[wolfie205]

My T told me something the last time about how my anxiety and all my other symptoms seem to all happen in the environment where my stress is coming from. Like even though I may feel unsafe or not be able to trust people, my hypervigilance, paranoia and anxiety doesn't happen when I'm at home. Is PTSD symptoms linked at all to stress like from school or work? Does it completely go away when our stress is under control? Starting to wonder if I even have PTSD now because my symptoms seem more related to my stress than to my trauma lol.

[Yoda]

Yes my environment greatly affected my symptoms. Except unlike you, home was where my stress was and work was my safe place.

[SeekingZen]

wolfie205, I also find that my symptoms get worse when I am under a lot of stress, however this can happen at home or away. It just depends on what the stressors are and what triggers my symptoms.

Is your primary area of stress (and feeling unsafe) your home? I hope you are able to get some answers!

Wishing you all the best,
SeekingZen

[JaneC]

I definately find that my symptoms appear to be more pronounced if I am feeling stressed or anxious....and this can happen either at work or home unfortunately.

Hope you work it out

[wolfie205]

Hmm my primary area of stress and everything else is at school, which is weird because my trauma was at home. Although I'm not living with my family now...

[HealingNSuffering]

Stress does make it worse, just having PTSD is stressful add to that the stresses of regular life and you double down on your stress increasing the symptoms. PTSD makes you feel your bodies natural stress response even when you are "safe" you still feel like you are in danger. School is really stressful not just for PTSD but for all mental health problems, it probably even stresses 'normal' people out, they just do not react as significantly as we do to it.

[(JD)]

It's an anxiety disorder. Stress in any fashion (even good stress like a happy occasion ) can make it worse.

It does not go away, PTSD. There is no cure currently for PTSD.

With therapy you can learn to recognize what situations make you feel worse, and how to mitigate or even avoid them (for now) to limit being triggered.

You'll learn to make the decision about whether going or doing something (when you have a choice) is worth the possible set back you will have from the PTSD reactions.

There's a great book: The PTSD Sourcebook that gives more info than most want to know, but sure helps with the reasons and results of the whole thing.

be well.

[A Red Panda]

Originally Posted by wolfie205

Hmm my primary area of stress and everything else is at school, which is weird because my trauma was at home. Although I'm not living with my family now...

When trauma occcurs because of family.... I think it would affect EVERY part of life. Like... I don't trust people. I think that kindness and caring towards me are fake, because I didn't recieve it at home. I think that soft voices are manipulative. If you can't trust or feel safe around your family... then how can you anywhere else, like school?

So even though you're not living with your family, and likely view your home as "safe"... school still has other people. Your body could just be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

[Open Eyes]

Originally Posted by wolfie205

Hmm my primary area of stress and everything else is at school, which is weird because my trauma was at home. Although I'm not living with my family now...

Stress doesn't have to be about being with people that have stressed you in the past. It "can" happen if someone was "bullied" by a certain group of people and tries to work in an environment with the same type of people who tend to "bully, push, and pressure the same way" though.

What is important is to also become "aware" of ones own personal fears too. If someone questions their value and ability somehow and in the past an abuser of some kind made the person question their value or ability, then that needs to be addressed until a person realizes that they "do" have abilities and can learn and do things in spite of how an abusive person treated them.

One of the therapies that has proven to be very helpful is DBT. This therapy addresses common weak areas where people struggle to know how to respond when another person triggers them. This really focuses on developing "skills" instead of falling into old ways of using defense mechanisms that were not helpful and even led to further feeling "defeated" which feeds into the stress and aggravates the PTSD.

PTSD "is" an anxiety disorder, and a person "can" learn how to better manage their "anxiety" so they can function better and do more.

OE

Yes, it certainly does ...

That's why it's imperative that we keep as many unnecessary stressors out of our lives as possible.