Diagnostic Criteria
The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat of the physical injury of self or others the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: In children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behaviorThe traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways:
recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions, and odors. Note: In young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed. recurrent distressing dreams of the event. Note: In children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content. acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated). Note: In young children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur. intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event Persistent avoidance of things associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following: efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities feeling of detachment or estrangement from others restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings) sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:
- difficulty falling or staying asleep
- irritability or outbursts of anger
- difficulty concentrating
- hypervigilance
- exaggerated startle response
I am diagnosed with PTSD and I thought sharing my experinces with you may help you to understand this disorder some. Primarily diagnosed in people who have survived combat this disorder is found in many more people than you would think. Survivors of child abuse, rape, assult, survivors of natural disasters. As well as car accidents. Survivors of roberies. The window is just so open out there for someone to have this disorder. Many recover and some live with this forever. For me it manifests in nightmares. Day dreams, dreams that are like I am right there at the moment. Just the smell of his cologne will cause me to panic and suddenly be brought right back to the day. I (as you may guess) stay away from the cologne section in stores. Just the presence of a man will cause me to go right back. Alone in a room with a man will do it real quick. I have many sleepless nights, as (I think) my trauma was always at night. I never sleep soundly I haven't since I was a child. Not even medication induced. A creaking door will bring everything back. Often when faced with the memories I will disassociate. I will add more to this from time to time. I hope this helps you find comfort in the fact that you are not alone. There are many of us. Below read a letter a friend wrote. It really hits home to us survivors.
Dear friends,
I've come to visit you once again. I love to see you suffer mentally, physically, spiritually and socially. I want you to have restless so you can never be relax. I want you jumpy and nervous and anxious. I want to make you agigated and irritable so everything and every body makes you uncomfortable. I want you to be confused and depressed so that you can't think clearly or positively. I want to make you hate everything, and everybody, especially yourself. I want you to feel guilty and remorseful for the things you have done in the past that you'll never be able to let go of; the faces of of your enemy your assailant, your abuser, the smell, and the sound. I want to make you angry and hateful toward the world for the way it is and the way things are. I want to make you paranoid for no reason at all. I want you to wake up during all hours of the night screaming for me. You know you can't sleep without me, I'm even in your dreams. I want to be the first thing you wake up to every morning and the last thing you touch before you black out. I would rather kill you, but I would rather to see you killing yourself. However, I'll be happy enough if I can put you back in the hospital, another institution, or jail. But you know I'll be waiting when you come out. I love to watch you slowly going insane. I can't help but sneer and chuckle when you shiver and shake, when you freeze and sweat and the same time, and when you wake up with your sheets and blankets soaking wet. I would like to thank you for the countless jobs you sacrificed for me. All the destruction you've done. I cannot express in a words the gratitude I have for the loyalty you have for me..you sacrificed all these beautiful things in life just to devote yourself completely to me. But do not despair my friends, for on me you can always depend. For after you have lost all these things, you can still depend on me to take even more. You can depend on me to keep you in living hell, to keep your mind, body, and soul...For all I know you were all ready dead a long time ago ....God give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Tristan.
Books From Amazon
I can't get over it!!
A Hand book for trauma survivors
PTSD The latest Assessment and Treatment Strategies
Links
