Hello

[Doglover95]

Don't really know how to start or what to say, so I'll just do a brief overview.


So I think I have C-PTSD (well everyone says I do).

The PTSD symptoms started in January, I was driving to work and I got this memory come through (I didn't think anything of it at the time) well it got worse from there.

I started getting more and more things come through, (got told they were flashbacks) and just tried to deal with it, well that didn't work, I couldn't handle what was going on in my head.

Then it got worse, I started getting these fleeting memories of stuff that happened to me that I wasn't even aware of happened.

So flash forward to now, I've been going around and around with mental health services, they are finally looking at a PTSD diagnosis, work are also suggesting this is the diagnosis.

I'm trying to do everything I can to help, I'm doing therapy, I've been doing grounding work nothing seems to help when they get intense and when I mean intense they go around and around in my head constantly one after the other and I feel everything that I should of felt at the time. I've been on the floor shaking for over 2 hours before and no one seems to know what to do or how to help.

I don't sleep much, I wake myself up, I'm constantly exhausted mentally and physically, I feel broken and I don't know where to turn or what to do.

[Kizzie]

Hi DogLover, welcome to Out of the Storm! 

The first thing you may want to do is get a proper diagnosis.

You may have PTSD which usually results from a single, time limited event like a car accident or being in a natural disaster.

Or, you may have experienced sexual/physical/emotion abuse and/or neglect over a longer period of time typically beginning in childhood and that typically leads to the development of Complex PTSD.

If it's the first then you likely have PTSD and 3 symptoms: 1) reexperiencing the trauma (e.g., flashbacks); avoiding people, places and/or things associated with the trauma; and, 3) hypervigilance (i.e., being constantly on guard).

If it's the latter (CPTSD), then you will have the above 3 symptoms plus another 3 including: 4) problems with relationships; 5) emotional dysregulation; and 6) a negative self-image.

So, maybe start by figuring out what caused you to feel the way you do and whether you have PTSD or Complex PTSD.   

[Doglover95]

Yeah it's likely to be C-PTSD, years of sexual abuse, physical and emotional abuse.

I'm pushing for a diagnosis but I'm yet to be referred to psychology, but hopefully that's going to be soon and I can get a proper diagnosis.

[Marcine]

Hi Doglover95,
Welcome to Out of the Storm. This is an amazing place for support, resources, and camaraderie.

If you have a chance, get your hands on Pete Walker's book "Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving", it covers all the basics and a whole lot more.
You might find it useful.

Again, welcome!