Do I really have PTSD

MoodyLou · ‎13-02-2017

Hi there

I have been feeling depressed and increasingly anxious since late last year and finally sought medical help and was placed on antidepressants . In short I was subjected to intimidating and bullying behaviour (including swearing, name calling and discrediting me) by a number of staff in my workplace for a couple of years including a male person threatening to 'take me out to the car park'. A number of these people also made disparaging public comments against me on face book. Anyway, I knew I was becoming down and stressed about their treatment toward me and needed to get away. I was successful in finding another job (albeit) temporary for 12 months. My mood and anxiety, while not going away completed, did improve significantly. The temporary job then ended and I was faced with returning to my old job (I cant afford to not work). The boss agreed to allow me a few months leave to try and find another job, however within a few weeks my depression and anxiety became so bad I needed to get medical treatment. I also started seeing a psychologist who believes I am suffering PTSD. My question is ...is it possible to have PTSD? I understood that PTSD related to experiencing a life threating situation. I also would appreciate any thoughts on whether it is unusual for medication not to be effective. I have been on my medication for a couple of months and the anxiety (at least) seems worse than ever (I have an appointment tomorrow to have my medication reviewed). Sorry if this is garbled, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

lou

Croix · ‎14-02-2017

Dear MoodyLou~

Welcome to the Forum. It might seem a big and worrying step to take, talking about yourself to an unknown group of strangers. However there are people here who have had all sorts of problems, many now in a better place, and who want to ease the path of those that follow.

You are not garbled, your experiences come though loud and clear.

To answer your second question first, it's my own personal experience that medications are not always the correct fit , sometimes needing either to be adjusted, or to be changes completely. I don't think it is completely an exact science, a little trial and error may be involved. If you give your GP & psychologist a detailed account of what has been happening since you commenced taking your meds, then it might be easier to adjust things.

I found I had to write things down at my leisure, as I was not good at getting everything out in the consultation, there I would share the paper.

As for having PTSD. I am an ex-policeman and I have suffered from PTSD and the normally accompanying illnesses of anxiety and depression. Mine was not caused directly by a situation where my own life was threatened.

I'm in no way qualified to diagnose your condition, all I can say from my own interactions with my psychiatrist over many years is that I understand that PTSD can cover a broad spectrum of experiences.

The Facts menu above has information relating to PTSD, the direct link to to relevant section is here:

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety/types-of-anxiety/ptsd

Irrespective of your current diagnosis I'm pleased that you are seeking medical help, and that your workplace is being accommodating for the moment.

Having to deal with the matters you talk about is horrible.

Please post again and say how you are going, You will be met with care and understanding

Croix

MoodyLou · ‎14-02-2017

Thank you Croix for you caring and helpful post. I did see the psychiatrist today and had my medication adjusted. I am also going to increase my visits to the psychologist to weekly, so hopefully things will improve soon. Thank you very much for the information and your thoughts about PTSD and I will certainly have a read of the link you provided. I really like the idea about keeping a record of things in between consultations. I get quite anxious when attending appointments and often cant explain what I have been experiencing, so this is a really great idea. Thank you again for your kindness, it does make such a difference.

Lou

geoff · ‎15-02-2017

hi Lou, welcome to the site.
The answer to your question is yes, definitely yes to have PTSD and I can say that because it happened with me, always having a fear of a group of bikies, because they were the ones that changed my life and have made me the person I am today, a totally different person to what I was like 35 years ago.
There have also been many different AD's which never suited me because the side-effects were terrible until eventually my doctor found one which I have been taking for over 20 years, in other words if you are taking an AD which is giving you too many side-effects then obviously it's not helping you, although sometimes this will happen for the first few weeks until it has time to settle down or your body becomes accustomed to it.
Being bullied is horrible and unfortunately it's still common, but if it has happened in a workplace then it should be reported and probably one place is 'fairwork.gov', however if you are also sacked because of a mental health issue then this also needs to be reported.
Keeping a record of what has been happening is always good because then you can hand this document over to your psych. Geoff.