Childhood PTSD

As a child my mother drank while she was caring meand then allowed me to go without food daily until I was five.
All of my life (60 years) I have been unable to live or work in ant environment with a lot of noise. Also, after I read or work on a computer for a hour, I see a distortion of the air in front of my eyes.  The latter goes away after I rest my eyes for a few hours. I always have difficulty reading or focusing on any one  item or topic at a time.
After eliminating all artificial foods (including white sugar, white bread and caffeine)  the latter problems were put under submission when I controlled my environment by isolation.
I now have to avoid mingling with crowds or being around noisy sites
Work is no longer a possibility due to my inability to focus on any one task at a time: so it any type of social life.
Could these problems be caused by my childhood mistreatment?
Is it possible to get treatment for these problems?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

How are you?

PTSD is a complex condition that can be associated with significant illness, morbidity, disability, and impairment of life functions.

Symptoms of PTSD include irritability, violent outbursts, trouble working or socializing flashbacks or intrusive images and losing touch with reality.
The symptoms of PTSD may resemble other psychiatric conditions. So pls consult a psychiatrist to rule out other possibilities.

Treatment involves beta adrenergic blockers such as propranolol (Inderal), alpha2-adrenergic agonists such as clonidine, antidepressants, valproic acid (an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizer), and benzodiazepines (sedatives and anti-anxiety drugs).

Hope I have provided you with sufficient information. In case you need any more, then pls post us.

Take care and regards.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

I am really sorry at what you had to go through.
I would suggest you to go to a counselor and seek help. These may also be symptoms of depression. You may need to take a mild depressant for some time.
Please consult a good physician. Keep us posted!

[hundborg]

Hi James,

Another thing you might want to read up on is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) - alcohol can cause damage to the evolving brain and trauma has been shown to have effects on brain functioning. This could have started you out in life with some limitations on yoru capacity to attend in a complex environment ( one with lots of other stimulation going on) other people do not have, whose mothers did not drink during pregnancy. Along with aging processes, having no workable solutions to resolving the limitation other than isolation, and the impact of unresolved trauma these problems could have worsened with time.

Researching this and seeing if any of the symptoms are similar - the more the mother drunk especially at certain phases of the pregnancy the worse the brain damage can be - could lead you to a support group or people who offer specific rehab for these issues. Talk to your GP about it and ask if they can refer you to someone who offers cognitive rehabilitation as well as therapeutic services for trauma. For example through cognitive rehab there are ways to train your brain to have an increase capacity for attention, by starting out with no distractions and doing a specific cognitive task, then slowly increasing the environmental stimulation to increase capacity over time. Our brains can learn and build new neural links if given the appropriate stimulation and not over loaded as it is growing new capacity.

Studies show that increasing cognitive activity can reduce the impact of aging on the brain and you do not have to be young to get the benefits. There are some attention improving activities on a brain training site called luminosity - you could try these to see if they help?

Good luck, don't loose faith, it can be hard work and slow progress, but any movement forwards is better than feeling like we are losing ground or feeling stuck?