending relationships with friends and family and for the last year or so have virtually been unable to leave my home. Although I feel relatively safe in my home (due to the fact I have very little communication with the outside world and have made my adjustments to my home to finally be able to feel safe), I am really not able to deal with events that happen such as terrorist attacks, deaths and even the UK leaving the European Union has had an unexpected effect on me, with me feeling uncertain of the future. I do not watch or read the news, do not watch 'live tv', can only watch certain TV shows (having watched the same 5 or 6 tv shows I feel able to watch, repeatedly for the last year or so) and actively avoid anything where I may come across any news. However, this is almost impossible to do with news being virtually everywhere, Facebook, radio, mobile phones and even on your homepage when accessing the internet so I am still unwantedly 'made aware' of certain things like the Orlando shootings, the attacks in Nice and most recently the attacks in Germany. On each occasion, these incidents have a tremendous effect on me, with them making extremely emotional, even more anxious than usual and I usually end up becoming somewhat obsessed with the incidents, reading about and looking into them, trying to make some sort of sense out of what has happened. This usually makes me more determined not to leave my home and securing my home further. I also have episodes of disassociation which these incidents usually trigger them happening more frequently.
I understand that I have no control over these 'happenings' and I cannot stop or prevent them, yet I do not understand why they have such a great effect on me. I do not know how to deal with the feelings I have when these events happen and unless I literally sit in an empty room with no interaction with the outside world, I am going to have to continue to hear of these incidents and deal with them as best I can.
Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with how I feel when hearing of such news? Does anyone have the same problems as I do when trying to comprehend such atrocities?
I guess ultimately I do not know what my posting on here will achieve as no matter what these events will continue to happen and I will continue to struggle to deal with them. Any advice or suggestions will be gratefully appreciated.
