Hi, I'm new to the board, and was diagnosed with chronic PTSD with delayed onset about a year ago. I don't suffer from any visual manifestations of the disorder (flashbacks, hallucinations, etc.), but I do have nightmares, which seem completely unrelated to the traumatic events, save for the fact that occassionally the perpetrator is present in them. But, I do suffer from many of the other criteria, including, insomnia, hypervigilence, and feelings of "being there" (i.e. an emotional flashback - as I was told).

My PTSD is related to incidents that occurred twenty years ago - as a small child I was molested by a neighboring adult (male), the abuse lasting for around three years. However, my symptoms of PTSD didn't truly surface until I gave birth to my first child over seven years ago. Since then, my symptoms have grown more troublesome and severe at points, while easing at other points. Never have they completely alleviated, however.

I have found it increasingly difficult to function normally within society, and have a string of simple phobias that seem to have just popped up for no apparent reason, including, but not limited to: sitophobia (fear of food/eating), emetophobia (fear of vomiting), acrophobia (fear of heights - specifically in my case, fear of ladders, climbing up and down), and achluophobia (fear of darkness). These phobias combine with my already jumpy nature to make most of my life feel like a giant obstacle to overcome. Atop it all, I am slightly agoraphobic, and have problems speaking in public places.

It has been related to me that my phobias are common amongst people who have suffered molestation as a child, however, I am wondering why it is that most of my symptoms only became noticable after the birth of my first daughter - nearly twelve years after the abuse ended?

Is this a common course for this type of disorder? And is there a possibility, despite the fact that I have been suffering from it for many years, that I will be able to function normally within society, and rid myself of the simple phobias that plague me on a daily basis?

If any of you have similar histories and responses to this type of abuse, please post your thoughts. I have been in counseling for this issue for quite some time, as well as seen a few psychiatrists, none of which seem to know how to help me uncover the core issues and alleviate the problems.

Thank you beforehand.