[spring2014]

hi everyone,
im spring2014 and I just saw my psychiatrist today to get paperwork done for me to get rides from my county agency. I looked what she wrote down and on third line she wrote down post traumatic stress disorder chronic . is this the same as complex ptsd ? I been having a hard time sleeping at night, crying spells , afraid to take public transportation like a bus cuz of my fears and anxieties about taking the bus cuz of horror stories I hear on the news about it, my dad molested me four years ago , and my witnessing my mom's passing in the hospital five years ago . my therapist helped me w the ptsd symptoms of my dad molested me four years ago . im still dealing with the pain of losing my mom and my dad.Also I had a car accident nine months ago . I have so many things in my life that are triggering bad memories for me .idk what to do .my therapist gave me coping skills to work with in between sessions and now she is not in the office this weekend until Monday. I feel lost without my therapist to help me out this weekend .







Diagnosis: Cymbalta 90 mgs at night
Vistaril 2 25 mgs daily for anxiety prn
50 mgs at night for insomnia

[Open Eyes]

Hi spring2014, sorry you are struggling and don't have a therapist available to talk to. I know what that is like, it can be lonely because most people don't understand PTSD, it's nice to have someone who does that can provide support and comfort and understanding as well as validation for how challenging it can get at times. I have the crying spells too, I prefer to be alone when I get that way unless I am with my T who knows it just needs to come out.

Complex PTSD and PTSD are the same because they both have the PTSD symptoms/cycles and that is why it's just listed as PTSD in the DSM.

You have experienced some traumatic situations that you could not control, that can be so unsetteling, so much so that any reminders that give you a sense of not having control can trigger a ptsd episode.

Try planning some nice things to do for the weekend, do some reading, watch some light hearted movies and see if you can do a small project just to have a sense of accomplishment. It's taking baby steps with seeing that you "can" have control with yourself and doing things, you certainly don't have to do any world conquering, instead you need to slowly get better at being yourself again and sometimes it takes time to slowly figure one's self out again.

You can even read different threads here and offer support here and there to others, that can take your mind of yourself too.

(((Caring Supportive Hugs)))
OE

Do you have intrusive thoughts or flashbacks of what happened to you? If you have flashbacks then you have PTSD. If you have repeated general intrusive thoughts of being harmed then you have C (as in complex)-PTSD.

Firstly, realize that these are just thoughts as you brain has been trained to expect adversity as it has experienced so much of it that C-PTSD has developed. Distraction of my mind is the best working treatment for me. Listen to pleasant music that absorbs you. Exercise. Read a book / newspaper. Call a friend and talk. Cooking and eating are good distractions for me. Let us know if any of these help. All the best to you.

[spring2014]

hi unguy,
yes !! when my therapist did a dual awareness exercise with me in counseling back in December I had very bad flashbacks when my dad molested me four years ago.

Originally Posted by spring2014

hi unguy,
yes !! when my therapist did a dual awareness exercise with me in counseling back in December I had very bad flashbacks when my dad molested me four years ago.

It appears that your T is treating you for PTSD (not C-PTSD - the two sound alike but are very different). The T should be very emotionally gentle when helping you deal with this past trauma and any others that you have experienced. I wish you well as you process these very difficult traumatic events so that you can heal and move on with your life. You must realize that you are not responsible for the harmful actions of others towards you. It sounds like your T knows what they are doing. Please continue to seek treatment and let the T know what is going on between sessions. All the best to you!

[Parva]

Originally Posted by unguy

It appears that your T is treating you for PTSD (not C-PTSD - the two sound alike but are very different). The T should be very emotionally gentle when helping you deal with this past trauma and any others that you have experienced. I wish you well as you process these very difficult traumatic events so that you can heal and move on with your life. You must realize that you are not responsible for the harmful actions of others towards you. It sounds like your T knows what they are doing. Please continue to seek treatment and let the T know what is going on between sessions. All the best to you!

There are 'emotional' flashbacks and specific forms of dissociation that are linked to c-PTSD. There is a lot of important information on this, for example, https://www.psychotherapy.net/article/complex-ptsd. There's also a great chapter at http://www.traumacenter.org/products...mplex_ptsd.pdf.