resently dyognosed with ptsd

I was resently dyognosed with PTSD after 6 years of suffering. i am 13 and my T was pretty rubbish at telling me about the disorder all i really know is what is implyed in the name, please could you tell me about what i need to know?


the cause of the PTSD was my friends death ( i wacht her been stabbed 3 times in the stumach and saw her neck been slitt) when i was 7.

So sorry that you had to witness that happen to your friend.

Basically what it means is that you are starting to show signs of the trauma now. Your body has blocked the trauma (friends death). Now you can't deal with it, so your body is giving you signs that your suffering.

My PTSD was covered by my extereme anxiety and major depression.

Sorry I'm not very good at explinations. But welcome.

Vampyre, I am so sorry you had to see such a thing. You body works hard to keep the truama "under wraps" so to speak. It pushes the feelings deep so you can continue to try to live your live as normally as possible. At some point, the energy it takes to hold the feelings back becomes too much for the body to handle. Then add the stress of being a teenager ( and there is alot of stress there), and then just going through the daily stressors, you body becomes less able to cope with the stress. It malfunctions and you begin to have symptoms: depression, nightmares, stomachahes, headaches, anxiety, fear, agitation, daydreaming, etc.....
This is something that needs some professional help and support as you grieve the loss of your friend, the loss of your feeling of safety, etc.
Someone trained in trauma therapy would be the thing to help you. You are young adn need alot of support and we are all here for you...many safe hugs...if you want them..

((((((vampyre love))))))

first welcome to Pc

Im so sorry you had to see your friend killed that must have been and probably stil is a terrible experience for you -

I hope you are still seeing a T - and one piece of advice i would give you - if you dont get enough info from them or dont understand - make sure you ask them to explain - thats part of their job and keep asking them to explain until you are satisfied.

Id like to recommend reading the stickies at the top of this forum cos they have some good ideas on how to deal wiht some of the symptomsof PTSD.

As to what it is ....

this is a definition i got from an online dictionary - it may help you

Post-traumatic stress disorder: A common anxiety disorder that develops after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Family members of victims also can develop the disorder. PTSD can occur in people of any age, including children and adolescents. More than twice as many women as men experience PTSD following exposure to trauma. Depression, alcohol or other substance abuse, or other anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with PTSD.
The diagnosis of PTSD requires that one or more symptoms from each of the following categories be present for at least a month and that symptom or symptoms must seriously interfere with leading a normal life:

• Reliving the event through upsetting thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, or having very strong mental and physical reactions if something reminds the person of the event.

• Avoiding activities, thoughts, feelings or conversations that remind the person of the event; feeling numb to one's surroundings; or being unable to remember details of the event.

• Having a loss of interest in important activities, feeling all alone, being unable to have normal emotions or feeling that there is nothing to look forward to in the future may also be experienced.

• Feeling that one can never relax and must be on guard all the time to protect oneself, trouble sleeping, feeling irritable, overreacting when startled, angry outbursts or trouble concentrating.

and this is the link to the article

http://www.medterms.com/script/main/...ticlekey=18779

theres heaps of info on the web - and it can be a little confusing - so feel free to ask anythign here - there are lots of people to help you who know from personal experience about PTSD

mine was triggered by an attack at work 4 years ago - i guess some childhood stuff also contributed but who can say really

I hope you get some good help and start to feel better soon - it can take time - but its worth it in the end.

take care

P7 - safe hugs if ok