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PTSD and trauma

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A_Tech PTSD for Medical and First Responders
  • replies: 274

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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Akiner Toxic Family
  • replies: 7

Hi, In my early childhood 5-7 years old I would be first hand witness to my mother & father arguing which led to my father leaving the house & seeing other women, & also witnessed my father being violent towards my mum. I witnessed my mum & her side ... View more

Hi, In my early childhood 5-7 years old I would be first hand witness to my mother & father arguing which led to my father leaving the house & seeing other women, & also witnessed my father being violent towards my mum. I witnessed my mum & her side of the family always throwing shade at my dad & bagging him to his kids. My 2 older sister's would get psychically violent with one another if they didn't agree on something. My family never had a healthy way of communicating, everything just resulted and ended with violence. Due to financial reasons, my family decided that it was best off they leave me with my grandmother till they could get back on their feet as they were struggling to find somewhere to live & we would never have stable accomodation. My grandmother treated me very poorly & would always favour my 1st cousin which was my age over me. If my cousin would do something wrong, I would get the blame for it, no questions asked. I think I heard her say once that she Neva liked me because I looked like my father. My father passed away when I was 7 years old due to having a liver failure from too much alcohol consumption, even though he knew he was going to die that didn't stop him from drinking & leaving us financially broke. At the age of 10 I witnessed my mother suffer her first heart attack when we got an emergency call to make our way to the hospital, and witnessed her eyes roll back as she was suffering a heart attack right in front of me. A few years later she suffered another 2 heart attacks and I was first hand witness and called the ambulance. Due to financial difficulties that my father left us in, my mum had to continue to work to pay for the food, rent, clothes etc, and I was left in the care of my 2 older sisters. They had their own demons they were facing & started consuming heavy drugs and I was around 9-10 years old when it first started. The drug habit of my 2 sisters went on for years, and I would always be there to support them being the youngest sibling I felt like the eldest. My school life wasn't the best, it wasn't very organised and I would hardy ever attend because of my family issues & I felt ashamed because I thought my friends knew about what was happening at home. My middle sister had a toxic ex that was on heavy drugs, that would stalk & harass her, try to control her & that's something that I took onto my shoulders and would try my best to help her with also. She passed away at the age of 26 in 2014 due a drug overdose.

tooth vicarious trauma
  • replies: 2

is it possible to experience vicarious trauma without being a psychologist/police officer/first responder? im just a kid and every friend ive ever made has had some sort of horrible ptsd that they've shared with me. ive experienced emotional burnout,... View more

is it possible to experience vicarious trauma without being a psychologist/police officer/first responder? im just a kid and every friend ive ever made has had some sort of horrible ptsd that they've shared with me. ive experienced emotional burnout, compassion fatigue and panic attacks. everyone sees me as the person whos ok with them trauma dumping and venting out of nowhere and i understand that people need supportive friends but pretty much everyones only support network and i just get really tired. i dont know how to express my feelings at all, especially when im angry and sometimes all of this horrible stuff just builds up and i get panic attacks or just break down and won't be able to function for a few days. i also sometimes feel like everyone i know could die and i wouldn't be sad, or that someones dying is the only way the world will be quiet and stop harassing me. i dont know if this is something everyone experiences but lmk

Fluxcapacitor Just a vent
  • replies: 3

Where do i start. i lost my mother when i was 8 to breast cancer. She was the glue that held everything together. She did everthing for me and my siblings and every other child in our extended family. I miss her. But at the end she started to ignore ... View more

Where do i start. i lost my mother when i was 8 to breast cancer. She was the glue that held everything together. She did everthing for me and my siblings and every other child in our extended family. I miss her. But at the end she started to ignore me. She thought that it was better i get used to her not being there. It didnt help though it made me so angry and sad. Still does. 2 weeks after she died my father got a new girlfriend. They shared a love of drinking together that always ended up in full blown fist fighting and police being called. He only ever did the bare minimum. I had nits from the time i was 8 until 14. He never even tried to get them out. New GF was number 1 priority. I remember being so sick once i could barely walk and just needed my father. He told me i was a hypochondriac and left me home alone so he could go to the pub and gamble/drink his pay away with her. She had older kids who were into drugs and crime. I was left with them alot so saw so much stuff i should not have. So i started using with them when i was quite young. I stopped going to school and moved out when i was 14. They were pretty abusive too. When my birthday would come around i would get 50 from my dad to buy myself something. When i came home i got punched in the face by one of them for not buying clothes that fitted them. Dad didnt care and would never say anything to GF as it would just cause a fight. There are so many other things that happened i could go on for days. Im now 35 and have 2 young kids. Thier dads are absent. My oldest blames me for his father not being here. He has never met him and he still likes him better than me. I love them so much but parenting is hard. Especially alone with no support. Life is so expensive so im always barley scrapping by every week. Just another woe. I feel numb to everything. Im in a big black hole and i dont know if there will ever be light at the end. I would never do anything silly as i could never leave them. I just want some respite. Im so lonely and hurt that Ive been abandoned my whole life.

FortySixAndTwoJimmyThirdE Childhood Emotional Neglect
  • replies: 7

I was emotionally neglected throughout my childhood. It's a recent revelation for me too. I'm middle aged, and am only now able to piece together the 'how' of why I am the way I am. It's an enlightening process, like I'm seeing things for the first t... View more

I was emotionally neglected throughout my childhood. It's a recent revelation for me too. I'm middle aged, and am only now able to piece together the 'how' of why I am the way I am. It's an enlightening process, like I'm seeing things for the first time. Though I'm having trouble dealing with all these connections I'm making between my past and how it has shaped me. There's a lot of amazement, which is why I used the word 'enlightenment' to describe what I'm finding. But as well there's sadness over the loss of what I missed out on. I think back to the child I was, and it makes me cry for him. I wish I could hug him and just listen to what was on his mind. I have a Son now, and I couldn't imagine treating him the way I was treated. So when I ask myself why I was treated the way I was, the emotional reaction I get is resentment towards my parents. I can't understand why I was treated like furniture that could be packed up and moved from city to city, school to school, and told that it would toughen me up. I know that my parents had their own demons, so much so that I'm surprised they stayed married throughout all the upheaval and fighting. But even so, I still can't understand why they thought that I could simply deal with things on my own, rather than viewing me as a vulnerable child who needed to be cared for. I'm a very withdrawn personality now, and I think that I must have withdrawn at a very young age, because I don't remember ever acting out or protesting their behaviour. I think that I simply accepted that I was an expendable part of their plans. Regardless, the resentment I'm feeling troubles me because it's unresolved. My parents are elderly now, and I want to confront them about my childhood, because I want answers. But I know that it would hurt them. My Father would react with scepticism and deflect it somehow, likely assuming CEN isn't a serious issue and that other people had far worse childhoods (which the latter is true). Or he'd just get angry and blow his top like he always does. My Mother would be hurt. She wouldn't know what to say other than that they tried their best. These predictions make it seem like a hopeless conversation that wouldn't have any positive outcomes. Has anyone ever confronted their parents about their own emotional neglect?

Clues_Of_Blue Questioning some things
  • replies: 305

Those of you who know me know I have been bouncing from one rough life event to another for years, without really any time to take a breath in between. I can state well enough the things that have happened to me, but haven't had much energy to delve ... View more

Those of you who know me know I have been bouncing from one rough life event to another for years, without really any time to take a breath in between. I can state well enough the things that have happened to me, but haven't had much energy to delve deeply into what those things have done to me. In the time off work since my partner had major surgery (yup, another fun crisis), I had time to start pulling at threads, to get a Mental Health Care Plan, see a psych and talk to a counsellor. As much as I always knew my life has been a steaming pile of crap, the threads I am pulling are connecting dots and giving rise to possible clarifications of events and what has arisen in their wake. My childhood was severely neglectful. Mostly emotionally, but also in some physical ways. We kids didn't sleep in the (perfectly good) house, we slept in a caravan nearby - Mum cleaned up her and Dad's bedroom and the kitchen after the mouse plagues, but apparently our rooms weren't worth the effort. He carries on about her "unfit" parenting, but it's not like Dad did anything about it either. We were fed and clothed well enough. Never a lot of attention from either of them. I don't remember a single hug from either one during my childhood. Mum would immediately disinfect her hands if by some chance she came to touch one of us. Some years later, post parental divorce, Mum's settlement money ran out and we endured a brief stint without a home, a much longer (years) stint of inadequate food and no hot water. I actually became pretty functional after moving out. Worked, studied, maintained a place on my own. Went through a couple of less than healthy relationships and endured with surprising resilience. Then came the last relationship. First two years, no major problems. Then bam, he's unfaithful. Enter ol' Blue's depression, that's the straw that breaks the camel's back. Damn fool remained in contact with him and we tried again at the relationship. To be fair, he didn't repeat that particular mistake. He tried hard to redeem himself and be a better partner. Until the ring was on the finger. Engagement in place, all effort fell away little by little. Dear gods did the neglect become overwhelmingly severe. I kind of got that there was a theme, but it's literally only now, years after breaking up with him, that I see why it was that straw that began my depression - just how closely what he did mirrored my parents' behaviour.

AnxietyBelle Struggling today - PTSD/childhood sexual abuse
  • replies: 4

Hi, so I have PTSD from childhood sexual abuse which I only recently told my family about. Struggling today. I always suspected my mum knew about the abuse and ignored it. I have no doubt now she did. She said she believed me/supported me and we have... View more

Hi, so I have PTSD from childhood sexual abuse which I only recently told my family about. Struggling today. I always suspected my mum knew about the abuse and ignored it. I have no doubt now she did. She said she believed me/supported me and we have found out she’s actually been convincing people behind my back this didn’t happen and helping my abuser get away with this. Not sure why Im upset my family have always been horrible, never protected me not sure why I expected them to now. but the worst thing is knowing people are saying the trauma you went through isn’t real or you made it up is so invalidating, its such an awful feeling. Im not surprised people don’t come forward with abuse sometimes.

LUCIDFOX_X Suffering from BPD, Trauma and PTSD
  • replies: 2

I haven’t posted on here in a very long time. Basically, I’ve moved interstate which has been very challenging but refreshing at the same time. I understand how bad my BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) is. That’s very clear to me and it’s somethi... View more

I haven’t posted on here in a very long time. Basically, I’ve moved interstate which has been very challenging but refreshing at the same time. I understand how bad my BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) is. That’s very clear to me and it’s something that I want to work on. Before I got here, I had been talking to this guy and when I got here we started dating, similar to my previous boyfriend, he cheated on me (but over the phone with another girl interstate) and aside from that was just mean to me and all in all didn’t really treat me the best… I’ve broken up with him about 3 times based on his actions and he keeps telling me he wants to make it work which he has proven and has sort of been working on it, but all in all it’s a lot to handle. He’s quite controlling and I guess in a way, possessive. Which I don’t mind but I do have boundaries. I just don’t know if there’s someone better out there or not and it’s freaking me out. On top of that, he keeps saying that he wants to see me open up and be free spirited and happy etc which I hear a lot from my parents as well, in fact I’ve heard that from a lot of people and it really hurts. I suffer from BPD/trauma as a result of really brutal bullying and a lot of emotional neglect, so understandably, I’m really not the easiest person to be friends with or have a relationship with. So amongst all of this “we miss the happy girl” it makes me feel really depressed because I didn’t even realise I had changed that much and then I realised, maybe I am just really sad? And maybe I just don’t care about myself? That’s why I don’t really care about how I’m treated and honestly it’s just making me feel suicidal like I just don’t have the energy to be here anymore. I have a white picket fence dream to have a family and a golden retriever because of how family oriented I am but I just don’t know if it will happen and I’m just scared about everything and also can’t be bothered with anything. It’s one giant paradox.

2tired I am not able to get myself back together again
  • replies: 5

On the 6 August I left a very violent and evil person. I was in a relationship with them. I am in a court process at the moment. I cannot seem to get me or my life together again. I've stopped reaching out for help because further damage has been don... View more

On the 6 August I left a very violent and evil person. I was in a relationship with them. I am in a court process at the moment. I cannot seem to get me or my life together again. I've stopped reaching out for help because further damage has been done by me doing that. I know I am a victim of evil cruelty. The thing is this evil cruelty has done permanent damage to my life. This evil cruelty has done damage to my brain. I feel it is not fixable, my brain that is. Its damaged skills that I had that do not feel possible anymore. I struggle to do them now. I am not only traumatised, I am horrified. I go blank as a form of protection to my mind. I'm scared of my lawyer, I am scared of court, I am scared that I am just going to sit and cry from the frustration that my mind will not work or that I have been so traumatised that I cannot talk. I do not even know what to do. I do not know who to see that can tell me what has happened to me nor what to do about it. I am in a therapy program but my therapist isn't helping. My last session I just sat and stared out the window, not there. Just stared out the window. I'm pushing everyone away from me. I want to say horrible things that enter my head but I do not say them because I talk very little now. It is like words don't come to my head or even make their way out of my mouth but inside I am screaming. I feel like I am beyond help. I am aware of things around me but they just don't mean anything or matter. I want to disappear and I do not want anyone to find me at all. Nobody wants to hear about what is going on for me. They just bring their own agenda in or there opinion of what I need to do or should be doing. Everyone including therapists treat me and the things I am going through like the elephant in the room. At that point I just want to tell everyone to get out and not ever come back. I've learnt that people are selfish when what someone else is going through creates issues for them whatever they may be, then it becomes about them and not the victim. This is what has further caused me to shut down. I have lost faith and hope in the world, in society, and I do not want to be around people anymore. I don't even want support or help because that has always come at a cost for me. I think it is fair I do not need to explain my decisions and choices to anyone anymore.

pinklightning Dealing with my PTSD & trauma
  • replies: 6

Hello all, I suffer from PTSD, depression and anxiety. Even just typing this out is making me anxious but I feel like I just need someone to know how I feel. I was sexually assaulted by someone that I trusted. I felt disgusted with myself and was put... View more

Hello all, I suffer from PTSD, depression and anxiety. Even just typing this out is making me anxious but I feel like I just need someone to know how I feel. I was sexually assaulted by someone that I trusted. I felt disgusted with myself and was put in the mindset that it was all my fault. It took so long for me to open up to anyone due to my shame. It has been months now.. there are good days and today feels particularly bad. Noises still scare me so much and with lockdown and restrictions easing I feel even more scared that people will be able to be anywhere. I always feel paranoid and hyper vigilant with my surroundings. I can't deal with sounds late at night and I feel like I can still hear and see so much more compared to others. Every time someone shouts or yells outside, every time a car loudly passes by I hold my breath and feel like I am in danger. Every time a person comes up from behind me I feel very uneasy still. I'm glad my friends who know are very supportive but I just feel since this traumatic experience has only happened to me no one really understands what I've been dealing with. I've seen a therapist and a counsellor regarding this but I don't really feel like they fit for me, I don't feel like I was really heard or that they were really listening to my issues - I know you need to go to a few to find the one that suits you but just the thought of opening up again to someone new seems exhausting at the moment. I suppose I just feel so robbed? And angry? And upset? - I feel like I'm not even the person I used to be anymore. I fear social gatherings, I can't go and make new friends, I can't see myself going on dates, I have major issues trusting anyone and even when I'm hanging out with my friends I always am hyper aware of everything I say, their reactions and what I expect them to react in order to feel safe. I feel terrible every time I hang out with friends and would either have a panic or anxiety attack due to small triggers around me. Not really sure where this is going... I think I just needed to vent. Thank you for those who took a moment of their time to read this post & reply.