A Strange Case of PTSD?

Hello,

I join a year ago but I've finally decided to join in on this forum and see if I can get some insights into my mental illness.

I guess I'd like to first ask if there are any others on this board who got PTSD from something other than combat or an acutely stressful experience?

I ask because I have seen a psychologist recently, who, after they read the results of a very thorough psyc. evaluation I was given, said that I showed many symptoms for PTSD. The signs were so strong he continued to ask me if there had been any trauma in my life.

I told him I had never been in combat, I had never been in a car accident, been robbed, or assaulted etc. The origin of my illness was that after a particularly (but not extraordinarily) stressful, final semester in college I had, what may be called a nervous breakdown (I never have really gotten a solid definition on what that means). All I know is that within the span of a week, I went from being normal to being fearful, anxious, and filled with what I call "a sense of doom" and have been more or less in that state for a few years now.

Anyway, that's the short of it. I'm hoping to find some people whop have a similar experience. Other than that, I look forward to getting to know you guys.

Thanks,
Matthew

Heya MattRich,

I would like to ask you, is this person the only person who's discussed the possibility of PTSD with you? If yes, then I would suggest you get a second opinion. If you have never been in combat, never been abused, severely neglected, been in an accident, etc. then to be told you have PTSD seems a bit strange. The reason I suggest you get another opinion is because if it was something other than PTSD then you are going to be giving yourself the wrong treatment and not actually help yourself. This happened to me. There are other illnesses that do have similar symptoms to PTSD including bipolar, where people are wrongly diagnosed. I was diagnosed with depression, OCD, Bipolar, and then finally after 10 years I found I actually had PTSD. Just knowing the right answer in itself has been more help then any medication or therapy I did in the 10 years since it all started.

XxXx

Welcome to the Community, MattRich. I have been diagnosed with PTSD but am not familiar with a case as you describe.

May you benefit from the time you spend here.

That does sound odd to me; I had similar school-related issues (but after my junior year) but I was treated for Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): http://psychcentral.com/disorders/sx24.htm

Are you seeing a therapist or just getting medication or how are they treating it? I would think with a thorough psych evaluation they'd have a clue, you must indeed have pointers to post traumatic stress but I would be like you and want an "event" I could point to.

MattRich, Welcome to the world of PC. This is a good place to explore the many aspects of mental illness including websites that you can look over which help you narrow down your symptoms. I'm with Evening, on getting another opinion if you are in doubt about your diagnose. We are always here night or day!

Thanks,
I've suspected it very well might not be PTSD. Because of the suddenness of the onset and because I literally have every symptom except flashbacks, the doc. has been trying to treat it as a PTSD case. I've been getting frustrated because the Cog. therapy he has been conducting doesn't seem to work.

Does anyone know some illness that are commonly mistaken for PTSD?

Sometimes 'trauma' is hard to define. What one person experiences as trauma, another might not. I heard a new term applied to PTSD (I can't think of it right now) but it had to do with sustained stress over time. It is based off the idea that sustained stress can cause a related form of PTSD. I know that combat or abuse are not the only causes of PTSD. Good luck.

I would think some of the anxiety disorders could be mistaken for PTSD:

http://helpguide.org/mental/anxiety_..._treatment.htm

Hi Matthew, Welcome to PC. Have you seen primary care physician? If not, I suggest that's the next thing for you to do. Let the physician know exactly what's going on with you and the fact that you had a psych evaluation and you've been diagnosed with PSTD but aren't sure about the diagnosis. The doctor will probably do a complete physical exam and order some blood work done on you. There are some physical conditions that can cause your problems or contribute to them. If you've already done that and the doctor found nothing then maybe you should go for a second opinion.

Good luck and I hope you get to the bottom of this.

Be well and take care,
bl

HI matt. I read what you wrote and I'm new to this site. I was just told by my theripst that I have PTSD now. Mine was brought on by a rape that happend to me 8 years ago and the man who did it came back into my life 3 years ago. Ever since then I have been avoiding everyone and avoiding everyone. I really am honked off at myself allowing this man to have this control over me again. When I spoke to my theripst about anxiety issue she told me that was a part of PTSD. So sir there is still hope for us. We have to continue to think outside the box and know who we are deep inside. My word I have to tell myself that all the time when I have an attact cause of a smell, or a sound of that night. I pray for God's help all the time through this. Since I know I can't do this on my own.
Have a wonderful nite sir, crumbs

I already was diagnosed/had PTSD (from sexual assault) for some years, but I attempted suicide in 2007 and was put in the hospital and psych ward for a week and now I have really strong PTSD symptoms when it comes to being in any hospital or hearing the beeps on the heart machines and stuff. It's not exactly the same since I was diagnosed before, but I definitely got a whole new set of PTSD symptoms just from being in the hospital (similar to your "nervous breakdown") so I definitely think it's something you want to take care of. But whether it is PTSD or not, if the treatment you are getting now isn't helping, you should consider changing doctors or types of therapy/medication anyway.

Hey Matt,

Welcome Matt I agree that a second opinion may be good for this situation. I have both PTSD & generalised anxiety, but both for very different reasons.

I'm not saying you do or don't have PTSD, I'm not qualified to do that. I just think it needs more investigation because as Perna has pointed out anxiety disorders have been mistaken many times for PTSD and you don't need a misdiagnosis if you are to get well,

Rhian

Symptom overlap.

PTSD has characteristics of other illnesses- borderline personality, anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, EVERYTHING.

So you need a second opinion.

Can you have PTSD without a trauma? no. Can you have ptsd SYMPTOMS without a trauma? Absolutely.

And here, we're worried about your symptoms, not your diagnosis. But your therapist, yes, maybe you need a second opinion to get at the real issue, which sounds like, well, it sounds like you had a breakdown and are living with severe anxiety. That may be biological, like any mental illness it certainly has biological patterns by now anyway.

It doesn't matter, except that treatment for trauma involves resolving the trauma, and you need help only with pervasive anxiety symptoms. So see someone else and don't be afraid to go through several therapists finding the right one, okay? It's no different from getting a medical condition treated- you're entitled to a second opinion.

And no matter what, you're welcome here.

Matt, hello.I can tell you that when I started showing signs of PTSD, I had NO memory of the trauma. I was having the same symptoms you described and I could not say why. I thought I was losing my mind.
I remembered somethings, but then the memory would fall off into nothingness or I would dissociate and not recall anything.
I remembered having a summer job, the year I turned 17. I remembered who I saw and what I did and then nothing...no memory of finishing the summer, etc. All of it gone.
Many years later I had a very violent and startling flashback ( my 1st one). I was at work that summer and was raped on the job. I never went back, never went to the street it happened on, I never even went back to get my check. I can now recall it, but not until the flashback. I was just a messed up, mixed up teen. I even let my mom slap me around and call me names, I could not open my mouth about it.
It is a really confusing disorder.
I hope that you are able to get the help you need to ease the symptoms adn help you feel better.
There are very specific criteria for the diagnosis.
Much support and safe hugs...

My PTSD is caused by severe domestic abuse. I have had breakdowns from school multiple times, though (mainly due to autistic overload). I thought of it as more of an autism+anxiety thing.

My PTSD was caused by a disabling injury from an industrial accident that "should have" killed me, and the lack of assistance from those who were responsible to get me medical help.

Well, to have PTSD you have to have experienced some type of trauma where you witnessed/feared death in a tragic way, and/or feared for your own life from a situation etc.

It is very common for people to repress events that are too painful to remember, but yet the body does remember and expresses it in symptomology.

I'd say go ahead and work on the symptoms, since PTSD is an anxiety disorder, working on anxiety (whether from PTSD or not) will help you live better.

(((MattRich))

your T has said you have some symptoms of PTSD - that does nto necessarily mean you have full blown PTSD - which is a good thing
some of the treatments for PTSD may work for you though on those aspects - anxiety - depression- hypervigilence....and other things are all part of PTSD and other diagnosis -

the main thing to think about here is not what they label it - but how to get better - and i wish you every success wiht that - if i can help let me know and i look forward to getting to know you here -this is a great place to talk and listen and learn and i just want to say welcome

take care P7

by the way there are some great stickies at the top of the forum that are worth reading and may be helpful to you