[Julialuvbugde]

Is witnessing a loved one wither away and die able to be considered trauma? Especially from a PTSD perspective, because I feel as though my grandfather, whom I considered to be a father figure to me, passing right in front of me after me and my family members having to act as an aid to him for a week with no medical experience and being terrified my family and I would get infected from his C diff or that we could give him something such as the coronavirus, with being afraid that he or anyone of us could die at any moment was traumatic, but it could be something else so I was just wondering. I have barely been sleeping because I have nightmares about my family dying and I can’t help them. I am also terrified that if I go to sleep I will never wake up or that someone will need me while I’m sleeping and they may die if I can’t help them and check on them. I have experienced other types of trauma before, like how my ex was physically and sexually abusive, but even though this is different, my reaction to it still feels like trauma so I’m confused. If anyone has any insight, please let me know💕

[Skeezyks]

Hello Julialuvbugde: Thank you for bringing your concern here to PC. I see this is your first post. Welcome to Psych Central.

You asked if witnessing a loved one withering away and dying could be considered trauma. I'm not a mental health professional. So I can't give you anything in the way of an authoritative response to that question. But personally I would say it certainly could especially given you were physically & sexually abused by an ex as well.

One additional forum, here on PC, that may be of interest would be the Survivors of Abuse forum. Here's a link:

https://psychcentralforums.com/survivors-of-abuse/

And then here are links to 6 articles, from Psych Central's archives, that (hopefully) may be of help with putting your experiences into perspective:

Coping with Grief | Psych Central

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | Psych Central

Understanding the Effects of Trauma: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms | Psych Central

https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-uni...-complex-ptsd/

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/nlp/2...into-strength/

I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

[Open Eyes]

Hi Julia welcome to PC. What you have shared experiencing is very traumatic. Caring for a human or animal you love until they pass away in front of you is extremely hard. It’s understandable you are having a hard time processing all that you are feeling.

Please know that even though you could not prevent his passing he was very lucky to have someone he loved caring for him until he passed.

You and your family are going to be ok. You should look into finding a therapist you can talk about how this affecting you so he can help you grieve and find peace within yourself again.
(((Caring gentle Hugs ))))

[Fuzzybear]

[guy1111]

I agree. This is very traumatic. Talking about it here or with a therapist will help. I remember caring for my neighbor who was diabetic and had no one to help him all the way up until his death. I was in my early twenties and my wife and I lived away from our parents. We had no idea what we were doing and every time I heard an ambulance I would experience PTSD triggers for at least a year. Talk it out. Sorry for your loss.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Julialuvbugde

Is witnessing a loved one wither away and die able to be considered trauma? Especially from a PTSD perspective, because I feel as though my grandfather, whom I considered to be a father figure to me, passing right in front of me after me and my family members having to act as an aid to him for a week with no medical experience and being terrified my family and I would get infected from his C diff or that we could give him something such as the coronavirus, with being afraid that he or anyone of us could die at any moment was traumatic, but it could be something else so I was just wondering. I have barely been sleeping because I have nightmares about my family dying and I can’t help them. I am also terrified that if I go to sleep I will never wake up or that someone will need me while I’m sleeping and they may die if I can’t help them and check on them. I have experienced other types of trauma before, like how my ex was physically and sexually abusive, but even though this is different, my reaction to it still feels like trauma so I’m confused. If anyone has any insight, please let me know💕

no one here can tell you whether this situation is PTSD or not or any other trauma and stress related disorder. for that you will need to contact a mental health treatment provider in your location for an assessment for mental disorders.

what I can say is that there are lots of trauma and stress related disorders here in america.

here CPTSD is not a diagnostic label yet. the name is under consideration for being in future diagnostic manuals here.

that said, that does not mean the symptoms and problems dont exist, just that right now here in america its called by many other things, in me CPTSD is called Acute Stress Disorder.

what else I can tell you is that trauma and stress related disorder named PTSD does include witnessing someone else undergoing a trauma. theres also other diagnostics that go along with it.

my suggestion is that when things start opennig up in your location again contact a treatment provider (your medical doctor or a mental health treatment provider) they can diagnose whether you have a trauma and stress related disorder and which one and how to best treat it.