ptsd
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; The storm after the storm.
Waiting for the Sun to Rise
Watching my best friend at the time getting hit and killed by a drunk driver changed my life forever. Many many years later, I learned to accept it and to change that incident into a positive one but before I had learned to do that, it took over my life in a very negative, self destructive way, to the point of attempting to take my life many times. This is the story of when I felt truly hopeless.
Alberto DelaneyPublished 6 years ago in PsycheNo One To Save Me - Part 5
No One to Save Me Part 5 There was a remote area our father used to take us; a river under the San Jacinto bridge off hwy 59 towards New Caney. We rarely saw anyone else there. At night it was a haven for the homeless and there were a couple of large barrels used for making a fire. The river flowed swiftly and the drop off was steep. It really was dangerous for anyone to go swimming. A railroad track ran nearby. It is important to note that Walter frequented this spot, considering his pathological behavior.
Jennifer ReinoldsPublished 6 years ago in PsychePTSD Final Chapter
Here is the final chapter of my story. In my last post I told you about the end of my mother’s reign of terror. Keep in mind that this is only part of what happened. If I were to tell all, I would have to write a book.
Kathleen WilliamsPublished 6 years ago in PsychePTSD
Let’s talk about PTSD. Most of us connect PTSD with war and our military. While it is prevalent with our veterans the media fails to tell the story about those of us who have gone through something so traumatic in life that we are left scarred for life. Yes, many of the “Millennial Generation” use that phrase often. What they don’t realize is it is a very serious disease. How many of you have had a death in the family, it sticks with you. In some cases that loved one that passed was very close with you. You hoard pictures and memorabilia to remember them. You take them out from time to time and reminisce on the happy times you spent together. But you refrain from remembering their death. You don’t want to think about something so terrible. So heart breaking. Now imagine you can’t choose what you remember or when you remember it. That alone would be nerve racking right? That’s how PTSD works. Only most of those memories you don’t want to remember are terrible, frightening experiences. I’m going to tell you what happened to me, how I was diagnosed at age 11, and how I finally became comfortable telling others about what happened.
Kathleen WilliamsPublished 6 years ago in PsycheMy Depression
I shall start from the very beginning. I was only ten years old when things took a very terrible turn. To this day I suffer from PTSD, clinical depression, and anxiety.
Samantha BurgessPublished 6 years ago in PsychePTSD and the British Cop
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is defined as "a condition of persistent mental and emotional stress occurring as a result of injury or sever psychological shock, typically involving disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others and the outside world."
PTSD Survivor
I am sitting in my cold chair in my American government class like I have every day since school started. The class is reading current events on CNN. The headline reads, "Seattle Mayor resigns for sexual abuse allegations." As I continue to read the summary, I slowly sink down into my chair, barely able breathe, unable to talk. This is not an unfamiliar feeling; I am a PTSD survivor.
Lonely WomanPublished 6 years ago in PsychePTSD
The truth about PTSD! I suppose I best start with a short introduction. My name is Sam and I served in the British armed forces from 1995 until 2013. During that time I had served in Africa, Iraq, Kosovo, Bosnia and a few other locations. So let's begin to talk about that dirty thing known as PTSD. Firstly, it's not something you should be ashamed of. It's completely normal to be the way you are. It's the brains way of somehow coping with trauma, the problem is, is that it changes you, the sufferer, in more ways than you can imagine. For some it starts with resentment or bitterness towards others. For others it could be small lies, or the odd shouting for the smallest thing. I found that I started to lose my temper very easily, I would go mad sometimes thinking about wanting to hurt someone. This then became more and more gradual. My hatred became so bad that I struggled being around almost anybody. Then, other things started happening to me, I was lying all the time; to friends, family and co-workers, it got to the point where even I didn't know the difference between what was the truth and what was a lie. After this the next stage was being mischievous, I mean..... I was taking out bank loans and credit cards that I didn't even need and funny enough the debts started building up fast. People really started to notice a bad change in not only my personality but also in my appearance. I didn't shave, my eyes where dark and sunken, I trembled with either fear or anger. All I ever thought was there was danger just around the corner and I had to be ready at all times no matter what. Every one was my enemy and as such, I had to protect myself at any cost including taking someone's life. Shortly after, I started to notice the change in myself and that's when I started to feel sorry for myself. I mean, between the nightmares, flashbacks and all the other stuff, it just got way, way, way too much. This continued for months and that's when I distanced myself from everyone even those who cared and loved me. You see, what PTSD really does is it wants to get you all alone, it wants YOU! All to itself. It wants you to get rid of all and any help out there so that your so low and I mean low, like way below the bottom of a barrel low. The drinking starts, and gets worse and worse and the moods really get bad. That's when the thoughts in your head start, that little voice starts whispering the unthinkable. Suicide, it wants YOU to pick up the gun or grab the razor blade or find that high bridge or get the whiskey and tablets and just end it all now. You sit there thinking about how you've hurt everyone around you, how no one can bear being anywhere near you. It's doing this over and over and over until finally, the band just snaps and you do it. You just end it there andtThen, you believe that everyone will be so much better with you gone. The actual fact is, this is far from the truth. WHAT you've done is you've just hurt everyone far more than you could possibly imagine. So, how do you stop it? When is it time to say I need help, and I need help now. For me, I asked for help when I failed to take my own life, for others it was when they noticed a change in themselves. But we're all different and to be honest it's not where or when but it's the fact that you need to accept the illness and you need to reach out and get the help you need asap. Treat it as if your life depends upon it because the reality is, it does! When I started getting help, the first thing we did was behavioural therapy helping me to be around people again without wanting to harm them. Once I had received this treatment for eight months, I started to feel much better. I could actually be around people again and I even started to smile again. This is when we also talked about the nightmares and the flashbacks. The treatment was called EMDR. Using sound and eye movement, your focused on the images that come into your head and with the therapy after some time, these memories and images disappear. The nightmares and the flashbacks disappear, but there's a side effect. Memory loss! For me, I lost almost two years of my memory. It was all a complete blank, and depending on the person, this can take years to get back. But no matter what happens, you have to realise that having done all this, you really are on the mend. And with that, you can start with fighting to gaining your life back. The people that care about you will see the difference in time and people will start to have trust in you in good time. You just have to remember that it's down to YOU! You need to be the one to realise that YOU need the help and only YOU can reach out and ask for it. When you do this, then the rest is history and the new beginning of your life will start. I wish you all the very best and hope that some of this is of some help to someone out there. Even if this is able to save one life, then I've done some good. And that's good enough for me. Take care people and all the very best.
Sammy FreemanPublished 6 years ago in PsycheMy Cup Is Full
There are many lessons we learn when working EMS, and many are not what most people on the outside would expect. My very first lesson on my very first day of EMT-B class, I learned the five basic food groups of public service being: caffeine, nicotine, fat, alcohol and sugar. A class of 27 individuals in an accelerate 40 hour-a-week month-long course sat dumbfounded. The instructor continued, “every operator must pick three of these five or you will never make it, but be advised some are more destructive than others.” Four people graduated from that class, myself among them.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD. When you hear the word, what do you think of? 90 percent of people will say "army" or "military." Some might say "childhood abuse" or "rape victims." No. Not always.
Max CampbellPublished 6 years ago in PsychePast to Present
One day there was a girl who thought she put her past behind her and moved forward. Until one day everything changed. Twenty-seven year old Nicole graduated from college. She earned her undergraduate degree and her doctorate in psychology. She wanted to become a therapist for kids. She had a life connection of growing up with no parents. She spent seven years in college and Nicole was positive that this is what she wanted to be. She wanted to help kids that didn't have parents.
Cade BowenPublished 6 years ago in PsycheSixteen and Diagnosed With PTSD
Personally, whenever I hear someone say "PTSD," my mind immediately thinks of the courageous men and women who have served the country, or at least I used, too. Don't get me wrong, I still associate it with war. I'm very grateful for those who are serving or have served our country and I have much sympathy for them, but I guess I just have more of an understanding ever since my diagnoses.
Jen CraveiroPublished 6 years ago in Psyche