PTSD Not Related to Combat or Sexual Assault?

Is anyone diagnosed with PTSD not associated with combat or sexual assault? I feel like most of the PTSD topics always cover these two things more than anything else. No offense to those who do have PTSD as a result of combat or sexual abuse. I'm not treating your symptoms as overrated or anything. This post is just to reach out to others like myself.

I was diagnosed with PTSD because I grew up in a family that constantly used intimidation to control me (threatening me to get good grades in school, telling me I'm a burden because I'm incompetent, invalidating my opinions, acting like they'll hurt me because I'm not living up to their expectations, getting pissed at me because I can't hold down a job, making sure I know I'm worthless because I'm lazy, threatening me for self-injuring, having to watch everyone scream at each other and physically fight each other and then trembling in fear that I'll get jumped next, having alcoholic parents and siblings, getting strangled by a drunk sibling, being screamed at for vague reasons, watching my parents physically abuse my pets, listening to the horror stories my siblings told me about how our parents treated them growing up, but then having them treat me like crap the way our parents did to them, etc. etc.).

Too Long Didn't Read: Basically, has anyone been diagnosed due to growing up in a war zone at home? And also getting bullied when you were in school?

I'm 27 years old now, but this has all stayed with me. It doesn't help that I still live with my mother, a place that is still pretty much a war zone for me. Like I said before, I can't hold down a job so this is pretty much my life, stepping on eggshells every day while trying to hold it together.

Obviously, I can't seek support from family. I attempted to bring up my problems in the past and got shut down hard. I just get called a failure and looked at like I'm a freak. My mom makes fun of me and likes to call me crazy and would ridicule me when she would catch me taking antidepressants.

That was a lot of rambling...

Sorry about that. But can anyone relate? At all?

This definitely can be PTSD or CPTSD. There are many people who suffer from trauma from childhood abuse or neglect! Check out Pete Walker's book about CPTSD.

And please find a good therapist. Unfortunately not all of them are trained in cptsd but they do exist!

Honey, I can. I survived a similar upbringing to yours. I am 61 and was diagnosed last year with Complex PTSD because of it. I barely remember any of my upbringing because it was so traumatic. My mother and two older sisters tormented me daily.

Is there any way you can get a therapist to help you deal with this? Honey, you are not at fault; growing up in an abusive home is brainwashing. They fill your head with lies and beat you up when you fail at anything.

Can you find out about low-income services in your area? I got counseling for many years through programs like that.

Yep, my C-PTSD comes from growing up in an abusive alcoholic home as well. I'd wager there are quite a few of us whose first brush with PTSD comes from our family of origin.

PTSD can be caused by many things, from home abuse to car accidents to natural disasters. You are definitely not alone as there are several causes of PTSD.

You know... while I do suffer from sexual issues that contributes to my OTSD- I also can totally pin many of my issues on family issues too! I never could trust my mother to protect me... and I always anticipated her bringing chaos into my life- which she did.. on many occasions! My family has never been a source of support... and mostly just additional trauma :/ at times I figured my sexual traumas may not have been so life alterning had I had a family that supported me and didn’t contribute to the trauma. I feel way more traumatized by my mother than by any assault or incident!

Thank you for sharing! And commenting on my post!

PTSD ***** sorry! Typo.

Thank you seeker33! I'll be sure to check it out. I had a good therapist one time, but then she left the company and was replaced with someone who wasn't a good fit. It's a shame because I felt like I made good progress with her.

Thank you for sharing HappyCrafter . Sometimes, I've realized that I have holes in my memory too. There are times where I'll just be going about my life and out of nowhere I'll remember something that had been repressed. I'm sure I can get a therapist to help. It's just a matter of finding someone who's a good fit for me. Unfortunately, I live in a crappy area and have to travel pretty far just to find therapists at all. I'll be sure to search for low-income services. Thank you.

Thank you, Stone92 . I don't understand why our families are the ones to hurt us the most. It shouldn't be this way but it is and it's horrible. Just today, I woke up and early this morning my mother had alcohol on her breath. I'm sick of it. I go into the kitchen and there are about 8 cans of beer in the trash. Like wtf?

Thank you, 88Butterfly88 . Actually, I'm afraid to drive. I can't help but have this bad feeling that I would get into a car accident. I have ADHD and I just don't think I would be able to focus on the road as I should. I don't want to add one more thing to my list of troubles, so I stick to public transportation like the plague.

I feel the exact same way! I don't feel safe with any of my family members. I've just been faking it to make it, trying to survive until the day I can finally get away from them. At least we realize how toxic they are. It's good to know that it's not us.

And no problem! Thank you for responding to my post as well.

For me, I believe a lot of my other mental health issues of depression and anxiety are caused by emotional abuse from my mother. But when I mentioned it to a pdoc, I was told it couldn't be PTSD because my life was never threatened. I was threatened by other means (ie money, love, abandonment), but not death.

I was diagnosed with PTSD earlier this year because of sexual assault. That luckily went away (most of the symptoms) so I don't qualify to have PTSD anymore.

So overall, no. I was never diagnosed with PTSD for a reason other than war or sexual assault.

Primary doctor? Not a psychiatrist?

Hmm. I don't think your life has to necessarily be threatened. You just have to be traumatized, really.

I can relate. Frankly, I think, at least half of the population suffer from C-PTSD and it's not even considered a real thing by the mental health profession.

I too mean absolutely no disrespect to survivors of combat trauma or trauma resulted from sexual abuse. I have no intend to downplay their suffering. I just think that trauma, as a mental condition, is a much broader phenomena than how it is currently defined and that many people are, unfortunately, left out of that category.

I do believe that C-PTSD manifests itself somewhat differently from classic PTSD (that's why it's called "complex"), but it's a legitimate trauma that has to be recognized as such.

So, yes, you are not alone. There are many people who have a traumatic history different from sexual abuse or combat, but their trauma is no less legitimate.

I was told this by a pdoc.

The DSM-V criteria for PTSD.

I was never threatened to death or serious injury so I can't qualify to have PTSD from my emotional abuse from my mother even though it is a main factor for having GAD and MDD.

I feel traumatized by these occurrences and literally feel fear around my mother because of this. Not like life or death but just scared that I will trigger something in my mother.

Thank you, Nike007.

I know the criteria for PTSD. I'm diagnosed with it. I guess this just confused me because the fear you described having around your mother is the same fear I have around all of my family members and it was enough to get me that diagnosis.

But then again, I suppose the sufferer only has to feel that way. I guess that's why I described my home growing up as a warzone. I felt like I was constantly fighting for my life.

I don't know. I guess it just depends on the person diagnosing you. I am unsure if it is for insurance purposes or for treatment purposes. I just do a lot of talk therapy as CBT didn't really do anything for me.

My therapist and I work on building boundaries and just coping with the feelings from the past. And it's a lot of work. I do my best with it all.

I suffer from C-PTSD from emotional abuse in my childhood. there are many causes for the illness.
it's not the cause that's the problem, we just gotta move on to the future with whatever help it takes

Thank you for sharing, Rebeka.

I relate to you with all you've been through. Only a therapist can diagnose you, though. I really don't think the important thing is the diagnosis but getting help for going through all that. I have gotten lots of help and still need more and maybe forever. But it's not that bleak for a lot of good comes out of therapy.

((((alittlelikemusic)))) ((((Everyone)))) I definitely think you can have PTSD/CPTSD without necessarely having a sexual assault or war as the cause... there can be many causes. What matters is how you're feeling; and I'm sorry for all of those who are suffering, regardless of the cause.

I don't like the thought of having to live with this forever. This struggle is a neverending nightmare. I really just want to be able to function well enough to at least handle a full-time job so I can escape my current environment.

I have a "family from Hell" as well. My bullies like to present themselves as the "sane ones" and often convince me that I am the only "crazy one" Those who badly bully people are likely mentally ill them selves I tell the least violent
and most manipulative bully " we all have various mental health issues you just don't realize it or want to admit your own." As a layperson my best guess is Narcissistic personality disorder"Sociopath phsychopath borderline pesonality dissorder and substance abuse etc. Your bullies just like mine are more than likely have diagnosable mental illnesses driven behaviors that always harm others and often themselves. They will "concern troll ' about my mental health quite often. I found the work of Shahida Arabi to be a tremendous source of healing. Thats where IM trying to keep my main focus.

Thank you for sharing, BillM. I'm sure my family members have diagnosable mental illnesses too, but they're in denial. I have one sister who saw a therapist only a few times. He kept wanting to talk about her anger. She doesn't believe she has anger issues, although she's always screaming at people in rage and can't seem to stop bringing up the past. She stopped going and never saw another therapist since. That was so many years ago. And I'm almost positive my mother and my other sister are paranoid schizophrenics. I don't expect anyone else in my family to admit to their problems or seek help either. I feel like I'm the only one who actually wants to get better.

I'm trying my best to learn that it's good that I at least recognize these things and am trying to improve as a result. I tell myself that my family will never ever change and because of this, I'll have no choice but to ultimately make the best choice that's going to help me. And that choice is to move far, far away where they can't bother me. I can't do it anymore. They're too toxic. And life is too short to spend it like this.

Yes , I can relate completely. Im 50 now but still have issues related to being emotionally & physically abused pretty much my entire life by my mother & step father and others in my family excluding my real father. My dad was the only person in my family who loved me unconditionally , accepted me , understood me, respected me and nurtured me. My mom was & is a insensitive , toxic , controling , belittling, cold , verbally & physically ( continue far beyond my childhood into adulthood) abusive narcissist.

My ptsd is a combination of childhood trauma and several other traumas I went through . I In 2001 my fiance died suddenly of a heartache at only 32 yrs old. It devastated me . He was the love of my life. He was strong , healthy and handsome so it was a shock when he suddenly passed away . We didnt know he had a heart condition from birth that was never diagnosed .
I was never the same after he passed away & shattered my heart . I was just starting to move on with my life when in 2003 I was in a near fatal automobile accident which devastated my life once again . I needed 7 surgeries to repair my shattered collarbone and I lost everything...my job , my car ( obviously) , my home. I had 2 small children and single so I had to move back in with my mother & stepfather after my accident until I could get back on my feet & recooperate.

My mom used my accident to blame me though I wasnt at fault it was a hit n run but she somehow made me feel I caused it and made me feel like we were a burden. She used my loss to take control and try to take my 2 girls from me. She took advantage of my situation to gain the upperhand and made it almost impossible to get back on my feet. She enjoyed knowing she once again had control over my life like she did when I was a child.

It took me a decade to get back on my feet and learn to not let her & my family bring me down. You just have to realize some people are toxic & incapable of empathy ,love , compassion etc and sadly these people like myself could be the only family you have. Your family is supposed to love you unconditionally and nurture you not tear you down . Your family are the exact people you are supposed to make you feel safe & comforted and loved but in my case it was the exact opposite.

The only person besides my 2 beautiful daughters , my fiance who passed away and my real father who died last yr ( another devastating trauma ) and I lost contact with after my parents divorced and my mom purposely did everything humanly possible to keep my dad from finding us.

You are still young and have your whole life in front of you. My advice to you is to stop internalizing all the toxicity that your family is beating into you. You did nothing wrong . They for whatever sick reasons hate themselves and see good in you which makes them try to destroy it & you to make themselves feel better they have to tear you down .

Once you realize its not you thats to blame and that you deserve better then they treat you .... thats when you can get the strength to tune them out and if you have to cut them out of your life. They wont change unless they want to and their more than likely in denial they are the problem so the Only thing you can do is change the environment and rid yourself of negative toxic people even if they are your family.

Believe me it does you know good suffering at their hands needlessly. I didnt realize I could be so happy once I cut them out of my life and chose to only have people in my life who were positive influence. I wish you the courage , strength and faith in yourself to overcome this and start living a life removed from toxic ugly people.

Good luck & God bless you. You can do it. Dont waste one more moment miserable when you can be free of it and have a life surrounded by love. Vm

Thanks for this. I have been diagnosed with PTSD but I was beaten up on daily basis by my younger sister. She constantly beat me up or threatened to hurt me. I grew up feeling inadequate as a boy and have had very low self confidence and have a number of mental health issues and have been in and out of therapy since my 20s. My family didn’t protect me and called me sissy or wuss for not being able to stand up my grounds, which added to my problems. Because of the low self esteem caused by my sister, I was bullied at school as well.

“concern troll”
^I love this expression! So true! I’ve had to deal with this.

I’ve had a series of traumas, none of them the level of direct and immediate life threatening, and they keep on coming. I’m in a toxic relationship I can’t repair, yet stay, and stay medicated and try to stay calm. I am shocked by the level of extreme stressful experiences have happened to me and nearly everyone I know. It’s not just me and my family. It’s global, I think.