PTSD - Who do you get your support from?

[Sunflowerrs]

so i've just been diagnosed with PTSD.. and coming to the painful realisation that my family aren't capable of understanding/supporting me through it at this stage. I have a GP and a psychologist.. i know you can't give specific referrals on these forums, but is giving general advice of where to get some support okay?

thanks in advance

[blondguy]

Hi Sunflower

I think you are pro-active with your health and the determination to start healing irrespective of your family's lack of understanding as you mentioned.

You already have a GP and psychologist and good on you!

You already have the initial stages of recovery arranged...

Yes...we can give general advice on 'where' to get advice..

Beyond Blue have kind trained professionals on 1300 22 4636 24/7 if you need a voice on voice and are stuck

Can I ask what type of support you are after considering you already have 2 excellent avenues already set up?

Re Family......It can be a huge pain to get family to understand...I have had anxiety followed by depression for many years. Are you able to get a family member to see your GP/Psychologist with you? This usually works as your doc will 'educate' a family member or partner of how serious anxiety/depression can be

PTSD can sometimes be a broad 'diagnosis' Sunflower. I hope I can ask you if anxiety or depression is your biggest concern right now? (just so we can help support you more effectively)

you are not alone here Sunflower

my kind thoughts for you

Paul

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Sunflowerrs,

Thanks for your post.

I'm glad to hear that you're in touch with a GP and a Psychologist and I hope that they are helpful. I am sorry to hear that your family hasn't been helpful though and you're not alone on this one.

Although we can't give specific details like names or contact details we can certainly link to other websites or books or anything else that might help. Since PTSD is so common there's lots of different support options available to you; things like mental health nurses, support workers, books, forums, courses... Can you give us a bit of an idea about what it is you are looking for?

[Sunflowerrs]

Thanks for the responses.. Yeah I guess I'm looking for more people around in the 'inbetween' times, I didnt realise these forums would be so supportive so thats so good. maybe I'll look around for whats local as well. yeah I think I'm struggling the most with it feeling like im doing everything on my own.. and jst throughout the week sometimes.. I dont know how much to include the people around me, im still figuring out who's safe..

my psychologist said its complex ptsd. I'm still working out everyday life, and depression. I find it hard to leave the house.. its just uncomfortable. ive never been like that. i tried reading up on ptsd, its overwhelming. so i lean more towards putting a movie on, and doing anythign to distract myself.. its hard enough without knowing everything about it? but knwoing people on here understand it, thats helpful

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Sunflowerrs,

Thanks for your post.

I hope you feel welcome here; and there are always people around the forums to chat to, about anything really. Paul/Blondguy was on the mark with his advice and it can help to have those sorts of numbers keyed into your phone if ever you feel like you want to talk to someone.

I do understand the feeling of not quite knowing who is safe and who to include. I wish that there was good advice on that one; only that it can take some time. From my own experience I've always found trust to be best in small batches; just leaking a little bit at a time to see if they are supportive/can handle it/hold space for me. Unfortunately some people might not give you the support you're looking for, but there will always be others who can.

What sorts of things are you looking to know about PTSD? It can be incredibly overwhelming to look things up; particularly as PTSD can arise from lots of different situations so the information is often tailored to that - like child abuse or VET's. There are certainly factsheets like this one here which are a little more detailed (4 pages) - http://resources.beyondblue.org.au/prism/file?token=BL/0504

Another thing that might be helpful is writing down any questions or concerns you have and bringing it up with your psychologist. You may find that they can recommend certain resources or even just provide you with reassurance that you're not alone and that what is going on for you can be common in PTSD.

[Sunflowerrs]

Just wish somebody was on my side... Family events are so hard. I miss them so much when I can't be there and want to be with them so much. But My dads been trying to make me feel like shit. I went to a family thing today, and he said in a sarcastic voice, thanks for coming. As if I hadn't come the other times for no reason.. And as if I had to apologise for my behaviour. This is breaking my heart..

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi Sunflowerrs,

Thanks for your post and checking in with us again.

I'm sorry that you're having such a tough time with this. Can I ask what sorts of things happen with your family? You mentioned in your first post that they aren't capable of understanding and supporting you; what does this mean?

Obviously we cannot control other peoples reactions, but the more that we can understand it the easier it can be. Maybe your Dad doesn't know how PTSD affects you; or maybe he's upset that he doesn't see you often enough - obviously I'm just assuming here but there's usually a reason behind some of the sarcastic comments.

I also think it's important to bring this up with your psychologist; that way he/she can get a better idea of the situation and how to help support you through it.

[Sunflowerrs]

Thanks romantic.. Yeah i understand, thats true. I think it is from not spending time with them anymore, a few days hindsight has helped too.. Ive been tryign to call more, so hopefully that helps a bit.. I will bring it up with psychologist. thanks 🙂