What To Never Say To A Ptsd Sufferer

[ms spock]

I want to start a thread Comical, Humorous and Deescalating Comments for Ignorant and Stupid People's Unhelpful Comments about PTSD. I think there should be a prize for the best one. And I think I may have already written it.

 

[NicG]

Oh man I just found this thread and I love it.

My personal favourites:
"Don't worry you'll bounce back"
yes, because bouncing back usually takes years at a time.

"Isn't PTSD just for war veterans/Vietnam war vets?"
well yes they get it and no I'm not going to claim to have it as hard as them, not in a million years. But that doesn't discount my suffering!

"Just think about something else!"
.......don't think this even NEEDS a comment

"Are you sure you were clear about saying no to him before he _______?"
This one actually used to haunt me a lot. Like, was it my fault a guy took advantage of me because I was scared to loudly object? Until my law student friend told me that "consent under duress doesn't count as consent" (at least in Australian law anyway).

There needs to be a worldwide education program for people who don't get that mental illnesses are NOT just people whinging about their problems too much...

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Yeah, just think about something else. Why not say that to someone with OCD? I'm not diagnosed, but I'm pretty sure that my obsessions can be just as bad at times. It's pretty much the same with PTSD. We CANT just think about something else.

 

[ms spock]

My friend had her head eaten out by zombies. Then she was decapitated by rogue elves. They had to elastic plast her head back on with lots of band aids. You won't be able to believe how many. Then she got stabbed in the eye by a misbehaving unicorn. It doesn't worry her and she doesn't have any problems so why are you complaining? She didn't get PTSD.

But she did overdose.

 

[ms spock]

It's pretty much the same with PTSD. We CANT just think about something else.

I just hate that.

 

[Tympre]

I despise the saying "What's good for the Goose is good for the Gander" So am I the goose or are you? Because if it is me then you should do what is good from my point of view and respect my space requirements. If the Goose is you, then I am screwed. I have a huge personal space boundary and this is not conducive to my job. Another thing this is used for, is if I am ok with one person touching me I should be ok with Everyone touching me. Um, no. So I rule out all forms of touch outside of my family. I actually hear this statement alot where I work as a way to devalue my boundaries and value the other workers boundaries, especially if thier boundaries are more relaxed than mine.

 

[Red Feather]

Is there are thread for coming up with witty and funny things to say back to people?

I'm needing that thread now.... Just got told I should move south where there is more sunshine. Yeah, okay, so why don't I uproot my whole life, and distance myself even farther than my kids, on the hope that getting more sunshine will make my PTSD go away? :banghead:

 

[NicG]

Just got told I should move south where there is more sunshine

I have a friend studying psychology at uni who has decided that he counts as a "professional psychologist" despite not having a qualification or any experience yet. I was having a massive panic attack while driving with him in the car once, his only response was "you should relax. Maybe take a walk in the sun."

Such wonderful words of insight I have never come across before. Clearly this will solve all my problems.

 

[Lucycat]

A colleague who does not know I have PTSD said yesterday that Christmas is such a stressful time in her house she is sure she has got PTSD from it! I didn't know whether to laugh - or hit her:banghead:

 

[circe47]

This brings me around to one of my all time favorite statements "stop living in the past.......get over it." Well, that was two statements, but they're usually strung together and come from a certain family member that REFUSES to budge on a grudge with another family member over drama that happened TWENTY YEARS AGO!

Talk about confusing.............:wacky:

 

[ms spock]

We CANT just think about something else.

I couldn't stop thinking last year. I was stuck in rumination. It was so awful. It took me many months to come to terms that it was rumination and part of depression and PTSD. I know sad hey I didn't even know about rumination.

 

[JustBe]

..."Just go do it, you'll feel much better".