Is my irritability due to trauma?

[Twitchett22]

2 months ago I was in a fire with my young child. We were both unharmed but the fire was very significant and, whilst trying to get out, myself and my child were separated. My child was understandably upset for quite a while, and although seems to be fine now, still talks about it now and again so is obviously still thinking of it.
I see myself as a resilient and rational person who tends to just ‘get on with things’, and on the whole I feel ok after the fire. But naturally I have periods where I will be doing something ordinary and that day comes back into
my head, me screaming for my child as I couldn’t get to them and just reliving the whole trauma. I have spoken to family and friends at length about that day and I don’t feel I need any therapy as such.
But recently I have found my mood has dropped, I feel very irritable and impatient with things I would usually be fine with e.g a 20 minute drive home is what I have every day but recently it’s annoying me that it’s taking me 20 minutes, like I have an anxiety to be home immediately.
Im not really sure what I’m asking of this post, just could this be related to what’s happened? How can I help it? Would medication help? I’m just fed up of feeling snappy and on edge all the time and I feel like my children are suffering because of it.

Irritability is a classic sign of trauma, yes. I’d encourage you to reconsider the idea of therapy.

Am so sorry for what you experienced.

OP that is a considerable trauma and as PP says you would definitely benefit from some therapy.

Would there be some kind of medication that may help instead? I know the waiting list for therapy is typically very long and I don’t know how well I’d respond to it. I’m probably looking for a quick fix but I’d like to avoid months of therapy if possible.

You might like to look into EMDR, which is specifically for the kind of trauma you experienced. https://www.bacp.co.uk/about-therapy/types-of-therapy/eye-movement-desensitisation-and-reprocessing-emdr/

that day comes back into my head, me screaming for my child as I couldn’t get to them

Trauma can be experienced when your subconscious mind is trying to make sense of an experience. So, in your case, your mind is running through the day to see if there was something different you could have done/not done to change what happened - not to hurt you but to know what to do if this particular set of circumstances happens again. (I know it doesn't make logical sense but your subconscious is not logical, it's emotional.) Because it's a recent and not deep seated trauma therapy shouldn't be long winded or particularly expensive.

As it’s not deep seated is there a chance this will just pass? Obviously something that major cannot happen without some kind of reaction and I know my reaction is normal, I’m just not sure if it’s something I need help with or something I just need to let take it’s course.

Yes, it's very possible it will fade quite quickly. Use your resilience to accept that it was a situation that's highly unlikely to ever happen again, and therefore reliving it is not helpful. You coped in the best way you could at the time, which is what you do, and you learn, which is also what you do.

A cliche I love is that your record for coping with difficult days currently stands at 100%.

I would add the proviso that My child was understandably upset for quite a while...still talks about it now and again so is obviously still thinking of it. S/he might need some help processing what happened.

EMDR really is the thing and has very quick results indeed. A short course of that would could much less disturbance to your day to day life than getting started on medication, getting it calibrated and then, eventually, coming off again. They might be needed but shouldn’t be a first line approach ideally. EMDR isn’t talking therapy, which you might like about it too

I recognise annoyance as the first sign my anxiety is increasing.
Sorry to hear you both had such a scary experience.
I would be looking for therapy for you and your child. You can often self refer.

It might take its course but therapy could help the process. If you were OK before this one incident, you have a much better chance of a quicker recovery. Why not commit to just six sessions with a therapist experienced with trauma? If you work, you may get some free sessions through your company's EAP scheme, if they have one.

I can't recommend EMDR therapy enough. I had it for unprocessed childhood trauma and it was transformational. I genuinely don't really think about it now.