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PTSD and trauma

A space for discussing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), domestic abuse, sexual abuse and other trauma. Please note some content may be distressing.

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A_Tech PTSD for Medical and First Responders
  • replies: 276

Hi, Well obviously this my situation. I was hoping to find others here that might have a similar background to chat with, it can be so hard to talk about this stuff with non-med people (and I mean no disrespect, it's just often graffic or upsetting t... View more

Hi, Well obviously this my situation. I was hoping to find others here that might have a similar background to chat with, it can be so hard to talk about this stuff with non-med people (and I mean no disrespect, it's just often graffic or upsetting to others). Im a 40 year old female that has spent the last 10years in the State Trauma Hospital as an Anaesthetic Technician. My PTSD was brought about after years of exposure to shocking traumas, deaths, and no support from management. I would love to hear from anyone that has a similar story, or just wants to chat. Cheers

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Guest_79331030 Complex-PTSD
  • replies: 0

Massive trauma adding to my complex-PTSD from a hospital stay. These professionals are supposed to be people who we can confide in and trust them. My life hasn’t been the same since… Anyone else experienced a similar situation?

Massive trauma adding to my complex-PTSD from a hospital stay. These professionals are supposed to be people who we can confide in and trust them. My life hasn’t been the same since… Anyone else experienced a similar situation?

ABC01 Muscle-skeletal Pain from Trauma Question
  • replies: 4

Dear All, After suffering trauma this year, my body had started to tense up and lock up. I was given a muscle-skeletal relaxant and that worked for a while,as I was in alot of pain. But now the pain has returned. I still take the medication. My Psych... View more

Dear All, After suffering trauma this year, my body had started to tense up and lock up. I was given a muscle-skeletal relaxant and that worked for a while,as I was in alot of pain. But now the pain has returned. I still take the medication. My Psychiatrist has suggested physiotherapy for the pain. Massage specifically. Has anyone else had pain of this type and what techniques or strategies did you use to manage it. I mostly feel the pain strongly in the base of my neck, my spine behind my belly button and where my spine meets my tailbone. I am starting to get regular headaches too. I feel like The Princess and the Pea, where I can feel everything underneath me when I sit. Any edges on fabrics and so on. Any replies would be appreciated.Thank-you,ABC01

B97 My struggle with PTSD
  • replies: 1

Hi Beyond Blue community, I would like to share my story and battle with PTSD. I was a victim of domestic violence from my father, who suffered from bipolar disorder. After my mother and I escaped his abuse, I became her carer at the age of 13 as she... View more

Hi Beyond Blue community, I would like to share my story and battle with PTSD. I was a victim of domestic violence from my father, who suffered from bipolar disorder. After my mother and I escaped his abuse, I became her carer at the age of 13 as she battled a rare disease (AVM). This involved many traumatic events, including risky facial surgery, the smell of rotting flesh, bleeding from her mouth, and regular calls to triple zero. This horrible disease caused severe facial disfigurement as parts of her face had to be removed to eliminate the illness.Fast-forward to the present, my mother and I have been targeted by neighbours in a smear and hate campaign aimed at forcing us to move. We have been threatened, our property damaged, and harassed daily. I’ve had to take out personal safety orders and call the police almost every day. Sometimes, I’m too afraid to leave my mother alone at home while I’m at work. Unfortunately, this has been triggering my PTSD from the abuse I experienced in my childhood. It has affected my social interactions with work colleagues and others. I’ve struggled with suicidal thoughts and the overwhelming feeling of being stuck, as though nothing is improving.My goal is to escape this nightmare and start fresh, to prioritise my self-care and provide my mum with a safe environment where we can live in peace and rebuild our lives. I've had regular counselling and tried medication but until I escape this toxic neighbourhood I will never be free of this.

Patches63 PTSD Therapies
  • replies: 3

EMDR …. CBT. Has anyone gone through therapy for PTSD / Separation Anxiety with either of these? Seeking any thoughts, knowledge, experiences with either plus, if possible, and positives or negatives for either. My therapist keeps talking about me st... View more

EMDR …. CBT. Has anyone gone through therapy for PTSD / Separation Anxiety with either of these? Seeking any thoughts, knowledge, experiences with either plus, if possible, and positives or negatives for either. My therapist keeps talking about me starting EMDR due to years of trauma initiating with suicide of an uncle when I was 9year old. Don’t know if I want to do EMDR. Having someone in my personal space I find leaves my feel nervous and on edge some times. Wanting to talk to my therapist at next session about me being involved and having a say as to type of therapy I feel I want to try. During last few months therapist has mentioned her high success rate when using EMDR. She has explained about EMDR but not about CBT or other therapies she is trained in

Guest_35880426 Online chat to counselling
  • replies: 1

Can't access online chat.A window comes up to insert name and numberThen nothing happensNo button to press to continue

Can't access online chat.A window comes up to insert name and numberThen nothing happensNo button to press to continue

Guest_05031319 Husbands porn addiction
  • replies: 1

My husband of 10 years has started therapy for porn addiction ,we’ve downloaded porn block and accountability software on his phone with his permission , the therapist has asked he disclose things and he has and I’m struggling big time ,I have a past... View more

My husband of 10 years has started therapy for porn addiction ,we’ve downloaded porn block and accountability software on his phone with his permission , the therapist has asked he disclose things and he has and I’m struggling big time ,I have a past history of trauma and cptsd .

ScooterCat Feeling angry at those who hurt me
  • replies: 5

How does anyone have the guts to tell a vulnerable child that they’re unwanted? To make them feel like they don’t matter? To bully them and shame them for every little thing they do? In school, I was teased, excluded and put down by many of my peers.... View more

How does anyone have the guts to tell a vulnerable child that they’re unwanted? To make them feel like they don’t matter? To bully them and shame them for every little thing they do? In school, I was teased, excluded and put down by many of my peers. Not many people wanted to be my friend, nor did they want to be my partner when it came to group work. In recess, people would always put me last in their games and make fun of me. The teachers would also shame me if I couldn’t do my work or if I did something wrong in the yard. Not once did they offer any compassion; they rubbed it all in my face and made me feel like I was a bad person. They yelled at me and they didn’t care whether they shamed me in front of other students or not. The home environment was no different. It was just as tormenting at school, except it felt more painful. When the people who were supposed to be your biggest allies hurt you, you suddenly realise that there’s no one in the world you can ever trust. As an adult now, I see people who have friends and others who care about them while I wallow away at my feelings and struggle to move on in life. Why couldn’t I have had the same? Why was I never loved? Why did I deserve to go through all this suffering? Is it really true that no one cares about me?

ABC01 Lived experience:How to feel enjoyable in activities again?
  • replies: 11

Dear all, I don’t feel anything is enjoyable anymore. For example,if I play a game on the computer and then I am feeling, say uncomfortable,sad or anxious. The next time I see the game or try to play it, the same feelings I had at that time are attac... View more

Dear all, I don’t feel anything is enjoyable anymore. For example,if I play a game on the computer and then I am feeling, say uncomfortable,sad or anxious. The next time I see the game or try to play it, the same feelings I had at that time are attached to that particular activity. And I avoid it, to avoid feeling that same way again. All of the things I do are to distract myself from what I am feeling or trying not to think of ect. Does anyone have learned experience of how to make activities not like this or enjoyable again? I have avoided so many things because of these attached feelings. And I need to live my daily life again. Any advice would be much appreciated.Thank you,ABC01

Catie 08 Why do we need to label it?
  • replies: 2

I experienced abuse as a kid over many years and never spoke about it until I was in my 30's. Living most of my life without labels, it makes me cringe now when I hear people use the reference victim survivor. For me, it is unhelpful. How I feel can ... View more

I experienced abuse as a kid over many years and never spoke about it until I was in my 30's. Living most of my life without labels, it makes me cringe now when I hear people use the reference victim survivor. For me, it is unhelpful. How I feel can change from day to day. Sometimes I feel like a victim and other days I feel like a survivor but I find it more helpful to say that I experienced what I did. For me, it leaves room for me to grow, evolve and try and live my life the best I can. If I am told I'm a victim or survivor of something then that label sticks. And sure, we may well be a victim or a survivor of our past but I feel that it is so much harder to find ways to look towards a fresh chapter of life when we aren't given the chance to take our experiences with us, no matter how hurific the pain and how traumatic the experience, without the chance to choose for ourselves how we want to be seen. I don't hear of others feeling this way, and perhaps that's because the use of these labels in the media are so widely used and accepted, but I wondered what others who are being labelled feel about this?

user cptsd and fear
  • replies: 23

so i have cptsd and i wanna know if anyone else is living like this. i feel like no one is gonna reply but i am desperate. i am fearful and scared all the time. like fearful for my life all day and all life. i am no longer in 'danger' and do not stil... View more

so i have cptsd and i wanna know if anyone else is living like this. i feel like no one is gonna reply but i am desperate. i am fearful and scared all the time. like fearful for my life all day and all life. i am no longer in 'danger' and do not still live with my abusers but I still feel like I am unsafe. Its like being fearful of everything around me at all times. like even if no one is there, I am still looking behind me and chekcinhg everything all the time because I am scared. i also get really bad physical symptoms of the trauma, like vomiting and difficulty breathing. it is not just from time to time my heart is racing and i am scared - it is all the time. It does get worse when i have flashbacks etc but my constant state is fear. How am I supposed to live like this? is this just part of cptsd?