You Know You Have PTSD When...

[Changing4Best]

Yes, I was awake half the night last night and slept late for me, 8AM I awoke (I often wake at 4AM, so I will take 8AM). I have meds that are supposed to help me sleep, but they work at best for 4 hours only, if that.

 

[pixi]

You know you have PTSD when...

-It takes you 15 minutes to mentally prep yourself to drive after getting in the car, and you're still convinced that you're going to crash into something/someone even though everybody tells you that you're a really careful driver

-Any time a stranger strikes up conversations with you (such as at school) you're secretly paranoid that they're a cop/secret agent/kidnapper/rapist, even though you know they're just being friendly*

-You think your friends, family, loved ones are all conspiring against you*

Good ol' omen formation..

-Every time you have a nightmare, you obsess over it.. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?! WHAT ARE MY DREAMS TRYING TO TELL ME?

-If a song comes on the radio talking about a break up, your SO will break up with you. If you see the numbers 666, you think you're going to Hell! If you pass a cemetary, EVEN THOUGH YOU PASS IT EVERY DAY, it means you're going to die!*

* - these are mostly when I'm really anxious/triggered.. I don't walk around thinking this way 24/7.. anymore! ;)

 

[SilentWarDiva]

You know you have PTSD when people in your life continually try to get you tested for autism because you don't make eye contact, can't tolerate physical contact, and don't respond "normally" to social cues.

 

[Spiderallis]

When anyone coming to your home knows to call in advance, more than once, to remind you that they're coming and there's no need to greet them with a golf club.

Next up, convincing them not to move things when I don't see them moving it. I was convinced for a day and a half that someone had been creeping around my place. Worst part, it was a trigger object that I've tried to throw out a few times- it's now in clear view and I know I'll go into a meltdown if I touch it.

 

[.Bubbles.]

...Your support worker tells you she might come back round tomorrow, which you were not expecting. So you obsess over it, feel overwhelmed and think about how to get out of it

 

[Changing4Best]

When you are out to lunch with a new friend and she confides to you that she has PTSD and you freeze up, not knowing what to say because you have never met another soul in person who has it and you are so shocked (and happy too) that you cannot say a word. The poor dear thinks you probably have some kind of prejudice until finally you can say that you have it too.

Then we became better friends, automatically understanding one another a lot better all at once. It's a fun journey now. Hopefully it will be a life long one.

 

[Deleted member 19804]

When you can’t go to sleep until you've checked multiple times if all the doors are locked, there are no fire hazards, the stove is switched off, your window is slightly open just in case there’s a carbon monoxide outbreak in your house, and there is nothing lying around someone may trip over, because God knows they might break their neck and it would be your fault.

 

[Brad1980]

You plan a vacation and your therapist sets time for you to check in case you get triggered

 

[KatB]

When your immune system has been more compromised by the cold...

When you don't want to wake up because you know what's ahead for you...

When you don't recognize your ownself in the mirror...

When you look like hell and you don't know what to do with yourself...

When you don't care about how you look

 

[Changing4Best]

When you don't care about how you look

YES! I don't dye my hair and so often I get women who do telling me I should, but I still don't and I won't!

 

[.Bubbles.]

... You pace up and down panicking, triple check the locks on the door, because you hear yelling outside.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

When your therapist tells you that you won't be able to cope with the daily and normal stresses of having a service dog. And she goes on to say that she doesn't recommend one for you at this time.