[rep97]

Do you get really overwhelmed and get paranoid like everything and everyone is out to get you. I get really like that sometimes and sometimes for a good reason but how do you cope with that?

[Open Eyes]

Hi rep97, I see you are fairly new to PC, so welcome to PC.

I can only speak for myself and what I have learned thus far. When I began to develop PTSD and was diagnosed I had no idea how bad it was going to get, never imagined it in my wildest dreams. Yes, I did get overwhelmed and it's not really "paranoia" though it is "hyper vigilance". It is not that things that concern you are not "really things that should concern you" it is just that the "concern" is magnified.

It is not unusual for a person suffering from PTSD to be very misunderstood and even misdiagnosed and "dismissed" as "over reacting by family, friends, and even professionals can make mistakes with it".

It is important to understand what happens in the brain when you are triggered and begin to suffer anxiety, which of course can be painful and disorienting. It can "frighten you" which of course can lead you into stressing even more and making it worse. You get triggered and your brain responds with developing cortisol that prepares you to have a heightened sense of alert to either run or stand and fight to survive. If you unknowingly feed into the trigger/alarm then you will continue to produce even more cortisol which just makes it worse. However, if you understand what is happening (this takes time to develop), you can choose to distract your mind into doing something mundane that carries no threat and your brain will stop producing the cortisol and you will slowly begin to relax again.

It is "very" important to find a good therapist that you can spend time with that understands PTSD and can help you work through whatever you are challenged with that presented you with the condition. Some people experience it after one big trauma and some people have a big trauma that can open a Pandora's box to reliving a history of traumas that they never realized they could actually relive. I suffer from the latter myself and it has been a big challenge for me, never imagined I would ever experience what I have been challenged with.

I can say that everything I have relived and experienced is "real", it is not paranoia or
my imagination playing tricks on me. I have had to work through a lot and unfortunately went way to long with out the proper support system in place too. So, people were dismissive and even "mean" to me. That unfortunately happens all too often so it is very important that "you" make a strong effort to get a good T and develop a "safe place" that you can retreat to and not be disturbed, and coming here to PC to be around others who also struggle and are supportive can be helpful too.

Complex post traumatic stress disorder (complex ptsd, pdsd, shell shock, nervous shock, combat fatigue), symptoms and the difference between mental illness and psychiatric injury explained is a good link look at a chart describing the difference between paranoia and hypervigilance if you scroll down.


Not sure what your specific challenge is.

((Hugs))
OE

[rep97]

Yeah I knew it was hyper vigilance but I mentioned paranoia for some reason. Judging by things I think I have complex ptsd.

[rep97]

Btw the link that you provided. I tried contacting the owner of the site because I had a question but seems the link is broken or not working.

[Open Eyes]

Originally Posted by rep97

Btw the link that you provided. I tried contacting the owner of the site because I had a question but seems the link is broken or not working.

You did get to see the link I put up though right? This link has been out for a long time so the links within it may not be available still.

OE

[rep97]

Yeah the link works.. contacting the owner of the site is not working.

[MotownJohnny]

OE, I think it is interesting that you write about one big trauma opening a Pandora's box of other old traumas, because that seems to be the case with me. So much crap from the past has come out, things I thought I had resolved and mostly forgotten years ago.

[Open Eyes]

Yes I know, surprise, surprise right? Well, you never really healed from these other events in your past, I didn't either they all affected who I became as a person and I didn't realize it. My T has told me many times that I was a survivor and resilient and strong. For me, I was angry to know things affected me more than I realized they did.

You will see it all fits into you too, in ways you didn't know. But you can "still heal" it just takes time.

This will explain how some people deal with complex PTSD that is often "misdiagnosed" as bipolar disorder.


It is a sad irony that reacting to emotional tiredness in this way can eventually exacerbate it into real physical exhaustion via a process I call the The Cyclothymic Two-Step. PTSD sufferers with a primary or secondary flight response frequently overreact to their tiredness with workaholic or busyholic action. They run so compulsively from their depression, that they eventually exhaust themselves physically, and at times become too depleted or sick to continue running. When this occurs, they collapse into an experience of abandonment so painful, that they re-launch desperately into "flight" speed at the first sign of replenished adrenalin. I have witnessed a number of such clients misdiagnose themselves as bipolar because of the extremes that ensue from desperately pursuing the adrenalin high and eschewing the abandonment low.

This is what you can work on in Therapy to help you "level out" more. You most likely did the above more in your past until this big trauma that sent you tumbling.