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spiritual_emergency said:
Would you feel comfortable answering these questions bassgirlplayer?

a.) Do you carry the diagnosis of PTSD?

b.) Does the thought that those around you might consider you to be "schizophrenic" make you highly uncomfortable?

Naturally, you are under no obligation to provide an answer. I ask those questions because I've noticed there is a strong desire on the part of many to distance themselves from those who have frequently been deemed to be the most ill, the most hopeless, the most flawed. I've wondered at times if this is a form of compensation, almost as if one is saying to themselves, "Hey, I've got some problems, but at least I'm not .... "

I've found that if an individual carries such a response within them then there is little I can say that might allow them to accept that trauma plays a significant role in the experiences of many schizophrenics. They hear/see that word and they want absolutely nothing to do with it.

"Psychosis Definition: Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality, typically including delusions (false ideas about what is taking place or who one is) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things which aren't there). (http://www.healthscout.com/ency/1/001553.html)"

Individuals undergoing a flashback are experiencing a break with reality. What distinguishes this passage from psychosis versus a flashback is the depth of perceptiveness I can bring to my own observations. If I can understand the cause of the flashback, it no longer appears irrational to me. If I don't understand it, if I have no knowledge of trauma responses, it just looks weird and frightening.



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First of all, it's nobody's business but mine what mental illness I have. I'm trying to avoid getting defensive here as you've greatly implied, whether that was consciously or by accident, that I think of myself as better than those who have worse problems.

However, I don't have PTSD, and I'm not schizophrenic so people viewing me as such are quite mistaken, (nobody has ever mistaken me for a schizophrenic, aside from people assuming my disorder is a version of it). If people did assume this, I wouldn’t really be bothered… I’d correct them and explain the circumstance (depending on who is making the assumptions and in what context).

Everybody's experience is different; I don't think anyone is more hopeless or more ill than anyone else. There is always hope. As for being "the most flawed"... I don't find my illness to have made me "flawed" because I've been given gifts with my illness (ones that I won't bother getting into). If I walked around with that attitude I don’t think I’d get anywhere.

I have no doubts trauma plays a part in psychosis or schizophrenia. However, not every person who experiences a trauma experiences dissociation or PTSD. In fact, plenty of people experience trauma, come out shaken but with neither of those problems. It’s like saying majority of American’s consume fast food so they must all be obese. It’s a generalization.

A flashback and a hallucination/delusion are two very separate experiences. I’ve had both, for one reason or another, and I would never consider grouping them together. I've also experienced de-realization which is somewhat considered a form of dissociation and I don't find it anything like a hallucination/delusion. It's quite different.