Can anyone help me with my Post Trauma Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

[seandrouet]

Hi everyone,

I am a 31 yrs old salesperson from London, England.  I was diagnosed with PTSD approximately 3yrs ago - after abuse was revealed through therapy.  I've had a really painful time of it (this mail is very liberating!!) and it gets really difficult to deal with at times - especially when I 'zone-out' or dissociate when I'm in meetings/phonecalls....needless to say it has affected my work, relationships . . well just about everything.

I was under observation till about 6mths ago and have tried various forms of therapy, Jungian, more traditional, and self-methods (cognitive).

I am a lot better but I regularly 'flip' in and out of a confused, anxious, dissociated state, which renders me completely useless...this happens maybe 50 times a day..

It's very painful and made worse by a family situation where support is superficial - unfortunately for me the attitude is very British ie sweep it under the carpet/forget about it.  My father denies it, my stepfather makes excuses, and my mother says 'what can I do about it?..

So.....
Can anyone help me with any ideas to make it go away??  I feel really upset most of the time because so much of my life seems to have been wasted, and there are times when everything seems so utterly pointless - you've obviously noted the depressive tones there too...

My moods swing like a see-saw in a playground..

Please, any help would be so appreciated...

Sean.

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Dr.Gould will return next wed. and answer your questions at that time.

[boo]

hey sean,

      i was diagnosed with ptsd about 2 yr. ago. Afterwards i was diagnosed w/panic disorder. My panic attacks and phobias can  fluxuate between horrible to not barely noticeable. I am a single mother who was in a very abusive relationship for 5 yr. The guy beat me every week, shoved my head down a toilet to drown me, w/urine in it, and tried to stab me after i had our daughter and was hemorraging at home. I was also beat every night for wetting the bed, until i moved out at the age of 15, then i never wet the bed again(odd, huh). I remember having panic attacks all the time at night, but i did not know what they were then. If you met me you would never think i had been put through that. I am 27, very attractive and independent. I am getting ready to open my tanning salon up next week, even w/my social phobia. Every day is a struggle for me. I am constantly living in my self, alone w/my fears ,no matter who is there. I am not on meds., i get very anxious sometimes. I can not ride 2 blocks w/my current boyfriend in the car, cause i am scared he will kill me in it. I was beat alot in the car by 2 x-boyfriends.my life is very difficult at times. My ptsd gets worse at times. Some weeks i never want to leave the house ,i am so afraid of people. I get scared that i will not make it alone, eventhough i have for 12 yr. now. my brother has panic disorder too.  i do not go to therapy right now, cause it is hard to talk about the past w/out feeling like i am gonna pass out. I drop my daughter off to my x, and i can not hardly breathe. I loved him more than i ever loved and he hurt me bad. I will live through it ,it will just take a long time to heal. But at least i am alive today, to send ya this message. love hurts worse than any pain in this world, but it hurts just as bad not to love. You can send a note back. When i say i know how you feel, believe me i do. all i can say is w/our pain we are still fighting, we are the strong ones, imagine if you knew someone else who had to suffer what you do. Have some empathy for yourself. You made it this far, you should be proud of yourself. i know no matter what pain i feel, it will never take me w/out a fight. This pain is our love for ourself.

[wildcat]

sean,

From what you discribed it almost sounds like absence seizures. Left untreated they could happen that often. You should see a good Neurologist and get s video monitored EEG. If it is really only stress, try Klonopin! It works the best for my stress disorder as well as my partial complex seizures.

wildcat