I don't know if it's brave dawnindark. It was and still is extremely confusing and often very debilitating and I genuinely did not even know where to begin to verbalize it. When I experienced a post traumatic breakdown I tried to explain the significance of what I experienced but unfortunately all the clear red flags I was expressing that means "trauma patient" were completely ignored. It did not really help me to read about it and see the symptoms, I had them all but did not really understand why.

It's important to have the exposure to a therapist who specializes in it too. And not all psychiatrists understand it and often they misdiagnose the patient with other disorders instead. It is not unusual for a psychiatrist to mistake the PTSD cycles for bipolar. Or see the depressive episodes as major depressive disorder. In my case these professionals were much too quick to write things down that would later only add to the confusion I faced with professionals.

It really makes a huge difference to a patient when they are treated correctly and not lead on some wild goose chase of further confusion.

When you got some helpful answers and the right validation you felt so much more grounded right? It is very important you have that kind of support so you don't end up feeding into the PTSD which only makes it worse.

I still go outside and get overcome with an onset of hyper vigilance where inside I feel like I am running a marathon. I don't purposely decide to experience that, it just comes over me and then, even though I now understand "why", it's still a lot of work for me to keep going even though I am experiencing that reaction on some deep subconscious level. And I tend to get angry when my husband or others tell me "just don't" because what they are failing to understand is that what I experience is "intrusive", I don't choose to experience it.

That Mustang you got to see in that video was hurt badly, very painful for him as part of his jaw bone is gone and some of his teeth were knocked out, some still dangling that needed to be removed under anethesia. He is never going to stop being afraid when someone approaches him with something in their hand, especially when the individual makes eye contact with him as they approach him. Notice he came to me instead of me going to him? I let "him" choose. I have to show everyone how to do that with him and if you do that with him he is amazing to work with be it a farrier or a vet or a rider.
I always respect how he was traumatized, not his fault and he will always be sensitive that way, not his fault, not your fault, not my fault if we too are sensitive.