PTSD without the 'T'?

I have severe night terrors, feel emotionally and sometimes even physically numb, and feel constantly on edge and 'rattling' from the inside out (have more symptoms, but they are not specific to PTSD). Due to my night terrors, I have insomnia from fear of these nightly experiences. I've been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and agoraphobia (oye, quite a list!). My therapist thinks I might also have PTSD, but I've never experienced the 'T.' In my opinion, a parent's divorce, father's disownment, grandfather's sickness, or generally a hard time in life hardly constitute a trauma. Compared to others who have fought wars, been abused, or have other traumatic things happen to them, I'm pretty well off. So, in your opinion, is this a weird presentation of PTSD or something else?

RockMaterial,

I think you should look up PTSD and read through the symptoms to see if these symptoms describe "you".

Yes, many people who struggle with PTSD think that a "trauma" needs to be more severe then their challenges. However, what people do "not" understand is that PTSD can happen due to someone being under a long period of "stress, uncertainty, abandonment, and instability in their home environment growing up".

What are your "night terrors about"? Night terrors are usually connected to a "period of fear and stress and uncertainty". Feeling on "edge and rattling from the inside out" also comes from some "deep fear, sense of abandonment and lack of control" too.

If we grow up with a "positive" mentor that shows us how to react in spite of how other people have "issues" and express "dysfunction" we gain a sense of stability and permission to "thrive" better. When we don't have that positive element, we often "struggle" with the "how to's" we need to thrive better in life.

It is known that people struggle from childhood bullying too, same thing basically where they are met with others who "invalidate them" in some way so that they question their self worth and life itself too.

So, PTSD is not just about Veterans or facing "big traumas" it can also come from a long period of challenges and lack of support as you are describing too.

It is good to know you are working with a therapist. You need to spend time talking about how you were "really affected" and work through it all until you can overcome these night terrors and slowly resolve the "fear and challenges of your past".

(((Hugs)))
OE

I would disagree. It sounds like you've suffered a lot of what's sometimes called 'little t' trauma meaning it doesn't come under the list of really dramatic stuff people think of when PTSD mentioned, but it absolutely is traumatic. And to me that sounds like a lot to have gone through.

I think it might help to widen your definition of trauma.

maybe it will help you to understand what .....Trauma.....is.

here where I live and work in new york which is in the USA

Trauma is defined as being a physical or mental reaction to upsetting situations, events, environments, people, places, things....

examples

hurricane Sandy caused many people to have trauma (nightmares, flashbacks, anxiety, broken bones, bruises, ...)

A friend just lost her mother. she shows her trauma by being depressed, anxious, insomnia, trouble concentrating.

an abused child's trauma is the physical bruising, mental fears, anxiety, depression..

a person who lost their job shows their trauma through anxiety , stress of how they are going to be able to make ends meet and support their family.

if you were here in NY using the info in your post....

your parents getting the divorce is the negative event in your life and how you reacted to it mentally and physically is the trauma it caused you. many people who's parents get divorced have the trauma of being sad/depressed that their parents are not going to be together, Another trauma many people who's parents get divorced have is scared that the divorce means the parent who has to leave the family home doesnt love them any more, other trauma's many people who's parents get divorced have is Anxiety, sleep problems, stress,

now its your turn...think about your fathers disowning you....

the disowning you is the negative event in your life...the trauma is the physical and emotional/mental reactions you had to that happening....

think about your grandfather being sick... that wasnt something that made you happy and jumping for joy right... so its called a negative event in your life..

your grandfather being sick is the negative event in your life, the trauma is how you reacted mentally and physically to that happening.

trauma isnt this thing that depends on how bad something is compared to another person..

each person has their own individual way they handle things that happen to them good and bad (yes even good things can cause a person to have trauma)

the line in the sand isnt whether what you went through was harder then another persons or not as bad as another persons, its how it affected you and only you.

how a person reacts to things is just how they react to things. it just is how it is.

example both my wife and I have dealt with broken bones..does my one broken elbow compare to her three broken toes she had in her life time no. because her trauma (anxiety, bruising, pain) affected her and my broken elbow trauma ( pain, bruising, anxiety, ..) affected me.

It sounds to me that you have Sleep Terror Disorder Sleep terror disorder - children, causes, DSM, adults, drug, person, people, used Your T may not be familiar with that. But that, in turn, is thought to sometimes be caused by extreme stress, etc. which can cause PTSD, especially if you have not had the sleep terrors all your life but they just started after one of the hard events in your life you've poo poohed? If they started after your father left, for example, that would be the traumatic event for you.

"

Yes, many people who struggle with PTSD think that a "trauma" needs to be more severe then their challenges. However, what people do "not" understand is that PTSD can happen due to someone being under a long period of "stress, uncertainty, abandonment, and instability in their home environment growing up".

What are your "night terrors about"? Night terrors are usually connected to a "period of fear and stress and uncertainty". Feeling on "edge and rattling from the inside out" also comes from some "deep fear, sense of abandonment and lack of control" too.

If we grow up with a "positive" mentor that shows us how to react in spite of how other people have "issues" and express "dysfunction" we gain a sense of stability and permission to "thrive" better. When we don't have that positive element, we often "struggle" with the "how to's" we need to thrive better in life.

It is known that people struggle from childhood bullying too, same thing basically where they are met with others who "invalidate them" in some way so that they question their self worth and life itself too.

So, PTSD is not just about Veterans or facing "big traumas" it can also come from a long period of challenges and lack of support as you are describing too.

It is good to know you are working with a therapist. You need to spend time talking about how you were "really affected" and work through it all until you can overcome these night terrors and slowly resolve the "fear and challenges of your past".

(((Hugs))) "

thank you for this response, open eyes, helps me to read it