This disorder is commonly associated with the military and veterans returning from war. They suffer because of things that they have gone through based on their experiences in the war. However, there are other categories of people who can also suffer PTSD. Those can include abuse survivors - this means all types of abuse (physical, verbal, sexual), domestic violence, rape. This can also include traumas like car accidents or natural disasters. There are a lot of things people can go through and develop PTSD from.
According to nami.org, there are 4 main symptoms of PTSD.
The first is Intrusive Memories. These include things like flashbacks and nightmares. Flashbacks and nightmares can be set off by things called triggers. This could be a smell, sound, sight, taste, or touch that causes someone to revert back to what they went through in the past and almost re-experience it.
The second is Avoidance. This means avoiding areas that remind someone of the event. This could be avoiding a road where a car accident took place. This could be avoiding a certain section of a store because a certain item sets off flashbacks. NAMI also includes this "A person may feel numb, guilty, worried or depressed, or have trouble remembering the traumatic event" as part of avoidance. Avoidance can also include avoidance of feelings related to the event.
The third symptom is Dissociation. This is a hard concept for many people to grasp or understand. The best way to explain it to people is to relate to when imagine driving somewhere and reaching a destination and not remembering the process of getting there. Except instead of driving, having episodes in life like that. People have episodes where they don't know what they are doing or they dissociate to other personalities and don't realize what they are doing and don't remember what they are doing. It's something the body does to protect itself a lot of the time so it doesn't have to deal with the pain from the trauma.
The fourth symptom is Hypervigilance. This is where someone can be easily startled or are over aware of their surroundings. One example is constantly checking the parking lot to make sure their attacker isn't there. It could also mean not sleeping well or having outbursts of anger.
Triggers are the biggest thing when it comes to PTSD. When one is triggered, the body usually does one of three things: flight, fight or freeze. Until we give ourselves a chance to heal and go through therapy and work through everything those are our three options.
So how does this apply to my life?
Well I have PTSD from growing up with a physically, and mentally/emotionally/verbally abusive family. I have a few very specific triggers that I have a really hard time with. If I hear a belt snapping or being hit against something, that is a trigger. Seeing a paint stirrer (or paint stick as I call it) in any size is a trigger (granted, not as bad as it used to be). These types of things send me back to instant memories of growing up and they haunt me for days. I can't concentrate or think straight and have images constantly going through my head. I have nightmares with it too. Those are my main triggers when it comes to the physical abuse part of it. My response to these triggers varies. Sometimes it will end up being a combination of the three before I can get the images under control. For the other section, if I feel like I'm being targeted, ganged up on, personally attacked among other things, I will almost automatically shut down. If I am getting yelled at, or someone raises their voice at me, I will shut down. If someone raises their voice at someone else, I will probably shut down. This is the freeze part of the three options. I know there are other triggers but I can't think of them at the moment. But those are the real basic ones.
So what can you do to help me if I do get triggered and you notice it or figure it out?
The biggest thing you can do is help ground me. Bring me back to the present. When I am triggered I'm freaking out and having a lot of mixed up emotions but primarily anxiety and my head is not in the present moment and I need to be brought back to the present moment. This can be as simple as taking me outside if possible and pointing out the obvious or talking to me about what's around me and what's going on at that moment, even the littlest things. If my dog is laying on the floor, you can say that. Bringing my dog over to me is something to help me. I have a pillowcase that is comforting to me and helps ground me back into the present. Grounding is one of those things that I struggle doing on my own sometimes. Sometimes it is silly but it helps. Making me laugh or getting my mind off of whatever is going on helps as well. Getting me engaged in something else helps if I am ready for that. If I am still really anxious and shaky, then I still need to be grounded some more first. It will take me a while to be back to baseline again but any help (even if I try to fight you on it) will help in the long run. Trust me. PTSD is hard and is horrible to deal with alone. It can be crippling. Which is why the more people around who know about it the more people can help others about it.
A
person may also feel numb, guilty, worried or depressed or having
trouble remembering the traumatic event. - See more at:
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder#sthash.rhguXw31.dpufA
A
person may also feel numb, guilty, worried or depressed or having
trouble remembering the traumatic event. - See more at:
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder#sthash.rhguXw31.dpuf
A
person may also feel numb, guilty, worried or depressed or having
trouble remembering the traumatic event. - See more at:
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder#sthash.rhguXw31.dpuf
A
person may also feel numb, guilty, worried or depressed or having
trouble remembering the traumatic event. - See more at:
http://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions/Posttraumatic-Stress-Disorder#sthash.rhguXw31.dpuf
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