Living with PTSD or C-PTSD

[DeepRubySwan]

Hi all

I've been diagnosed (in Feb this year) with PTSD Dissociative subtype. This was due to multiple violent incidents at my workplace (I am a social worker). It's been a hard road and it looks like I'll need to change careers in the short term. Is anyone interested in starting an ongoing support thread for those of us with PTSD?

I am really sorry to hear and i hope you are getting the treatment you need.

I'm looking after my son who is out of school with cPTSD. It was caused by surgery in infancy for him. I also had PTSD after the surgery but have been successfully treated for it.

I think we might be interested to join.

I've read a ton of books about and had personal experience of making a full recovery.

The only difficulty I always find about long term support threads is that in order be fully present in the thread I always have to share more life detail then is really safe or sensible on a public forum.

That's always the hard part.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had all that to cope with in your career. That sounds very hard. It does sound as though a change of job might be a good idea.

The guy who is being a therapist for my DS at the moment was a social worked before and now is a therapist for teens. He is very very good at his job. He mainly listens while my ASD son talks about his special interests, so it's pretty safe work as long as you don't mind long stories about lego and stuff like that.

I agree with the previous poster. I live with c-ptsd. I have done for 5 years. It's a very tough condition to live with and very isolating, impacts so much on day to day life.

I wouldn't want to share personal details on here though.

I have complex PTSD which stems from childhood but actually wasn’t diagnosed until my 40s. It’s hard to live with; I am hyper vigilant and often feel physical fear for hours over a minor scary thing. I don’t often feel completely safe, despite having the most stable and dependable DH I fear things irrationally. I have tried to get therapy but my health board is so shit that at one point I was refused a referral as I won’t take meds. I was assessed and diagnosed by a private psychiatrist so while it’s been added to my medical records I didn’t have the usual pathway to therapy so I’m basically just muddling through. I do find that since I won’t what it is I have been much more able to manage when things do get worse.

I have PTSD from a trauma in 2014 and my 10yr old son has now been diagnosed by CAHM's with PTSD after trauma last year. He's currently having EMDR mixed with normal therapy from CAHM's. For me I've only ever had talking therapy which I don't think did anything and I'm on citalopram for other anxieties.

I've worked with trauma/PTSD and c-PTSD and this is the way I describe it.

When something bad and/or unexpected happens – either as a single trauma or a series of linked events – a part of the mind takes on the job of figuring out exactly what happen, why it happened and (crucially) what our role was in the event. This isn't to punish or torment us but to stop that particular thing happening again – it's a protective mechanism to prevent further hurt, either physically or mentally.

That will be resolved quickly if (for example) we admit were texting when the car accident happened, or the abuser confesses and is punished, but some things are just so random or unexpected that there's absolutely no way of predicting them, preparing for them or avoiding them. It is just 'one of those things'.

However that bit of your subconscious doesn't get this message and carries on relentlessly looking for clues – hence the flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, nightmares that are often part of trauma and (for you) the "why me?" for single traumas and "I MUST be somehow to blame" when the same thing keeps happening in the case of childhood abuse (you never are to blame).

Once that part of your mind understands that there isn't, and never will be, a satisfactory answer it will stop, because it's a fruitless exercise which is detracting from your happiness in the present day. You won't forget what happened but the emotional link will be broken.

Thanks everyone! Yes long term support threads are hard. Id be happy to organise a private Facebook group or something similar....I take Lexapro 20 mg and Prazosin, see a psychiatrist weekly and psych monthly. Do Pilates for somatic therapy. It'sAllDifferent my son is ASD too. Therapy with teens might be a good options thanks for the suggestion! Does anyone else on here struggle with nightmares and hypervigilance? What about impact on relationships?

Nightmares are very common for me, several times per week, sometimes they're not even related to the trauma which confuses me but they're horrible and can sometimes cause a panic attack when I wake from them. I did try dream re-writing as part of therapy, if say it helped about 20% which was enough for me to continue to spend time on it, but it may work better for others if anyone is interested I'd be happy to explain further.

I've had treatment for cPTSD. It's a long road. I'm sorry to hear about your experiences. EMDR therapy helped me.

I have cPTSD stemming from childhood and it all flared up about work as well after working in a really difficult environment for years. Happy to join a private group. Had counselling with EMDR but struggle still at times, it really helped though. I do have nightmares sometimes but this has been so much better with the counselling

I have PTSD after being put through a disciplinary process for something which I had not done, at the hands of someone who was one of my best friends. It wasn't in the workplace, it was in our church, so the fact it is connected with my faith makes it even harder, as I am a devout Christian and my faith influences every part of me.
I have had so much love from those around me in the community and our safeguarding officer has tried to help me. But I cannot face another 'meeting'. It has been 9 months now and I still cry most days, have lost a stone in weight, have headaches and don't sleep well. I honestly don't know how to process or get through this.

So sorry you went through this, that's absolutely awful. I think EMDR is now considered to be the best treatment for PTSD but it's very hard to come by without going private and can cost a fortune.

@IneedtheeohIneedtheeeveryhourIneedthee Have a look at my post up thread. If it resonates I'd be happy to put you in touch with a colleague who understands what your faith mean to you (as a non believer it would be inauthentic of me to work with you).