Hi Brent,
Well, you don't always have to experience flashbacks and sometimes we do have triggers and are totally unaware of them. I went that way for years, suddenly getting upset of overwhelmed, and not realizing something had triggered that feeling.
I seriously didn't get it.

You don't need to have your doctors ok to see a therapist you know. My doctor has never referred me to a therapist.

As far as rolling off 5 different conditions that may fit, perhaps write them down and find a therapist on your own and see if you can make an appointment to discuss that list. And yes we can read symptoms that are within other disorders that may seem to fit, however PTSD has many symptoms to it. PTSD can be mild, but can also get worse if left untreated. I now know that I have probably had it for many years and just didn't know it. Well I certainly addressed all the red flags with different therapists and they never mentioned the diagnosis, they said I just probably had some depressive disorder, well, yes that is a part of PTSD daaaa.

Looking back to be honest with you, I am quite baffled that what I told therapists didnt ring loud bells, um child abuse, rape, dealing with an alcoholic husband for years. Gee, sounds like the right recipe to me. For me my latest inncident was the major vessel that really caused the most harm as one big trauma can bring everything all together.

Open Eyes