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PTSD and trauma

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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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East26 Acceptance after a car accident and injury
  • replies: 13

I was involved last November in a car accident while responding to a volunteer situation.My arm got severely injured. I have had a surgery and I am due for one in a couple of weeks and another down the track. All up, I was told it will take me up to ... View more

I was involved last November in a car accident while responding to a volunteer situation.My arm got severely injured. I have had a surgery and I am due for one in a couple of weeks and another down the track. All up, I was told it will take me up to two years, with little chance of regaining full motion. i have lots of trouble accepting the time frame, and in a way I think the extend of the injuries. I am active and all of a sudden, I need help for the basic things. i also have trouble dealing with the volunteering which I can’t do fully. I love that part, i love the people. Seeing all this and knowing I can’t do it just breaks me. My husband is part of the organisation too so I can’t disconnect completely, even for a little while. My husband says “i am not fun”. I know I have bad and good days, which is normal. This will change me I know. I know that done things will need to change but I can’t seem to accept my injury and what it means, not only now but for later.

Patches63 PTSD Therapies
  • replies: 4

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

Eagle Ray Dealing with racist views
  • replies: 23

*Trigger warning - potentially very distressing* A couple of weeks ago I saw someone in town I knew. We were having a conversation when she began to express some generalised statements about a particular group of people. It progressively got worse in... View more

*Trigger warning - potentially very distressing* A couple of weeks ago I saw someone in town I knew. We were having a conversation when she began to express some generalised statements about a particular group of people. It progressively got worse into more blatant racism. I expressed that what she was saying was upsetting me. It then just got worse in terms of what she was saying and I found myself suddenly saying, "I can't continue this conversation, I'm sorry", and I just automatically left. The reason it was triggering for me is because a really gentle soul from my childhood was murdered with the perpetrators even admitting they did it on the basis of race. It was this same group of people the above mentioned person in town was referring to. I am being particularly vague so as to protect the identities of people affected. So all these sudden trauma emotions came up for me around this issue and that's why something in me just took over and I said I couldn't continue the conversation and left as a form of self-protection. The person I walked away from knows people in my unit complex and she has turned two of the residents against me. I am now dealing with daily comments that I hear clearly from the courtyard such as "F#%k her" and similar in reference to me. Today I wrote a one page letter to explain to the person I walked away from why her comments were so distressing for me, including explaining about the murder, and put it in her letterbox. I am hoping she may be more understanding as a result but not necessarily confident that will happen. I now feel persecuted in my small town because I took a stance against racist speech. I feel like I need to leave and I just don't fit here. I love the surrounding landscape and feel connected to that, but I feel I am out of place in this conservative town and unless the people currently hostile to me can come to understand my point of view and past experiences, I feel I am going to be in an awful situation daily from now on. Has anyone else ever dealt with anything like this? I actually feel unsafe and I already struggle with a whole lot of complex trauma issues around safety. I did talk to my psychologist today which was helpful. I am working on just standing tall and being straight forward and doing my best not to be intimidated. But I do feel very unwelcome here now. My closest friend in these units is my elderly neighbour who is now in hospital and so I'm concerned about her too. Just feeling very isolated.

Gracee_ Is this normal?
  • replies: 1

So as I’ve gotten older I’ve had these moments where memories from my child have popped into my head, driving or laying in bed at night or mid way through watching a movie, and they are of some traumatic moments from my childhood. Often it starts wit... View more

So as I’ve gotten older I’ve had these moments where memories from my child have popped into my head, driving or laying in bed at night or mid way through watching a movie, and they are of some traumatic moments from my childhood. Often it starts with things I remember but then moves into part of the memory I haven’t previously remembered. It isn’t always the whole thing either, it’s like there’s holes or parts missing but I know it belongs to part of that memory and I know there’s gaps in it. An example is tonight I remembered my suicide attempt while in high school, I haven’t thought about this in years or any part of it and then all of a sudden I remember putting on my school uniform on Monday morning as if nothing happened on Friday night and I didn’t spend all weekend in hospital. But then I don’t remember what came after that other then I remember one psychologist appointment 2 weeks after the attempt and then blank again. I then just sit there and question how I could have forgotten that? It was obviously such an awful time but it’s like it was wiped and then just popped back up tonight. I guess my question is, is this normal? Does it happen to other people because it’s only really started happening this year to me.

Guest_79331030 Complex-PTSD
  • replies: 2

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.

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 .

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