PTSD Question

[ZGundam]

I recently tried to get into a study for people with depression, or believe they do, and after the interviewer asking/answering questions she determined that I had PTSD.

Is it even possbile to have PTSD without having to deal with war?

Should I seriously find a counselor to talk to about this?

Is it just bunk?

[General Zod]

You can get PTSD without having been to war, any sufficiently traumatic experience could trigger it. If you want a more detailed explanation ask a professional.

[ZGundam]

Ok, I'll do that.

Seems my PTSD was brought on by being tourtured both verbally and physically in high school. It didn't really hit me until people from high school were planning the 30th reunion and I started hearing from those that treated me bad.

It hit me full in the face and I started remembering all the bad things.

It's making me wonder if I should go and face my demons or not.

[Coyote]

Rape victim sometimes suffer PTSD, it isn't just for soldiers who have survived war. Any trauma can qualify. Car crashes, people who were in abusive relationships, etc.

[Themightytom]

Ok, I'll do that.

Seems my PTSD was brought on by being tourtured both verbally and physically in high school. It didn't really hit me until people from high school were planning the 30th reunion and I started hearing from those that treated me bad.

It hit me full in the face and I started remembering all the bad things.

It's making me wonder if I should go and face my demons or not.

You must have disclosed information that fit the diagnostic criteria for PTSD. (Below) The long term negative effects of school bullying is pretty well documented, though I have not personally heard of a PTSD diagnosis coming out of it. Criteria 1 could certainly refer to the perception of harm to physical integrity.

War is absolutely NOT the only application for PTSD. Rape cvictims, battered spouses children of abusive parents, natural disaster victims, accident victims terrorist victims and Sweet jesus even Wall Street Stock Brokers have been diagnosed with PTSD. Conversely When I went to Honduras a few years back a guy I was working with got robbed and stabbed and was kind of like "Well it was my third time and that happens a lot here" and seems pretty much no worse for wear. With trauma your mileage may vary.

See a component of the term trauma is your ability to cope with or process the situation you were exposed to and it sounds like you did very little to process it at the time, you just moved on which is its own criteria actually. This is part of why battered wives stay with their abusers, they really don't think about the event after it happened. My question for you would be how does it affect you NOW. The severity of its current influence on you is where the diagnosis and basis for referral comes from.


I work regularly with clients who have been traumatized by any number of experiences encountered while they were homeless. Some witnessed crimes, some were trapped in dangerous living situations, last week I had a woman telling me one time after an argument her abusive BF decided to wake her up by dumping dirty cat litter on her. She... described horror...
...but stayed with him for two years because she had no where else to live.

I'd go to your reunion but bring someone you trust and come up with a backdoor phrase if you feel uncomfortable so that you can immediately extricate yourself from the situation if you become uncomfortable without drawing attention. Knowing that you can leave at any time is always a help. Also if the friend you bring is 8 feet tall there is added security.



http://www.mental-health-today.com/ptsd/dsm.htm
Boring Alert: Spoiler

309.81 DSM-IV Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:

(1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others (2) the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

B. The traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways:

(1) recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions. Note: In young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.

(2) recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: In children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content.

(3) acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated). Note: In young children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.

(4) intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

(5) physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

C. Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

(1) efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma

(2) efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma

(3) inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma

(4) markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities

(5) feeling of detachment or estrangement from others

(6) restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)

(7) sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)

D. Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:

(1) difficulty falling or staying asleep
(2) irritability or outbursts of anger
(3) difficulty concentrating
(4) hypervigilance
(5) exaggerated startle response

E. Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in Criteria B, C, and D) is more than one month.

F. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Specify if:
Acute: if duration of symptoms is less than 3 months
Chronic: if duration of symptoms is 3 months or more

Specify if:
With Delayed Onset: if onset of symptoms is at least 6 months after the stressor

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

I recently tried to get into a study for people with depression, or believe they do, and after the interviewer asking/answering questions she determined that I had PTSD.

Is it even possbile to have PTSD without having to deal with war?

It's called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Not Post-War Stress Disorder. It's only associated with war because, well, war is a traumatic experience. But any trauma disturbing enough to cause one to present the symptoms of PTSD will do, and that threshold frequently changes from person to person.

Should I seriously find a counselor to talk to about this?

Yes, you should get a formal psychiatric evaluation from a trained mental health professional; and not random people off the interwebs. If you do, in fact, have PTSD; there are treatments available that can help you manage it.

[ZGundam]

Should I seriously find a counselor to talk to about this?

Yes, you should get a formal psychiatric evaluation from a trained mental health professional; and not random people off the interwebs. If you do, in fact, have PTSD; there are treatments available that can help you manage it.[/quote]

I do plan on doing that and am loking for one though my medical plan at work. I guess I always felt that I was pretty normal without issues then this hits me in the face like a sledgehammer. Now I feel like a nutcase, like someone who needs to be locked up.

It's...unsettling.

[Stofsk]

That's because suffering mental illnesses like depression or PTSD do not lend themselves to obvious and overt signs even you can pick up on. For the longest time you might 'think' you're fine, and carry on day-to-day, but neglect the feelings you have about yourself or your circumstances. It's unsettling when someone not connected to you or your personal social sphere picks up on the signs and delves into it with you. Yet this is natural, because you can hardly be objective about yourself all the time, and not even most of the time. It really does make a difference to have someone objective come along and make a determination and help you navigate your way through the morass that is your mental state.

As far as getting help is concerned, you certainly should seek professional help of some capacity, whether this is from a counselor, a psychiatrist or a doctor. But you shouldn't be put off from talking about it, as getting your thoughts and feelings off your chest can help you. Just don't expect anyone here to write you a prescription for antidepressants or whatever.

[Gil Hamilton]

I do plan on doing that and am loking for one though my medical plan at work. I guess I always felt that I was pretty normal without issues then this hits me in the face like a sledgehammer. Now I feel like a nutcase, like someone who needs to be locked up.

It's...unsettling.

What's going to make it feel unsettling is when you actually meet those people in high school and they are entirely friendly, having absolutely no idea how badly they treated you. I didn't have it that bad in high school at all, but I occasionally would bump into people I knew then and absolutely disliked, and they'd want to talk about the good ole times. You think "Good times? There were never any good times between us. You were an absolute asshole to me. Why should I do that?"

No matter how bad things get, they are always sunnier in hindsight. I suggest you meet these people and go to the reunion. It will help.

[Aaron]

An interview for a study is insufficient (grossly) to determine whether you have PTSD. You have to be seen by a psychiatrist and there is an extensive battery of tests for it. Now that said, if you think there is something wrong, then follow up on it but I wouldn't take what you where told as gospel.

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions. I have PTSD but I'd rather not discuss it or have your personal issues broadcast on a forum.