PTSD Survivors : Coping with PTSD

[RackMaster]

Swamp Honkey, I understand why you would wait to seek help; it took me a long time to do it myself and for the same reason. I ended up seeking help when the backlash/symptoms started hitting home and when my career was done anyway because of physical injuries. It's a bit different up here now, there is a lot of effort being done to get soldiers healthy and get them back serving in uniform or if they can't wear the uniform; find them a job out of it. But to keep them in the fold. I've heard that there is similar things in the works down there but I'm not sure how far along they are but I think it's mostly Active Duty. I'm not sure how it works in the reserves down there. If you hit up some of the active medical guys on the board, they might be able to give you a straight answer and point you in the right direction to get help while keeping your job.

 

[Swamp Honky]

Yeah, I made a promise to myself, if my symptoms start to go south again I would seek help. The more I learn about myself and my symptoms, the more I understand it is about adjusting and living with them. I stopped having really bad problems once I realized I couldn't go back to being the same 19 year old I was before I joined the Army. This was difficult because I was surrounded by college kids. I was/am a damn good soldier. I got out to get my degree and that's when everything hit me. The trickiest part so far is determining what symptoms are from PTSD and which ones are from Minor TBI. I am actually trying the private sector route. It can take up to 6 months between appointments to get seen by the VA around here. My civilian doc suggested I get another opinion and referred me to a neuropsych.

 

[metalmom]

SW-glad you are strong enough to know when to seek out help. I hear ya on not being able to return to the same person you used to be. I believe that was a huge part of my inner rage at one point.

Gdam or SW-Do you believe PTSD is a life sentence?? Always have been told it is. Saw a 1st responder on Dr Oz yesterday with PTSD, and he believes this isnt a lifetime sentence. Do you think it just depends on the individual, or is he just fooling himself?? I honestly was repeatedly told I will always be like this by med professionals.

 

[RackMaster]

Swamp Honky - It sounds like you are well taken care of. I have a minor TBI as well, a lot of the symptoms are the same as PTSD and damage from either can look like one and other. It's great that you are going to a neuropsych, it helps a lot in understanding your limitations and the extent of the "damage". When you see them, ask if they can get you a fresh MRI on your head and if not, a neurologist can. There is a special MRI out there now that can show the nerve paths and where there has been changes or damage. I had one done but I can't remember what it was called.

metalmom - Yes I do believe PTSD is life long but I don't believe it is a life sentence and thinking like that will make it harder to move on with your life. That first responder is just in denial and/or is getting the wrong information from his medical professionals. It does permanent physical changes to your mind and there is no going back. Now I believe that the sooner you seek treatment, the sooner you will be able to manage things and the less overall effects there will be. The person you were prior to the trauma does not exist as a whole anymore, you may have portions of him/her come out but you'll never be the same again. With that, the sooner a person accepts that; the sooner things will get easier. I've seen people that have been "stable" for years and then crash unexpectedly.

What did Dr Oz say about it? I wish I would have known about that episode. I would have recorded it. My wife works in mental health, so she would have enjoyed watching it as well.

 

[metalmom]

I have to say-I was so intrigued by the man telling his story(he was the 1st responder to a chimp attack that tore off a womans face(literally) and other body parts-it was harsh), that I seriously do not remember what Dr.Oz said-more about what the interviewee said. I will go check around a few places and see if I can find a vid anywhere out there of the show. Yeah-I had no heads up either-just channel surfing and found it. That was hard to watch at a few points.

From my experience-when acceptance finally comes-when we get tired of fighting it-there needs to be a grieving process first-(which for me started with anger, then sadness, etc-guilt sometimes)because when you lose a piece of yourself(physically, mentally, emotionally and/or spiritually)-we need to grieve. That is totally different from feeling sorry for yourself-i just think its an integral part to healing.

Wow-lifelong and life sentence I always associated to be the same. Really never distinguished between the two. Just got a new awakening.

 

[RackMaster]

Grieving any loss is important but it's not letting that grief drag you down to the point where you can't get up on your own. You understand what I mean? From what I've seen and all the people I know that have started down the path of healing; it usually takes the loss of either the risk of or actually losing what ever means the most to you. We usually get so wrapped up in ourselves, that we don't see what's going on around us until it's to late. For me it was almost losing my current wife, wrecking my first one was enough.

Let me explain in a little more detail what I meant about the difference between Life Long and Life Sentence.

Life Long - PTSD will never going away, you will always have to live with it but you can learn to manage it, in order to move on with your life.

Life Sentence - Letting the diagnosis of PTSD take over and being the only guest at your very own pity party and not getting the help you need.

I hate to use this example since most of us have addictions problems on top of everything else but admittance is the first step. It can be a steep set of fucking stairs, you'll trip and fall down a few but eventually there is an end to them.