Do you think PTSD can still affect up to 15 years following trauma?

BillieJo · ‎23-01-2020

Hi, I am just wondering do you think it is common for the effects of sexual abuse as a 14 year old girl to impact adult life? The main reason I ask is that my parents are very recently undergoing divorce and my father strongly believes that my exposure to sexual abuse when younger is to blame for the downfall of their marriage. When I was 14 I was abused by a male friend who was invited into the family home by everyone, the followup of this event took over 2 years to go through the court system and I had a few attempts of counselling and seemed to put it behind me with avoidance of triggers (school friends, places in town, etc). Now with my father bringing this up again I have began to experience several panic attacks and am in a constant state of anxiety that is making me physically sick. I am wondering if you think it could be delayed PTSD or a more general anxiety/panic disorder? I am off to see my GP today, I just wonder if anyone has experienced something like this and what worked for you?

Lady_Nova · ‎23-01-2020

most definitely!

I am 53 and still working through trauma from before I was 10. Many abuse victims, especially from childhood, end up with a complex form of PTSD,

Definitely talk to your GP. There is also additional trauma counselling funding through victims services in your state. I have accessed it in NSW and got 22 free sessions. Look for a certified trauma counselor on their website as they have additional accreditation specific to trauma.

Blind_and_in_pain · ‎23-01-2020

Hi There. Billie Jo. I read your post and it rang so true. If you need to chat a bit more about this please message me I know it can be hard to deal with this sort of trauma and maybe there is more then you realise going on. There is so much more I could say but I prefer to keep it short unless I know the person is interested in hearing all I have to sayt

BillieJo · ‎24-01-2020

Thank you so much for your advice Lady Nova, I will definitely look into finding a Trauma Counsellor.

BillieJo · ‎24-01-2020

Thank you Blind and in pain, I think perhaps it is more common than I thought!

geoff · ‎24-01-2020

Hello BillieJo, welcome, and I'd just to agree with those above me.

Counselling for PTSD is definitely very helpful and should be done, however, there can still be small parts of your PTSD that can resurface once again in another situation, so it's carried from one problem onto another one.

Best wishes.

Geoff.