What is the longest period of time you were symptomatic? What went into that?

[hATEptsd]

What is the longest period of time you were symptomatic? Were there small things that added up to it? My boyfriend seems to have started with intrusive memories, then no energy from not sleeping, not going to work, not remembering things, not wanting to talk to anyone, and now isolation.

 

[Sideways]

What is the longest period of time you were symptomatic?

I was really dysfunctionally unwell for about 10 years when I got sick.

I spent 3 years of that in and out of hospital - more in than out. More than half of that was a single admission for an ‘acute’ episode.

After I became unwell, and my job and relationships all fell apart, it took about 15 years of therapy before I was well enough to slowly start putting stuff together again.

I know someone who developed ptsd from a traumatic work experience. They got treatment, and their ptsd was in remission in less than a year.

So it goes. For some people, ptsd is something they’ll fully recover from within a period of months. For others, they’ll retain a heavy symptom burden indefinitely.

 

[Weemie]

Mine is cyclical. From childhood to 16 I was asymptomatic. Then 16-22 fully, then remission til about 25, then remission again at 27, major major break at 30 and now I'm not exactly in remission at 32 but actually bring treated to where I can cope more effectively with symptomatic periods.

 

[whiteraven]

For others, they’ll retain a heavy symptom burden indefinitely.

Yeah...this. I have some symptoms on a fairly regular basis. And I also have depression, which is constant, all the time.

 

[arfie]

i never have thunk on it before, but. . .

60 years? i keep a daily inventory of my symptoms of the day. an ounce of prevention is worth waaaaaaaaaay more than a pound of cure.

small tells of my childhood are with me, always, but then, child sex trafficking makes unusually deep wounds.

 

[Friday]

The first time it took me roughly 5-7 years to unf*ck my head & my life.

The second time it’s been over a decade, now; with a couple years here and there highly symptomatic, and a couple of years here and there middling or minimally symptomatic. Ongoing trauma for more than half of that time, and 2 serious health things both during & after, plus various other stressors? Haven’t helped.

There are certain things that are just about guaranteed to f*ck active PTSD up (as well as inactive PTSD), and certain things that are just about guaranteed to help. f*ck things up include any ordinarily “good” events like births, weddings, celebrations, new jobs, moving in together, quitting smoking/drinking… as well as more generally recognized “bad” stressors like deaths, job loss, relationship disasters, illness/injury, quitting healthy coping mechanisms/activities. <<< This last one? Reeeeeally f*cked me up during my divorce, a decade ago. Money was tight, and I had a kid, so I thought I was being “responsible” by slashing all unnecessary expense. NOPE! Terrible idea, with PTSD, to just slash all the things that keep us stable out of our lives. Catastrophic idea, in the midst of a major stressor like divorce.

^^^
MOST people wih PTSD? (Over 50%) become asymptomatic, within 6mo, with no treatment.

Of the remainder?

Over 90% (93-96%) become asymptomatic with treatment, or over time.

The majority of long term members on this site are long term members, because we didn’t just spend a few months & unf*ck ourselves. Instead? We’re in the 10% or so that are dealing with things on a longer time scale. Whether that’s dealing forever, or are just taking longer? Is going to vary case by case. That’s not indicative of most people with PTSD. The same way most people don’t spend a year in the hospital, after a car accident. Most will spend a few hours or few days. Some will spend weeks/months. Some will be taking a year or longer.

So there’s no predictive IF you have PTSD? THEN it will take you this long, to sort shit.

A lot of disorders do have those rough scales. For example? It takes most people with bipolar disorder about a year to find the best med cocktail. But? PTSD just isn’t one of those disorders. It is incrediably varied.