[tear_drop]

IS PTSD a mental illness?

or is it all up in my head with my mixed feelings x

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by tear_drop

IS PTSD a mental illness?

or is it all up in my head with my mixed feelings x

yes PTSD is a mental disorder. you can find all kinds of stuff about it in the PTSD forum.

You may want to check this out! NO it's no just in your head!

http://psychcentral.com/disorders/ptsd/

[venusss]

What is with this dichotomy? It's in my head X it's an illness. It is not that simple.

To be honest, it bothers me this condition (which is very serious one) is called "disorder". It is a reaction to extreme situation. Why call the sufferer "disordered" for developing a reaction? Or even ill?

It is something one has to deal with, it can be extremelly hard... but I don't see it as illness per se. It's humane reaction to often inhumane things.

[Perna]

It is an anxiety disorder. The threat is past so the symptoms "should" not be there. The sufferer is disordered because he is not thinking/feeling like he did before the incident(s) that caused the PTSD to be developed and it is interfering with his normal life. It's not a "crime" or something bad to be diagnosed with PTSD.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001923/

[venusss]

Who gets to decide what people "should" feel? Those lines sound just a tiny step above "get over it already".

I am not saying it's not painful. But if they want to change something in the next DSM, how about changing "disorder" to "syndrome" or something more neutral? As it stand it does sound as something "bad" and almost a "crime". I don't know for some reason it ticks me off to simplify emotional hardships as an illness... trauma is sadly part of us, part of our narrative and it does change person even when they get over their anxiety symptoms and all.

[Perna]

Biologically, you should not feel threatened when the threat has passed. You don't see rabbits with PTSD after getting away from the fox?

Syndrome: A group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms.

Disorder: A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological pattern, potentially reflected in behavior, that is generally associated with distress or disability

I don't want a syndrome; that divorces what I am feeling and how I am reacting from me, concentrates on/describes the symptoms, usually about something such as "Down syndrome" that cannot be helped or "treated" but are a permanent part of the person.  

[Open Eyes]

Well, unless someone has experienced this reaction to a trama, or many tramas that takes place in the brain, that person WILL NOT UNDERSTAND IT. And it is hard for the person who suffers from it to understand it.

Yes, it is an anxiety disorder, and disorder is correct because when a brain is experiencing PTSD it is because the brain was effected more dramatically by an event or events than normally takes place in the average brain.

Each person is a little different depending on the amount of trama as well as if there was a history of other tramas as if a child experiences trama, say constant abuse or feelings of unsafety and stress the young brain experiences shrinking of the Hipocampus and is more prone to experience PTSD symptoms later on if the person is again tramatized. They have examined the brains of those patients, children and adults that express the symptoms of PTSD and they now have seen that there is a definite pathology expressing the changes that have taken place in the brain of someone suffering from PTSD.

What can happen on different levels depending on the exposure to trama, how long it took place and how severe and availability of treatment directly following the tramatic event, is the brain can be stuck in a hypervigillant state. Or the brain can be easily triggered into a hypervigillant state. A person is more easily stressed and can be triggered in various ways giving rise to the cortizol levels that signal the brain into a high alert state. It can be more than just the natural 7 minute warning, it can flood the brain causing stress on the brain itself, making it hard to concentrate and can lead to mental exhaustion, anger, frustration and most importantly difficulty in the capacity to process and the ability to manage slowing down and doing one activity at a time.

Often people who don't understand it say things like "Just" get over it and deal when the brain is not able to do that properly in those who suffer from PTSD. The person who is suffering from PTSD almost always isolates because they somehow know they cannot seem to moderate their own concentration levels and can be easily triggered into experiencing severe anxiety, flashbacks and troubling behavior patterns that they cannot seem to control somehow or even understand.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that the person who is suffering receive help and therapy with someone who understands this disorder. A person who is struggling with this disorder can become very overwhelmed very easily and will often say "I need a break" constantly. What they are looking for is a way to calm down and be in a very low stress environment so they can slowly deal with the trama that has taken place in the brain itself. It takes time to overcome this disorder, and it is a disorder because the brain is not working in ORDER. The longer someone goes without treatment and support the harder it is for them to recover. And each person is different depending on the trama or length of tramas that have taken place.

It is very unfair to be mean and impatient with people who struggle with PTSD, it is not their fault, they REALLY DO struggle and need help and guidance and it takes HARD WORK and TIME to slowly learn how to recover from this DISORDER of the brain.

Being around others that share the experience is very helpful for those that are experiencing it because it can be very lonely and troubling and difficult to understand and each person will take a different amount of time to overcome it. Patience and support are very important to those that are dealing with PTSD. Treatment is a must by those who are trained and understand PTSD.

((((tear_drop))))) The worst thing you can do is ask someone who knows so little about PTSD to attempt to define it, you will not get informative answers and what you DO need most is to avoid anyone who tells you any kind of wordage that has a sentiment of "Just deal, just get over it, Just, Just, Just". You truely deserve so much more than "Just" and a good therapist who knows how to treat PTSD is the best thing you can do for yourself along with those that also understand and deal with it because they will be there to support you and tell you to slow down and give it time.

There is Post Tramatic Stress, and then there is Post Tramatic Stress Disorder which is more difficult to understand and takes longer to work through.

Be very kind and patient with yourself and the best you can do is seek help and ask the therapist to sit with your family members and teach them how to support you. It is much easier to work through PTSD and even recover if the person who is suffering is understood and supported by their family members and they know they have time to work on understanding and dealing with the PTSD.

((((Hugs)))))
Open Eyes

[Open Eyes]

One of the most informative articles I have read can be found if you search,
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder What happens in the Brain written by Sethanne Howard and Mark W. Crandall, MD. I have WePow to thank for this article as I am constantly researching information on PTSD.

The other information I found very informative is at http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/ptsd.htm

Open Eyes

[venusss]

((((tear_drop))))) The worst thing you can do is ask someone who knows so little about PTSD to attempt to define it, you will not get informative answers and what you DO need most is to avoid anyone who tells you any kind of wordage that has a sentiment of "Just deal, just get over it, Just, Just, Just". You truely deserve so much more than "Just" and a good therapist who knows how to treat PTSD is the best thing you can do for yourself along with those that also understand and deal with it because they will be there to support you and tell you to slow down and give it time.

"disorder" to me rings "just get over it, you shouldn't feel like this" (while at the same time implying, you are broken and damned).

To me it really does not matter if there are changes in brain (sure there are... living changes our brains, but let's not overscientify human experience, even the bad). I don't know the solution and not denying therapy is useful if your T knows what they are doing.... but it's just more complex than "oh, disorder!"

hi, tear drop. i suffer from PTSD. yes, i would define it as a mental illness. PTSD is a lot more than mixed feelings because, unlike some feelings, it usually does not go away on its own. i am having a very difficult time dealing with my PTSD. discussions over its classification have no business in this thread; the thread is yours and about your issues. without taking sides, i am sorry that it includes this extraneous debate because it is taking the emphasis off of you. if you suffer from PTSD, please seek treatment from a qualified professional T. i wish you the all the best!

[Open Eyes]

Very nicely put unhappyguy and I do agree with you. And that is why I provided tear drop with some informative articles she could read that explains it by those Professionals that are studying it and addressing patients that do struggle with it.
And I recommended that she seek support with others that experience it and and are getting therapy not those that are truely not well informed about it that can confuse her. And I am not referring to people in PC but of people in general, as I learned through my own experience it is important to get the right support from others who do understand and are kind and supportive. I have read information that discribes it as both a disorder and a mental illness, so as I mentioned, reading about it as I have done can help you to understand it better.

Tear drop, you CAN overcome this, I know it is confusing right now, but please make sure you give yourself a chance to get therapy and work through this.

Open Eyes

[venusss]

I had my share of bad **** in my life, although not as serious as others, but still. So I was trying to offer the perspective from this point. It's not dichotomy of "either it is in my head or I am mentally ill". It is much more complex and encompassing. One has to make sense of what happened to them as part of the journey to wellness. And in a way it is "okay" to be troubled... it does happen and it is possible to move on from there.

And I don't pretend to know all the solutions.

[sabby]

I believe that this thread has been taken off course and arguing between yourselves as to how PTSD is classified or should not be classified is counter-productive to helping the OP with an answer to her question.

Regardless of your personal beliefs and arguments with the DSM, the fact is that PTSD is not something "just in our heads". Very often help is needed from a licensed T or social worker in order to work through the PTSD so that our thoughts/feelings/reactions/behaviors are brought back to a more comfortable space.

Please keep the answers/posts directed to the OP and assist her with her understanding and not arguing between each other on wording.

Respectfully,

sabby

[TheDragon]

Having seen it and dealt with it before, I'd say it's as much a natural reaction as anything.

[tear_drop]

Hmmm thanks venus....

[tear_drop]

i know what's happened and i do accept the fact it had happened, but i still find it extremely difficult to cope with the fact it has happen.

I am recieving CBT at the moment, and its going really well.. i'm happy most days but still feel abit off some days. but i'm getting there..

But do suffer greatly and with people on here i will understand more in greater detail.

*thank you everyone ..speically Open Eyes x

hi tear_drop...the question you posed: "Is PTSD a mental illness"?---here is what Wiki says about it for your edification, hope it helps?

In it they cite the DSM4's definition of all the criteria (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttra...tress_disorder

for me, yes, it is a "disorder, a mental illness"~~~one which has haunted my entire life...I have spent over 42 years in therapy, finally got the real digs on PTSD (they didn't have a name for it for most of my life) only 10 years ago.

Inclusive in my suffering was self loathing, cutting, substance abuse, etc.....

However, through CBT, and some excellent therapy; I have experienced a great shift in my life. I love me...ha ha!! and, I have come to terms with all of my past. No more hurting me!!!!!!! Not my fault! My past is a part of who I am today.

You are in my prayers!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~hugs--theo