Has anyone found anything that helps with PTSD symptoms

My PTSD is really bad right now and is causing a lot of problems with my personal relationships and social life. I was diagnosed years ago, and two years ago I went through a really traumatic situation that resulted in repeat situations that caused great trauma. I almost lost my life and all this seemed to cause my PTSD to get really bad.
I thought I was doing better recently and I realized I am not. I am numb, I am on guard all the time and trust no one, I mean no one. I stopped talking to friends, no longer want to go out, and be around people. I can't stand being around crowds and forget even going to the store if it is crowded I get real bad anxiety and need to leave.
It causes problems in my relationship because I am always defensive and suspicious. I am sick of living like this I am a nervous wreck all the time, I can't sleep, have nightmares so I am exhausted all the time.
I am in therapy just started a month a ago with a new therapist,and I really like her, she has a lot of knowledge about PTSD something I have had a hard time finding. I guess I am impatient and want a quick fix. I am only taking buspar and it does nothing, and blood pressure med at night the doc said would help me sleep and stop the nightmares, well it hasn't worked at all either.
I guess I am just trying to see if anyone has found something that actually helped them. I know there are a wide range of meds, I just do not want to take a med that will sedate me or cause even more issues. It seems everything lately triggers me, so I avoid things more and more and my moods are all over the place.
I am not seeking just meds anything maybe a certain kind of therapy I do not know. I do like to paint that helps keep me distracted for a little while, then those wonderful intrusive thoughts come flowing through. I used to hike all the time but so paranoid I cant seem to drag myself to go anymore.

((dm166)),

You have a good start with finding a therapist that knows about PTSD. You can also come here and vent or ask or talk about the things that trigger you. It sounds like you are doing your best to "avoid" people and interacting, not because you necessarily dislike people, but you don't want to be "triggered" because, lets face it, it can get painful and exhausting when a trigger takes place.

Doing your art work is good because it gives you something you can "control" and keeps your mind busy but slow which is what people with PTSD often need, something slow and methodical that doesn't trip the brain to create too much emotion or slip into hyper vigilance where it gets hard to think and as you know is exhausting.

Healing with PTSD is very much like healing from any disabling injury, first keeping whatever is hurt at rest so the injury has time to repair "slowly" without reinjuring, and then "slowly" rehabilitating by "gradually" using that part of the body again.

Your avoiding other people or anything that may overstimulate you is because you strongly feel that is important because you get triggered and struggle. What "helps" with PTSD is seeing where you "are" hurt depending on your trauma history and "slowly learning" as well as being around others that can "validate your psychological injury" so you feel free to talk about it and in effect, "show someone how you were hurt" without fearing that the other person will be dismissive and unhelpful.

What helps a lot of people is DBT and CBT because these therapies are "learning therapies" that help a person feel they have responded correctly to others and have a better way of managing interactions that gives them "damage control".

Talking and "learning" and getting "validated" will help you gain more resolve so the nightmares and unrest you experience feels more and more resolved and settled in your brain. With the brain, what needs to take place is "learning that gets more and more established" in the brain where you feel you have gained new ways of reasoning where you feel less and less vulnerable because of how your old ways did not prevent you from getting hurt. What you will be doing is "slow" and that means that until you get to a point where you have "gained enough skills to cover the triggers and challenges" you will still experience some challenging days because something hit your injury that conjures up responses that are hard to control and can be exhausting.

We tend to get "hardwired" throughout our lives in ways we are not really consciously aware of. So, when PTSD happens we have to slowly realize whatever ways we didn't quite know "how to" resolve or interact in ways that are "more efficient". It is just like learning any true "skill", it takes "practicing it" before it becomes a true "skill" when it comes to the brain. What is challenging as well are the "emotions" that are attached to the hardwiring that we have accumulated during our lives that are "just there" that are part of how we are "just human". So it isn't "just" about learning new skills, but also "slowly" redirecting the emotions from "old emotional responses" to "new emotional responses".

The problem with PTSD is that because there has been an injury, the brain now "magnifies" the emotional responses. Everyone develops "emotional responses" during their lives, however they are not always consciously "aware' of these tied in emotional responses. With PTSD, one cannot help but notice the emotional responses because they can become "crippling" and "confusing" and therefore brings on a sense of "inadequacy" and is consistently hard to explain to others who will often offer up many "just" solutions that do not work for someone who struggles with PTSD. This is yet another reason "why" someone begins to avoid and distance too.

When it comes to working with a therapist, it is "crucial" that you feel "safe" with this new therapist. The therapist should be someone who remains "calm" while you express the many emotional challenges that you have with the PTSD that is challenging you. If your therapist can remain calm while you express "anger, frustration, deep hurts that can mean a crying session", then you are in good hands because someone who has PTSD needs that kind of presence so they can just "let whatever challenging emotions they have out". So it not just that a therapist "knows" about PTSD that is important, it is also important that the therapist understands the significance of "not reacting to their patients" in ways that only make these challenges worse. LISTENING, is very, very important because what you really need is "someone who listens and can validate whatever you are struggling with" and not in anyway put you on the defensive.

You, must also come to understand that the therapist isn't going to "fix" you, but will be that much needed presence to help "you" fix "you". A therapist is often that "calm" presence that was "always needed" but for some reason "just was not there" for the patient.

There is a good book you can read called "Trauma and Recovery" by Judith Herman that describes the "healing stages of PTSD". It is helpful when someone struggling gets to learn that they are not alone and will go through some challenging stages while they try to gain more control over the PTSD. It also is very helpful when you find out you are not alone and others "can" relate to how you are challenged too.

Welcome to PC and the PTSD forums. None of us are therapists here, we are all working through PTSD and we "support" each other as we relate our challenges and that does bring some relief.

(((Welcoming Hugs)))
OE

Open Eyes that was a great post, i learned alot from it myself. I suffer from PTSD among several other things, we all need someone to listen to us, it is great there is alot of good therapist out there who do really listen, if you're lucky to find a good one keep them.

yes I have found things that help with my PTSD....

for anxiety, hyper vigilance and depression I am now on antidepressants.for sleep problems I am on a sleep aids when needed.

my suggestion if this continues to bother you contact your treatment providers, they will know the best way for you to handle your ptsd problems.

Dear dml66,

I found a book, short, and quick to read, very helpful. It's titled "The Resilient Warrior", by Jerry Yellin, a WW2 vet who describes how he recently overcame his decades-long post traumatic stress.

Best wishes to you,
BethesdaFriend

Yes, avlady, we are designed from the time we are born to depend on a presence that will answer to and sooth us when we are hurt or frightened. We are all born with a certain amount of hardwiring that we developed along the way that has allowed for our survival. Yet, human beings are very fragile and dependent for a very long time and we really depend on our parents and others to teach us things so we can slowly take on skills where we can become more and more independent.

What nurturing does for us is it provides "chemicals" to our brains that allow us to have a sense of "safety and value". The human brain grows and develops "the most" within the first three years.

When someone struggles with PTSD they "long for things" and "struggle to find ways to calm down" because something "traumatic" took place. How well a person recovers will depend on the kind of "support" they receive after a traumatic event. However, for some individuals, their personal history can also affect their ability to recover as well.

If someone struggling is able to access a good support system, rather then having other people who keep telling them to "just get over it, rise above it, stop dwelling, calm down, stop over reacting, gotta just accept it and the list can go on from there,
they will not get what they need to "actually heal". Instead the person challenged "must" have a calm presence that can consistently reassure them no matter what they experience in the challenge of PTSD. There is "no" drug that can replace what takes place in the brain, that encourages healing, better then this constant "calm and supportive presence".

It has been recognized that people who struggle from PTSD often benefit from being with others who also have the same challenges. Why? Think about it. It is the same reason AA has proven to help those who struggle with no longer being an "active alcoholic". If you have another person who can "identify" and "sympathize" and may be further along in recovery as well, the support can make a huge difference.
Sometimes, two people with PTSD "can" trigger each other, because of how PTSD produces anger so quickly. So, it isn't "perfect" as a lot depends of the individuals back grounds and even certain beliefs. But aside from these challenges, it is helpful to be able to interact with others who "do" relate and can experience the same kind of "emotional ups and downs and even crippling episodes" that PTSD can present.

Validation, and learning new skills with support is what "helps" the most with the PTSD challenge. Therefore, finding a good support system is very important for anyone who is struggling, that can be a challenge because of the desire to withdraw, but if someone can push past that and keep looking for the right therapist and ideally a good support group, that will do much to help "reduce" they crippling symptoms as the individual sets on a healing path.

OE

Thanks everyone for sharing in this post, I find it very helpful for where I am at this moment.

Thank you so very much your post really shed some light on all this PTSD stuff. yes I trust my therapist the first one in a long time. I went to see her this morning and for the first time I spilled everything that is bothering me, my actions, thinking everything. I told her it is almost like I am a stranger to myself because I have changed so much. My defense mode kicks in real easy and when it does it takes a long time for me to come back down from it. It is exhausting I am run down right now just from thinking about it today.
Validate is a big thing for me I am in now way making excuses for my self but there are elements of my behaviors, reactions, and me that I do not have full control over because of PTSD.
People can be so judgmental and unforgiving I have been called the worst things and told I did not have it ect. I try to explain myself sometimes to those who are close to me, and very few really understand. So yes I stay home to myself to keep the triggers down. When I take my dog out I rush and the only reason I can go out at dark is because of him. My dog is trained to help me with my PTSD symptoms so when he is not with me my anxiety gets real bad.
He is not certified so I am not allowed to take him everyplace with me, and that makes me made in many ways. I can not afford to go to a "trainer" just to get him certified. This is frustrating for me because I would function better if he could go more places with me.
I told my therapist that I signed up for this group and she thinks it a good idea., She said it will help me talk with people who are going through the same or similar situations, they understand.

The above post is amazing I learned a lot as well. Yes I have spent years trying to find a good therapist and finally found one. I have only been seeing her for a month but she is great.
I wish I could find a local support group but have not been able to find one so thats why I am now on here. I want to understand me and learn and listen to other, because this is destroying my life. I do not want to lose the last person left in my life that really loves me, and right now I am pushing them away like I do with everyone, except this time I caught myself and explained to them why I am acting the way I am.
The reason they are still here is because I am trying so hard to get better and not willing to give up.

Thank you very much I am going to try to find the book. I have a large group of friends that are Vets from Iraq and they would talk with me, but none of us had any answers. The one good thing I loved when I was around them is the common understanding and respect for what each one of us was dealing with.

I totally relate...I have PTSD and I am also bi polar 1... Today my doc put me on prazocin, I had been having a very hard couple months... She said today they were all PTSD symptoms... I know I have triggers but I can't avoid living! It's all a bit more confusing w the bi polar aspects. So, now I am takin prazocin it's that the blood pressure med? She was saying it would also relieve other symptoms I have been having... Has it helped you? I just really need some relief... It does really help to try to force yourself to take a short hike or bike ride or anything that allows u to breathe or gives u a feeling of space.

I am about to try Liquid oxygen. My mom ordered it for me for my chronic pain and it suppose to help with PTSD. When I get it and use it for a few weeks I will let the forum know if it works out. Yes I am so bad my mother is trying to find me relief from PTSD.

For now I find Community acupuncture($15-$30) very helpful and relaxing amongst a list of other issues I have. I have acupuncture tomorrow and cannot wait! I only got 4 hours of sleep in last 24hrs....so I need to try this sleep thing again.Good night

I have been trying new things to treat my c-PTSD. Recently, I ordered some CDs from the Healing Mind System of Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. (See: Amazon.com: Healing Mind System: Music ) I told my T about the order today (it has yet to arrive) and she was pleased that I am being proactive. The CDs I ordered will require me to invest in stereo headphones. I ordered several titles including Healing 1.0 and 2.0, Awakened Mind and Sound Medicine.

Also, I am considering massage therapy. I am not a touchy-feely person and have always had a hard time with massages, so this will not be easy. Basically, I am trying to relax my mind by first relaxing my muscles. Massage can be expensive but I have found ads for places that offer inexpensive massages for as little as $50. It's worth a try.

I am taking clonidine just at night to help with the nightmares and yes it has helped. I understand bipolar my husband has it and is schizoaffective. We are bouncing off each other. We seperated for a few years and got back together, and it has been a rough road. he is inpatient right now. He has been told he has it as well by one doctor and then another says he doesn't, but by the way we both trigger, I am convinced he has it.
I agree I really need to get out and start hiking again. I feel suffocated in the house sometimes, but at the same time hate to leave.
I was also taking buspar but it didn't work so waiting for the pdoc to call back to see what else he is going to put me on. I am not doing all that great right now and need something to give me relief so I can think straight and work on me.
Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

That is really interesting, I never thought of acupuncture I know it is used for many things, I used to watch them use it on horses at the stable I was at years ago.

I am going to look into the CD's thank you. The things I used to do I am not able to do anymore. I used to ride my horse and loved sitting int he pasture with him, that was the only time my brain shut off and I was at peace. My horse just past away 6 weeks ago I had him for 16 almost 17 years now need to find something else, and the CDs maybe a good solution, i can listen to them maybe while I take my dog on a hike.

I am starting accupuncture next week! Let ya know how goes!!

I am listening to Music for Brainwave Massage by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, Volumes 1.0 and 2.0. The CDs use sound pulse patterns to calm the mind. So far, they are amazing.

Thank you I contacted my psy doc and he is going to put me on an atidepressant that also helps with anxiety. He wants to try me on prozac I was on it year ago it worked for me then. The issue on have besides my PTSD is TBI so sometimes I react really different to meds, it all trial and error until we get it right I guess. I have to wait until Mon before I can get it filled. I do take Clonidine at night and it has helped with the nightmares, so that is a real good thing.
I just want to relax again I am guard 24/7 and numb. I am afraid to allow myself to feel right now it hurts to much. I am working on this with my therapist, but she said it takes time. I understand that but as you all know we live it everyday so when I hear takes time, I get frustrated.

I also have TBI along with PTSD and I want to let you know you are not alone. The acupuncture I would recommend to everyone...It has been my biggest benefit from a long list of physical and mental trauma!