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If you have been diagnosed with PTSD....

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#1 Jul 15 - 8PM
Leah2
Leah2's picture

If you have been diagnosed with PTSD....

I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder today! Wow. Scary stuff. I know that many of you have had the same diagnosis, and it feels strange but "good" to have a name to put to my sleeplessness, inability to concentrate, constant thinking of my ex, and feeling of just not "being present". After feeling so low and confused this weekend, I went to a psychiatrist (several weeks of therapy with a counsellor has not helped) thinking that she would "just" tell me I was depressed. Well, she went straight to the point and said it was PTSD. She did not prescribe antidepressants but a good sleep aid (lunesta) and has suggested several herbal treatments (lemon balm and 5htp) and also told me to STOP the antianxiety medicines that my doctor had given me to help with sleep. They were great at the sleep part, but she says they can WORSEN PTSD. Finally, she said that certain types of talk therapy can make PTSD worse, esepcially if you keep going back to the pain that you suffered. I will start working with her on "solution focused" therapy which is supposed to be much more helpful and gets you out of PTSD rather than keeping you stuck in the pain. So, for those of you who are suffering from PTSD (or have been diagnosed with this) and are on antianxiety meds, you may want to check if this could be making the symptoms worse. Also, you may want to look for a PTSD therapist.

Just wanted to share this given all your support!!

Jul 19 - 10PM
gettingbetter
gettingbetter's picture

brought me to my knees...

The end of my most recent n-relationship brought me to my knees for the first time in my life. PTSD symptoms (couldn't eat, sleep, shaking so bad there were some days I couldn't sign my name, uncontrollable sobbing, obsessive thinking (woulda coulda should) etc.) I couldn't stand it anymore and fled to a great psychiatrist and psychotherapist. Both these professionals have helped put me back together with meds for depression, anxiety and sleep; and talk therapy. I'm getting back to happy, secure and settled -- the great spot I was in when the rat came into my life. Took him 2.5 years to finally break me.
Jul 20 - 10AM (Reply to #9)
Lisa E. Scott
Lisa E. Scott's picture

Gettingbetter

I'm so glad you found a great psychiatrist and psychoterapist to help put you back on track. It's amazing what these men can do to our sanity. I'm so glad you're free. xoxo
Jul 16 - 10PM
Steph
Steph's picture

I am so happy you found a

I am so happy you found a great therapist. It truley makes all the difference. Thanks for sharing:) xoxo
Jul 16 - 11AM
better off
better off's picture

I'm so glad for you that you

I'm so glad for you that you have a found a good doctor who understands and that you are taking the first steps out of the morass. Here is a great website about PTSD, and it's very solution-oriented. I still remember writing in my journal the first affirmation every day for a long time: "I will create a powerful healing intention." I think those words will stick with me forever! www.healmyptsd.com
Jul 16 - 11AM (Reply to #5)
better off
better off's picture

Wow... I just looked on that

Wow... I just looked on that site, and saw something so apropos to the recent discussions on this site: "PTSD Healing Thought of the Week: It Is Possible To Conquer The Past" article here http://healmyptsd.com/2010/07/ptsd-healing-thought-of-the-week-it-is-possible-to-conquer-the-past.html
Jul 16 - 8PM (Reply to #6)
neveragain5
neveragain5's picture

better off

Thanks for posting this! This book looks interesting and it's great to hear that it isn't something that we have to live with the rest of our lives.
Jul 16 - 12AM
Lisa E. Scott
Lisa E. Scott's picture

Leah2

"She said that certain types of talk therapy can make PTSD worse, esepcially if you keep going back to the pain that you suffered." Talk therapy did nothing but exasperate my OCD, which I've talked about in the past. To sit with someone one night a week and overanalyze everything in my life only causes me to obsess about more.
Jul 19 - 9PM (Reply to #3)
BlueMoon
BlueMoon's picture

YES! revisitng trauma is no cure for me...

Thank you, Lisa... Talk therapy, especially the sort that revisits the past, beating a dead horse, made my PTSD WORSE! I understand my issues...talking every week about how fucked up my life was growing up was counterproductive, BIG TIME. I kept becoming retraumatized...studies show that the brain experiences a traumatic memory as if it were currently happening, and the body exudes the same stress hormone, cortisol, as if the event were currently happening. If any therapy was to be beneficial, it is cognitive-behavioral...dealing with real-life pragmatic solutions in the present to overcome the past... Even then, after my understanding of my patterns and past, of course, the biggest thing that I found to be beneficial was an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety med- Cymbalta for me... I am so even and steady now...my brain chemistry was my worst enemy...yes, probably sparked by the Narc father from early childhood, but always lurking...I was always trying to run from these voices of shame, self-examination, self-loathing...all of which is GONE! A miracle!! For me, re-living and exhuming the past prevented me from enjoying the present, and most importantly, gave WAY too much power to those assholes who fucked me up. The former moderator was always so dogmatic in her insistence of therapy...never realizing that we all have our own experiences and journey and choices as autonomous women to make.. Thank you so much for everything that you do...
Jul 16 - 5AM (Reply to #2)
awayfromhim
awayfromhim's picture

PTSD

I think talk therapy is different for each individual with PTSD. I had 30 years with an abusive alcoholic N and, let me tell ya' the PTSD was very rough for awhile. I had to be medicated short term or I would not have been able to hold down my job. Having regular panic attacks in the ladies room isn't very conducive to productivity. I talked about the abuse, the patterns, his behaviors and it was only by talking about it that I was able to come to terms with what had happened and what the N is. It was gut wrenching talking about how an abusive prick took so many years from me. It was absolutely horrific to discover that he did it intentionally. It was only by talking about it, learning about N behavior, realizing that all the shit he pinned on me wasn't my fault, that I was able to turn the corner towards recovery. I still have PTSD. But the instances of recall, paranoia and outright panic have abated greatly not only from almost two years of talk therapy but also from NC.