It took about 10 years of therapy and meds before my official PTSD diagnosis. Even now, three years into specific treatment for PTSD, tracking down that exact trauma is difficult.

For me, the trauma has been lifelong, beginning shortly after birth and reinforced countless times over the years. So the best I can do is to call my PTSD trauma "cumulative."

It took those 10 years to crack deep enough into my past to figure out what the problem was. It's obvious now, looking back on the whole thing. But getting through all those protective walls in my head was difficult and painful.