Triggers and how to cope with PTSD attack

[NerdyGirl]

Hello,

i am new to this but here goes. I need help coping and strategies to deal with a PTSD attack. I experienced physical and mental trauma when I was younger and I also watched my little brother be beaten and there wasn’t much I could do to stop it or protect him. As I got a lot older I distance myself from my mother and more recently removed her from my life as I released evey time she would contact me I would have memories, flash backs and dreams. Things have been good but my mother has been trying to reach me to talk to me the last two days and tonight when I went to have a shower all these memories things I have tried to forget are trying to flood back in. I feel panicked and scared, ashamed and I feel this crazy urge to protect my family despite logically knowing she is a very long way away from me. Is there anything I can do to stop the memories I have identified my mother and showers are triggers. I have a vividly horrible memory of my brother being hurt in the shower which sometimes plagued my mind and is usually the first memory. I recently also had a little fire scare in my house and completely over reacted and then I had a flash back of when a pot was on fire when I was little and I was left to deal with it. Although this last memory is inspiring me to be a firefighter the other memories I have a very crippling effect.

I don’t want to remember and I want to stop the memories and the overwhelming feeling of all these emotions.

[Croix]

Dear NerdyGirl~

At one stage in recovery from PTSD the flashbacks, memories and associated feelings and ideas are very overwhelming. I've been there. I also was not able to improve by myself, despite having a very supportive partner.

If you are not doing so already what do you think of the idea of getting help from a medical professional that specializes in PTSD?

Avoiding known triggers is a given, however that is not always possible, and trying to get to the stage where the events are simply unpleasant memories without all the massive effects is the goal. It is doable, I'm an example (well mostly:)

I also find as stress free a life as possible helps, so I try to avoid unnecessary stressful things in my life too (even the news).

Identifying episodes before they actually happen and are building up allows you to have coping strategies ready to hand. On is called grounding (like mindfulness in some ways, puts you in the present) , there are others and a professional can assist there to show you the techniques you can learn.

It get heaps better, you are welcome here anytime

Croix

[Missing_Akaboo]

Hi NerdyGirl,

Thanks for sharing. It seems as I read I start becoming more self-aware. I have put together a very large toolkit of strategies and I cycle through them and bit by bit I piece myself back together. In the past I found the worst triggers were the ones that happened when you were having a wonderful carefree time and something sucks all the breath out of you, a jet engine roars through your mind and slams you so hard into the ground you feel like everything in your body just broke. My pain seems unimaginable and the fear makes it unbearable. These are the episodes that cause the most damage to my health. The strategies that work for me are the sum of trying my utmost to get through the hysteria and remember that I am in a safe space. The terrifying fear robs me of all rationality and I have to work really hard to grab hold and focus really hard to see my true environment. So I look hard and I label what I see right in front of me. Floor, sand, carpet etc. I aim to label 2 things then 3 things, then 4 things and so on. Waves of emotion will flood me and I start all over again, but the next time is almost always quicker. I can't change what has happened, all I know is once I can get a grip on what I see and pull myself back to the environment, then I can move on to my next sense which is hearing and labelling what I hear. From here I work on breathing better and usually I start all over again after a deep breath, but I persevere because eventually I can breathe for prolonged periods without crying. You can try other distractions, but in that state I find touch, talking, being looked at, smells, water etc simply too overwhelming to take on in that moment. I also condition myself by exposing myself to the triggers in small doses once I have identified them always remembering they are triggers and I am in a safe space.

I wish you strength in creating your own go to method of facing these cruel and horrid episodes.

[Idkme]

Hi Nerdy Girl,

That sounds so much like the triggers I've had lately... it was so intense and I couldn't go 5 minutes without thinking about it and I just wanted it all to disappear back into the past where it came from... it was frustrating that it was coming into my present (very different) period of time, somewhat 20+ years later. HOWEVER I found that I need to process many of the memories I had re-occurring. I obviously hadn't dealt with them as I should have and they were now impacting once again.... I have since been in touch with a psychologist who is untangling the mess of my experiences, the fragments that are all twisted and turned into a massive ball of knotted wool.

Seek help, don't try on your own because you also need the safety mechanisms to keep you in the optimal processing zone otherwise your hyper or hypo self will inhibit the process... You can't think straight when in that heightened state.... (I've learnt that from experience).

Keep us up to date with how you go and what your plan, or process is. Sometimes writing here can set you up with a direction and clarity.... I found writing in my journal very therapeutic... I wrote over 100 pages in 4 weeks, it's mostly fragmented bits of my past and reflections on what I'm feeling or experiences I had in the present. It might be worth a thought.

The other two posts above have very good advice... they are much more experienced in coping too... trust the advice they give.

Regards.