Poll Which Ptsd Symptoms Bother You The Most?

[twopenny]

I almost always have this sense that maybe somehow the universe saw something so horrible in me that I was given all the bad things that happened to as punishment for being such a vile creature. That for some reason I deserved it all. It's that feeling that takes me to my darkest places and welcomes the pain I'll inflict upon myself.

I don't know if anyone else deals with these feelings. I suspect some do. It sucks.

I feel like that regularly. Have since I was a little girl.



I put 'other', but apart from the above, it's actually probably equally hypervigilance (specifically of harm coming to those I care about, or the perception that it might), avoidance, intrusive thoughts and dissociation.

 

[tired of the fight]

I cant pick just one...

 

[Anna]

The tiredness and not being able to sleep properly.

I work, and some days I am so tired I throw up. I prefer when I am at home and can nap when I want to, but when you work you cannot just sleep when you want. When I am at work I get between 2-5 hours sleep a night..... By the weekend my head is throbbing and I feel totally shit. I use nicotine gum, guarana and coffee to keep me awake. It sucks. It is painful.

I yawn all the time, and everyone asks me why I am so tired. I just fob it off as I am a light sleeper and have loud neighbours.

I feel the fatigue prevents me from enjoying life to the full.

 

[Meadowsweet]

I put intrusions and dissociation, because that's what makes me feel worse. But if I'm honest, it's avoidance that has the biggest impact on my life in the long term. But then I avoid because I hate intrusions.

 

[DMerish]

I scratched off the last three choices in my head (i.e. "other", "can't decide" and "not bothered"). Then I figured all the other symptoms require some sort of effort from of me, which overall makes me feel fatigued.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

The fear is the worst to me. It can make me lose all sense of reality and make me afraid of everything and everyone. Before I was on medication, I would get such panic attacks every single day. I was so convinced that I was going to die.. I thought I was completely losing my mind. Luckily, I don't get them very often anymore and much less intense, but they're still there and can still get the best of me.

 

[Deleted member 25333]

Flashbacks and dissociation. I'm trapped in this 'secret alternative reality' that others can't see where I relive the trauma on a hourly basis.

 

[Changing4Best]

Sleep troubles have bothered me a bit here and there, but I didn't mark that on the chart when I voted.

Yesterday was a horrid day with dissociation a lot, to the point of embarrassment in public, troubles at home and so on.

I hear voices in my mind... but they are not my mental voice.

Avoidance of going outside, especially in the cold or high heat, bother me every day. This is to the point that I will walk in the long hallway of our building for exercise instead of walking outdoors. I even walk my dog this way, except when she needs to go out for her personal reasons.

Memory loss, especially short term is awful! I can literally forget all kinds of things that I just decided to do a minute or less before.

I escape by reading a lot. I do forget character's names, places etc., but I find if I read ahead, something will at least remind me of who or what they are....

 

[cat]

Hyper arousal, memory & trust...Im nearly 2yrs out of therapy now & had hoped it would gradually fade away...maybe I need a therapy top-up.

 

[Shatteredpan]

I have to go with the sleep problems.... if I could sleep, I could probably deal with my symptoms a little better. Maybe I wouldn't be so on edge all the time. I don't have Flashbacks every day, and I can deal with the avoidant symptoms, really... but right now, it's 5 am. I haven't slept in almost 24 hours, and I have a driver's class in a few hours that I MUST be alert for -_-'

 

[Caterpillar]

For me it's paranoia. I leap from one imaginary threat to the next, and most of them are completely irrational. The intrusive thoughts suck pretty bad too, though, as does the persistent feeling of doom, like something terrible might happen at any moment. I'm not sure if this is a type of hypervigelance, perhaps. It doesn't make me more aware of my environment--more the opposite, since I get so caught up on the feeling that a real threat could tap-dance in front of my face and I might still not notice.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

For me it's paranoia. I leap from one imaginary threat to the next, and most of them are completely irrational.

I can really relate to this. I was thinking exactly that like an hour ago. It's so frustrating.