Every year I have to worry about my anniversary period of my rapes. They actually both happened around the same time of the year; so some times it hits me really hard but other times it's pretty smooth. I get very tense, agitated, contained, stand offish, and jumpy. I have nightmares and some flashbacks that can show up at the worst time possible. My biggest worry is depression. I know that this is a very tough time of the year for me so I plan for it. I love myself a little bit harder and I take better care of myself. Worst case I have to go see my doctor and get med's best case I keep active and sail right through it. I use to go to counseling once a week during this time period now I deal with it in other ways; like reading a good book, learning something new, going for a nice walk alone, going to lunch with a friend, or going to the movies.
I believe in educating myself to my illness; so I've pretty much learned the warning signs and what I need to look for but most importantly what works for me to come out of it okay. I know that this illness is a part of my life, there's no cure for PTSD, but I also know that there are things that I can do to prepare myself to deal with my PTSD. In a way it makes me feel empowered instead of powerless. That's why I say that "information is power so be informed."
From Wikipedia: PTSD defined
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,[1] overwhelming the individual's ability to cope.
I believe in educating myself to my illness; so I've pretty much learned the warning signs and what I need to look for but most importantly what works for me to come out of it okay. I know that this illness is a part of my life, there's no cure for PTSD, but I also know that there are things that I can do to prepare myself to deal with my PTSD. In a way it makes me feel empowered instead of powerless. That's why I say that "information is power so be informed."
From Wikipedia: PTSD defined
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,[1] overwhelming the individual's ability to cope.
PTSD is believed to be caused by experiencing any of a wide range of events[9] which produces intense negative feelings of "fear, helplessness or horror"[10] in the observer or participant.[1] Sources of such feelings may include (but are not limited to):
- experiencing or witnessing childhood or adult physical, emotional, or sexual abuse;[1]
- experiencing or witnessing physical assault, adult experiences of sexual assault, accidents, drug addiction, illnesses, medical complications;[11
- employment in occupations exposed to war (such as soldiers) or disaster (such as emergency service workers);[11]
- getting a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness[1]
However, being exposed to a traumatic experience doesn't automatically indicate they will develop PTSD.[18] It has been shown that the intrusive memories, such as flashbacks, nightmares, and the memories themselves, are greater contributors to the biological and psychological dimensions of PTSD than the event itself.[19] These intrusive memories are mainly characterized by sensory episodes, rather than thoughts. People with PTSD have intrusive re-experiences of traumatic events which lack awareness of context and time. These episodes aggravate and maintain PTSD symptoms since the individual re-experiences trauma as if it was happening in the present moment.[20]
(Information on PTSD obtained from http://www.ask.com/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder?o=2848&qsrc=999).
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