[9874]

I'm curious about ptsd and difficulty with authority. Can someone explain? I have ptsd and will not tolerate authority of any shape, size, or color! How is this related to ptsd, or is it?
Thanks in advance!

[jennie]

Persons of authority are able to assert control over others.

Some questions that immediately arise in my mind of how scary it is:
Will I be forced to do something I don't want to do?
Will I be embarrassed?
Will I be hurt?
Will I be alone?
Will I have no advocate in my defense?

I have PTSD and I have no trouble with authority figures and so on relating to my PTSD. My PTSD problems are having flashbacks - I see pictures of things like my abuser suddenly standing infront of me, here sounds of abuse situations sometimes smell my abuser even though he is no where around me (or on this earth considering all my abusers are now dead), nightmares - I have nightmares in which I cannot remember the content but wake up in panic, nightmares of still being abused, and so on and I have panic attacks - crowds make me panic if I am alone, the dark, certain animals and so on make me have panic anxiety attacks.

As far as I know trouble with authority is not a symptom of PTSD - From the NAMI website -

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
What is post-traumatic stress disorder?

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event that caused intense fear, helplessness, or horror. PTSD can result from personally experienced traumas (e.g., rape, war, natural disasters, abuse, serious accidents, and captivity) or from the witnessing or learning of a violent or tragic event.

While it is common to experience a brief state of anxiety or depression after such occurrences, people with PTSD continually re-experience the traumatic event; avoid individuals, thoughts, or situations associated with the event; and have symptoms of excessive emotions. People with this disorder have these symptoms for longer than one month and cannot function as well as they did before the traumatic event. PTSD symptoms usually appear within three months of the traumatic experience; however, they sometimes occur months or even years later.

How common is PTSD?

Studies suggest that anywhere between 2 percent and 9 percent of the population has had some degree of PTSD. However, the likelihood of developing the disorder is greater when someone is exposed to multiple traumas or traumatic events early in life (or both), especially if the trauma is long term or repeated. More cases of this disorder are found among inner-city youths and people who have recently emigrated from troubled countries. And women seem to develop PTSD more often than men.

Veterans are perhaps the people most often associated with PTSD, or what was once referred to as "shell shock" or "battle fatigue." The Anxiety Disorders Association of America notes that an estimated 15 percent to 30 percent of the 3.5 million men and women who served in Vietnam have suffered from PTSD.

What are the symptoms of PTSD?

Although the symptoms for individuals with PTSD can vary considerably, they generally fall into three categories:

Re-experience - Individuals with PTSD often experience recurrent and intrusive recollections of and/or nightmares about the stressful event. Some may experience flashbacks, hallucinations, or other vivid feelings of the event happening again. Others experience great psychological or physiological distress when certain things (objects, situations, etc.) remind them of the event.
Avoidance - Many with PTSD will persistently avoid things that remind them of the traumatic event. This can result in avoiding everything from thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the incident to activities, places, or people that cause them to recall the event. In others there may be a general lack of responsiveness signaled by an inability to recall aspects of the trauma, a decreased interest in formerly important activities, a feeling of detachment from others, a limited range of emotion, and/or feelings of hopelessness about the future.
Increased arousal - Symptoms in this area may include difficulty falling or staying asleep, irritability or outbursts of anger, difficulty concentrating, becoming very alert or watchful, and/or jumpiness or being easily startled.
It is important to note that those with PTSD often use alcohol or other drugs in an attempt to self-medicate. Individuals with this disorder may also be at an increased risk for suicide.

How is PTSD treated?

There are a variety of treatments for PTSD, and individuals respond to treatments differently. PTSD often can be treated effectively with psychotherapy or medication or both.

Behavior therapy focuses on learning relaxation and coping techniques. This therapy often increases the patient's exposure to a feared situation as a way of making him or her gradually less sensitive to it. Cognitive therapy is therapy that helps people with PTSD take a close look at their thought patterns and learn to do less negative and nonproductive thinking. Group therapy helps for many people with PTSD by having them get to know others who have had similar situations and learning that their fears and feelings are not uncommon.

Medication is often used along with psychotherapy. Antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications may help lessen symptoms of PTSD such as sleep problems (insomnia or nightmares), depression, and edginess.

[(JD)]

I'm sorry you are experiencing this... I too have had to work at retraining the brain with reference to authority figures. It's a common symptom.

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
Meaningful clinical material can also be derived from knowledge about the nature of the patient's exposure to life threat, loss, death, and destruction. A war veteran's perceived abandonment by superior officers during combat may result in a generalized distrust of authority figures. A rape victim may evidence fears of physical proximity to males. Establishing the patient's role in the trauma (e.g., perpetrator, victim, bystander, rescuer, etc.) and extent of moral conflict engendered can also yield valuable "grist for the clinical mill".

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Any reliance upon an authority figure that is shattered within the context of the trauma, or aftereffects has impact, imo.