PTSD and Trauma

Troubled by recent social change

replies: 10

TW - Possibly Trauma Activating Content I’m visiting my home city of Perth. I went to get some dinner in the central city early this evening and realised a group of police officers were going past me in body armour, some carrying hi tech automatic ri... View more

TW - Possibly Trauma Activating Content I’m visiting my home city of Perth. I went to get some dinner in the central city early this evening and realised a group of police officers were going past me in body armour, some carrying hi tech automatic rifles. I have never seen that before in this city. It was like something out of a movie and seemed unreal. I’ve been reading online this evening of others seeing the same thing across Perth in recent weeks, including at markets in the park by the beach near where I grew up and the shopping centre we used to go to. Basically a heavily armed presence has become normalised since the awful event at Bondi. Then when I arrived here on Monday I got off the train and I was redirected by police after an improvised explosive device was thrown into a crowd of people but fortunately didn’t detonate. I am seeing things I never expected to see. The reason it’s especially affecting me is I’m dealing with complex ptsd and already processing flashbacks and really disturbing material coming up from my past. I’m already trauma activated a lot of the time and so it’s really impacting me. Added to that are feelings of grief about the loss of what now seems a more innocent time. Even my safe places where I would go to escape as a child, such as my favourite ocean spot in Perth, is being patrolled by heavily armed officers. Tomorrow I return to my town where I also feel unsafe and have been subject to social bullying for some time now. I’m dreading going back there but can’t sense anywhere else safe either. I guess my bearings are lost at the moment. What I have to hang onto is a great concert I went to that had such positive energy and lovely friends I caught up with while here. I’m trying to maintain a connection to the good in the world. Is anyone else feeling really lost like this? Has anything helped you find a sense of stability and normality in it all? My internal world is harrowing enough on a daily and nightly basis, but the external world is also feeling threatening in new and strange ways. I guess I just want to feel something safe and familiar.

Hope

replies: 7

Hello - after going through a difficult time with your mental health, what gave you hope? Was it a sudden realisation or a feeling that came slowly over time?It is interesting to think that when we are in a mental health crisis we lose sight of hope ... View more

Hello - after going through a difficult time with your mental health, what gave you hope? Was it a sudden realisation or a feeling that came slowly over time?It is interesting to think that when we are in a mental health crisis we lose sight of hope for the future, but getting it back can be a relief and can foster a more positive approach to life. Just some thoughts

Difficulty trusting medical clinicians

replies: 2

Hello good people, I am trying to seek help for what I think may be cptsd. My experience with the public health system has left me feeling like a lost cause. I made a booking with a private psychologist then cancelled the next day. Is this common? My... View more

Hello good people, I am trying to seek help for what I think may be cptsd. My experience with the public health system has left me feeling like a lost cause. I made a booking with a private psychologist then cancelled the next day. Is this common? My past experiences have been less than stellar. I have met some very good therapists in the past and met others that were openly hostile towards me. I am not confident I can heal myself but feel I am putting all my eggs in one basket when I book with a new therapist. I am distrustful and fear disappointment. I feel I am living my life from one crisis to another. Such is life I know but I am not confident I am equipped emotionally to move on. Any thoughts, feelings, experiences? Many thanks, HRH

Healthy vs not Healthy thoughts or ideas

replies: 1

Basically I feel sometimes the urge to look up people from my past or places to see how they are going. Like I know its bad but its like a curiosity thing too. I guess Im feeling lonely and since I did a load of like 10 weeks worth of in hospital men... View more

Basically I feel sometimes the urge to look up people from my past or places to see how they are going. Like I know its bad but its like a curiosity thing too. I guess Im feeling lonely and since I did a load of like 10 weeks worth of in hospital mental health treatment, I wanna reconnect with people who maybe I misjudged or thought less of but was through the lens's of my anxiety. Issue is I also get ones of people from my past that looking at will distress me. Like damn, I get over thoughts and feelings about this one person and then I randomly just wanna see her damn smile, but she’s hurt me and the way her life has turned out is not what I expected. It’s not what I guess anyone expects wanting to reconnect after therapy to finally have that needed conversation with the girl you confessed your feelings to but never spoke over the phone to find out at 17 she’s expecting a kid. Or to hopefully reconnect with someone else who was special to me years ago to find out he’s basically an incel in the making. But yeah sorry topic changed, point is, is it bad or healthy to think or look people up from my past if its to see if my anxiety messed my view up at the time?

PTSD & TRAUMA

replies: 2

HiI'm 60yrs & have Struggled with PTSD & Trauma Most of My life?? Growing up I Hid behind & delt with it by Smoking Weed?? & it has sort of helped?? Nearly 2yrs ago I gave up?? Everything that I couldn't deal with in the past ALL come to surface? I'v... View more

HiI'm 60yrs & have Struggled with PTSD & Trauma Most of My life?? Growing up I Hid behind & delt with it by Smoking Weed?? & it has sort of helped?? Nearly 2yrs ago I gave up?? Everything that I couldn't deal with in the past ALL come to surface? I've been trying to get Help & the Doctor has tried SO MANY different Meds in that 2yrs & None of them seem to work?I'm not taking Anything atm coz All the different/wrong Meds are making Me worse & I'm STRUGGLING Really Bad now?? I have NO Energy, can't get out of bed, cry Nearly All Day & am finding it Really Hard to walk out My front Door & it's getting Harder & Harder? I get & feel Really Weird Body feelings that are Really Hard to Explain? I have Dissociation & it makes Me feel like I'm Literally Going Crazy/Insane & it's Scary? I would rather Not be here But I have 7 GrandBabys who Love Me ALOT & I have Amazing Relationships with My 3 Children & it would Break Them & I can't Hurt them? I have NO Friends, I don't want any coz in the past they Traumatised Me??I just want to Be Normal....There's lots more I could say...CheersMaz

Coping with trauma

replies: 2

Hello Following a trauma last year I went through a mental health crisis, and I am now feeling more stable and calm but not yet normal. The things I think that have helped are seeing a psychologist to talk openly to (she was very empathetic and had s... View more

Hello Following a trauma last year I went through a mental health crisis, and I am now feeling more stable and calm but not yet normal. The things I think that have helped are seeing a psychologist to talk openly to (she was very empathetic and had some useful suggestions); the crisis lines; getting medication to help with sleep; support from family/friends and this forum. I will carry the trauma I have been through for my life but I now feel it is not overwhelming me in the same way. I still feel a lot of sadness and regret, flashbacks, rumination, social anxiety and a feeling of being a bit separate from myself. I am able to function a bit better with family and others though. So far I have just been speaking with a psychologist but will look at some other therapies as well. I may also try yoga. I will also try and do more exercise. Just thought I would post to show what has helped me in case it helps others. For me it is a slow process but I do feel it is moving in the right direction. I hope others experiencing trauma are also coping.

Complex PTSD

replies: 4

I have had a history of Trauma throughout my life (including childhood trauma), and I do believe I am suffering from complex PTSD. I do get attracted to Chaotic people and situations, to fix them, and other people's problems become my problems, and r... View more

I have had a history of Trauma throughout my life (including childhood trauma), and I do believe I am suffering from complex PTSD. I do get attracted to Chaotic people and situations, to fix them, and other people's problems become my problems, and relationships get damaged/destroyed, or something terrible happens to people around me or me, for example, recently, when I had to get the police involved (case now closed) and move from my area/go into hiding. Has anybody else had this problem, and how do you fix it? I do get blame and guilt from my family when I go through these situations, which doesn't help me recover and fully work through the trauma. I'm starting with a clinical psychologist in the new year, and I'm doing another round of EDMR for the most recent event. I want to set myself up better for the future. I'm a well-trained professional and an expert in my field, and I know I can have a better life going forward if I make better choices.

TV Shows to distract from trauma

replies: 9

Please suggest some light hearted shows that help distract you from focusing on trauma. Thank you

Worried about plurality

replies: 4

I'm concerned I might fall under the term of someone who is plural, I've done a lot of research on the subject of DID and OSDD and worry my symptoms could be lining up, but I'm unsure as I've dealt with things like delusions and hallucinations in the... View more

I'm concerned I might fall under the term of someone who is plural, I've done a lot of research on the subject of DID and OSDD and worry my symptoms could be lining up, but I'm unsure as I've dealt with things like delusions and hallucinations in the past, and my brain could be convincing me of something that isn't real. I don't have money to spend so I'm not very sure how to go about figuring it out with a professional either

I feel like I should be entitled to compensation for my C-PTSD

replies: 3

CW* CSAI, like the title very much suggests, feel like I should be entitled to some kind of compensation for my C-PTSD and the fact that because of it I have not and will not be able to work or function in society. I was CSA by no less than eight peo... View more

CW* CSAI, like the title very much suggests, feel like I should be entitled to some kind of compensation for my C-PTSD and the fact that because of it I have not and will not be able to work or function in society. I was CSA by no less than eight people, four of them being adults, from practically birth to 17. Pictures were taken of me and that fact haunts me to this day. My mother was also CSA by some of the same people, one was her foster father. Because it happened to her in foster care she was able to access the national redress and get a payout and an apology from the government. But guess what?? She left me there. She left me in that situation with her foster father, who might or might not be my biological father, and she just left. It wasn't until I was 11 and he was imprisoned that I was able to get out. She got money and lives guilt free despite what she brought me into. I don't think I qualify for the national regress because I wasn't in foster care myself. And I don't think I qualify for a TPD payout because I never worked to begin with. I feel stuck and alone and angry and sad and tired and I wish she had just aborted me rather than let me grow up like that.

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PTSD for Medical and First Responders

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