Hey all.
Tonight I've been doing a lot of research on CPTSD, which has really confirmed a lot of what I've known for a while.
My traumas as a youth included being diagnosed with Crohn's Disease as an early teen, living in an alcoholic home, and facing terror at school, where I was bullied and targeted for being perceived as gay (which I am, but I did not identify as such at the time).
What really hit home tonight has been learning about emotional flashbacks, which I have been living with for probably most of my adult life (I turn 51 this week). I also lived with terrifying chronic nightmares for about 15 years. Within the last year or so, medication and therapy have finally provided relief from the most frightening dreams, but I still struggle with them on occasion (just not every night). After years of trial and error I currently have a team of professionals - gastroenterologist, therapist, and psychiatrist - who listen to me and appear to have genuine concern for my well being.
The last two months have been a struggle. I recently completed my PhD, and am not currently working, which is both a blessing and a curse. Things are bad enough at the moment that I cannot imagine working, at least not full time. If my insurance approves it, I plan to begin Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the next few weeks, which gives me some hope.
Thanks for reading. I look forward to reading posts on this board. I suspect that we all share commonalities that have brought us to this space.
Welcome to the forum, crohnie. :cheer: You're going to love it here.
Welcome, crohnie! :wave:
Welcome crohnie, I'm glad you've found us and joined us. :wave: There's lots of common ground on this forum, and lots of mutual support.
Welcome Crohnie,
This is a very supportive community. Wishing you a warm welcome.
Hope :)
Hello Chronie. I am of a similar age with some similar symptoms, nightmares especially. I was systematically physically and sexually assaulted for over ten years beginning around age nine. Don't get me started on the emotional abuse, neglect and so forth. I have been treatment avoidant for a long time but recently decided to attempt to deal with some of my severe symptoms. I have been experiencing some acceptance from my therapist which surprises me. Anything good in a relationship surprises me. I am especially hoping to recover from the chronic nightmare problem. Let me know how you get on with things. Just wanted you to know you're not alone.
silentrhino - The drug Prazosin was a breakthrough for me with my nightmares. If you haven't been on it already, if might be worth asking your doc. The combo of Prazosin & finding the right therapist has drastically reduced my nightmares, and when I do have them now they are typically not as terrifying as they were a couple of years ago.
All the best to you -- hang in there!
I've never heard of a medicine for nightmares, that's interesting thanks. My night terrors are pretty severe, more than nightmares. They occur daily and cause me to attempt to avoid sleeping. As you can imagine I have no circadian rhythm, makes sense since I don't feel like a real person.