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#ptsd
threat-lead · 16 hours
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dark-audit · 2 days
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Things I wish more writers understood about PTSD
Traumatic events don't always lead to PTSD. Two people can experience the exact same traumatic event, and one can go to work the next day shaken up but otherwise alright, while the other still has trouble functioning normally two years down the line. This is a fact that's been studied to death in psychology, but we're still no closer to figuring out why this discrepancy exists. So no, that character who experienced a very traumatic event and wasn't traumatized to your liking wasn't actually 'unrealistic'; they just didn't live up to your preconception of how trauma is supposed to effect people.
There is no flaw or 'weakness' in a person's temprament or personality construction that will make them more likely to develop PTSD, and likewise, people who don't develop PTSD are not inherently 'tougher'. PTSD is not the kind of illness you can blame on the person who suffers from it; human beings are more complicated than that. Furthermore, people who don't develop PTSD from a traumatic event exist, in fact they're very common, and while they don't develop that precise, largely arbitrary set of symptoms, they are still likely to be deeply affected by the event/s. Their experiences are no less real than those of their counterparts.
Sometimes, a person who experienced a traumatic even didn't develop PTSD afterwards - because they already had it. There are lots of people who go into therapy following a traumatic event only to discover they've been experiencing the symptoms of PTSD for years, following a previous unrelated traumatic event. This is especially common for people who had C-PTSD beforehand. Since PTSD can often manifest in very subtle ways, and since people are likely to 'mask' symptoms as a way to keep judgement or prying at bay, this scenario is not particularly uncommon.
PTSD doesn't always develop immediately following the traumatic event. PTSD can take any amount of time to develop. For most people, it takes around 3 months for symptoms to appear, but for a lot of people, the symptoms of PTSD do not appear for many months, even years after the event/s. This usually has something to do with the memory issues that can arise after trauma, and also might be affected by how a person conceptualizes the 'threat level' over time.
People with PTSD are not 'broken'; people with PTSD can be treated. Human beings aren't inanimate objects; we're living beings, graced with this incredible ability to adapt, grow and change. While there is no 'cure' for PTSD, there are loads of types of psychotherapy and medications that help to alleviate symptoms, and many people with this disorder are able to live fulfilling lives despite the diagnosis. Recovery is never out of the question, no matter how severe a person's symptoms might be. PTSD or not, I for one have yet to encounter anyone I would ever consider irrevocably 'broken'.
People with PTSD don't all experience the same symptoms. I feel like it needs to be said, because there is a bit of a 'type' in fiction, isn't there? And this can be incredibly disheartening to read for someone whose PTSD doesn't align with the way it is constantly shown to 'normally' manifest. In reality, PTSD is a very complex disorder, which might express itself in a wide breadth of different ways, and people handle their symptoms using a wide breadth of different methods. You'd be hard pressed to find two people who are completely alike in this regard.
Perpetrators of violence are just as likely to develop PTSD as their victims. This is one of those things I learned though my torture research escapades, and I've found it applies to other violent crimes as well, such as violent assault and murder. It's not a particularly nice fact to know if you want to maintain your straightforward good-vs-evil worldview, but alas, the real world is grim and complicated. There is actually a name for this type of PTSD, and it is Participation-Induced Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PI-PTSD), or perpetrator trauma. PTSD does not discriminate, and you're not safe from it just because you're not on the recieving end.
People with PTSD aren't automatically more violent. I don't know why this myth has to be so prominent with every single mental illness ever, but like, yeah, its not true for this one either.
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God PTSD is insane
So like, in the new apartment I have a den thats the bird room / office / autism room / our space w/ the birds
And a while ago I came to the epiphany that I really dont need a traditional office because the only reason Id get one is because its a neutral "safe space" from childhood; ie I could always just be behind a desk and disappear from everything and be mostly safe
And thats evolved in an unhealthy manner sometimes where I just spend more time than Id like just sitting behind a desk dissociating
And so I figured I could instead make the room more suited for actually meeting my needs and relaxing properly and thus make it an "autism room" more or less
But now that Im here, the idea of not having a desk has me so deeply on edge and wanting to have a small panic attack / impulse buy a desk and I'm just here like
"... its really THAT deeply rooted huh"
I still want to challenge myself to not at least have a traditional office at all in here but just to meet me where Im at I might just like... get a small one idk
I honestly really dont want to get a proper desk and a proper chair (outside of trauma brain, I really dont want to have to sit in a chair in my own home) so Im gonna see if my brain calms tf down when my prop up desk arrives and/or with a small like coffee / kids table arrives
But man does my brain not have the groundedness to have creative thoughts and let them stick enough. I think I might make a boxed off area and this and that and I have IDEAS but my brain is like "no scared for no reason need place to hide"
But man not having a desk should not be this distressing man hhhh
God damn did my childhood fuck our brain up even if weve gotten way better
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Ok, real talk on this episode for my fellow military wives...
Wow, the way that reunion with Rick's PTSD, especially when he started to tremble was beautiful. When he looked into the eyes of the woman he loved she was able to share her strength and Rocks smile showed a man who could finally release all of that sadness and control. As a woman who has had to experience this same thing when my wonderful husband came home from war time and time again. My strength became his and sometimes it takes a strong woman's love to be stronger than that disease.
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ashersskye · 17 hours
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Very gentle reminder that no one is watching you. No one is waiting outside to hurt you, mock you, belittle you, or cause you harm. People are walking around in their own heads probably worrying about their own issues and worrying if anyone is noticing them. They're too busy wondering the same things to think any differently about you.
And even if they were, you're a pretty awesome person anyway. They're probably thinking really good things about you. Like how nice your shirt looks, or how cool ur hoodie is. People are actually a lot nicer than you'd think. 🌸
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vilebird · 2 days
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YOU MAKE ME SICK, ANGLERFISH HEART
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quimbyflether · 2 days
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warpedlegacywrites · 2 days
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Chapter 19: Crescendo
Cullen struggles to cope as it feels like everything is unraveling around him.
Cullen isn’t sure which is worse, the waking or the dreaming. Both bring pain and sorrow in different forms. His dreams are devoted to wounds of the past, while the waking world is filled with the emptiness of the present. And the future… He can no longer imagine a future.  He is no stranger to grief. But in all those losses, the pain was in the absence. In the missing pieces. The silence that replaces their habitual humming, the empty spaces where they used to sit. Eyes that still seek them out when he enters a room.  Perhaps that’s why it took him so long to fully process his own parents’ deaths. That was a loss he’d already mourned years ago. He remembers Tess saying something similar when learning that her own father and brother were killed at the Conclave.  But how do you mourn the loss of what you never had? 
DAFF Tag List: @rakshadow, @rosella-writes, @effelants, @bluewren, @breninarthur, @ar-lath-ma-cully, @dreadfutures, @ir0n-angel, @inquisimer, @crackinglamb, @theluckywizard, @nirikeehan, @oxygenforthewicked, @exalted-dawn-drabbles, @melisusthewee, @blarrghe, @agentkatie, @delicatefade, @leggywillow, @about2dance, @plisuu
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brain--rott · 7 months
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"everybody experiences that" says mother who has the same symptom of the same mental illness
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hummus-tea · 5 months
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The Tetris PTSD story is going around again so now I have to update y'all, it's been debunked, pop sci has lied to us again
www.madinamerica.com/2021/10/tetr...
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I talk to many people who say things like "oh I have trauma but I don't have PTSD", but then when I talk to them a little more I realize that they most likely do, they just can't recognize it as such due to how lacking PTSD awareness is, even beyond the whole "it's not just a veteran's disorder" thing.
The main reason they think they don't have PTSD usually has to do with flashbacks and nightmares, either they have one but not the other or have neither. But here's the thing, those are only two symptoms out of the 23-odd recognized symptoms. Flashbacks and nightmares are two of the five symptoms under Criterion B (Intrusion), which you only need one of for a diagnosis. The other three symptoms are unwanted upsetting memories, emotional distress after being reminded of trauma and physical reactivity after being reminded of trauma (i.e. shaking, sweating, heart racing, feeling sick, nauseous or faint, etc). Therefore you can have both flashbacks and nightmares, one but not the other, or neither and still have PTSD.
In fact, a lot of the reasons people give me for why they don't think they have PTSD are literally a part of the diagnostic criteria.
"Oh, I can barely remember most parts of my trauma anyway." Criterion D (Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood) includes inability to recall key features of the trauma.
"Oh but I don't get upset about my trauma that often because I avoid thinking of it or being around things that remind me of it most of the time." Criterion C (Avoidance) includes avoiding trauma-related thoughts or feelings and avoiding trauma-related external reminders, and you literally cannot get diagnosed if you don't have at least one of those two symptoms.
"Oh I just have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, but I don't have nightmares." Criterion E (Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity) includes difficulting sleeping outside of nightmares.
"But I didn't have many/any trauma symptoms until a long time after the trauma happened." There's literally an entire specification for that.
Really it just shows how despite being one of the most well-known mental illnesses, people really don't know much about PTSD. If you have trauma, I ask you to at least look at the criteria before you decide you don't have PTSD. Hell, even if you don't have trauma, look at the criteria anyway because there are so many symptoms in there that just are not talked about.
PTSD awareness is not just about flashbacks and nightmares.
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solidwater05 · 4 months
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Apparently this needs to be said so
Forgetting things is morally neutral! Memory issues are morally neutral!
You're not a bad person if you...
forget things quickly
forget people
can't remember entire stages of your life
can't remember important things
can remember some things very well and forget other things all the time
can't remember things (or anything!) about your interests
forget to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, etc
forget to reply to texts
remember things and immediately forget them again
can't remember birthdays, events, etc
frequently answer 'I forgot' to questions
can't retain new information
forget things you used to know
only remember things when it's too late
have vague, distorted and/or unreliable memories
depend on others to know how an event you were in played out
have other symptoms that are worsened by memory issues and vice versa
... and anything else I might have missed!
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bl0w-m3 · 9 months
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mentoillnesspolls · 1 year
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Vote even if you're NT as long as you get sensory overloads!
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ashersskye · 2 days
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I know we say don't dwell on your past and don't dwell on your mistakes but yeah you know sometimes you gotta dwell on it. Sometimes you've got to sit down with purpose and intent of getting to know well first of all am I okay now? What the fuck was that? Why the fuck did it happen, who played their roles, what the roles even were, you know? Sometimes yeah you really do need to sit down and go back over it. Get that breakdown and closure and let it change you in a different kind of way. Let it shape you in a way that says "i don't ever want that to happen again. How do I get out? What are the signs? How do I protect myself?"
Yanno? 🌸
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the-jesus-pill · 9 months
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You’ve got to forgive yourself for being traumatized and needing to learn how to function again. 
Recovery isn’t always nightmares and depression, it’s forgetting to eat, being scared of what others might see as completely normal things, it’s getting random panic attacks, not knowing how to take care of yourself, not knowing how to live like an adult, even if you’re twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, of feeling like you’re failing to function in a world where everyone seems to have their shit together. 
If you need help, ask for it. Go to forums and ask for advice. Take advantage of community resources. Buy pre-sliced veggies and fruits, eat instant meals if you can’t cook for yourself today. Hire someone. Ask a neighbor for a favor. Buy any item you think might make life easier, even if you feel like you aren’t ‘disabled’ enough to have it. 
Some of the depression posts (ie open your windows, take a shower, go outside, call a friend) are really helpful but they’re not always enough. I’ve found advice for spoonies, people with chronic pain or other disabilities have the best tips because they know what it’s like to be bedridden, out of energy, stuck in a brain fog. 
You may never return back to the energy you had when you were younger and you might always need to use crutches to help you through life. It’s the same with medication. 
Trauma is a real thing that happens to you, it physically alters your brain and it’s alright to have lasting scars. 
You’re not broken, your life is not over and you can still be happy. 
It’s not your fault.
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