I think I have ptsd

[Vicky2]

3 months ago my little baby girl died due to a sudden accident in the home. My 2 sons have a fatal genetic condition with short life spans and also autism. My daughter has autism and is a genetic carrier. I keep dreaming that something is going to happen to my kids, husband and me. I shake all the time, I'm scared and I keep blanking out and can't remember what happened. I feel very sad and down all the time. How do I go on I miss her so much.

[Zeal]

Hi Vicky,

Welcome to the forum!

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your dear baby girl. Your two sons having such debilitating genetic conditions is really sad. I'm sure your boys will receive lots of love in their lifetime though 🙂 Autism can be so challenging. I'm not a Mum, but I've volunteered and done training with children who are on the Autism Spectrum. The range of development challenges and behavioural problems they face can be extensive. Thankfully, better early intervention treatments are now available, such as ABA.

The most important thing for you right now is that you seek help from a doctor (GP). You need and deserve professional support to work through your grief, loss and trauma, and build up coping skills to help you in your life. If you ever need to talk to someone understanding at any time of day or night, you can call beyondblue's helpline on 1300 22 4636.

It would be great to hear back from you 🙂

Best wishes,

Zeal

[Cornstarch]

You are certainly traumatised who wouldn't be. That is absolutely terrible, I am so sorry for your loss.

You'll never "get over" losing a child you'll only learn how to live with the loss.

Regarding PTSD. Do not google symptoms. Go to a professional. There is so much lap-over with all conditions that you will find yourself in about 10 of them.

You can't really miss PTSD. The physicality of PTSD is so intense that you will know. Lots of people have been traumatised but not everyone has been terrorised, labels are thrown around very loosely these days because of Google, so I recommend you see a doctor.

I hope you don't have PTSD, but certainly your grief and trauma needs to addressed.

Good Luck.

[PatT]

Hi Vicky,

I'm so sorry to hear about your losses and the anxiety you're going through. I'd say it's pretty likely that you're dealing with PTSD (speaking as somebody who has the disorder) but can you describe your symptoms apart from anxiety? Anxiety and PTSD are quite different yet linked together, and the treatment for the two can be quite different. Cheers,

Pat.