Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

[zlouis]

I am a writer and researcher (history and education) who has done extensive research over the past 27 years. In July of 2003 I had a bizarre and violent accident where I was suddenly and unexpectantly hurled to what should have been instant death and I evidently suffer posttraumatic stress disorder as a consequence.

As a veteran researcher, my brain tends to work overtime and when I am trying to make sense of an issue I usually get a fairly succinct and comprehensive response to my concerns in bed when I initially wake up. I don't know how to adequately explain it, but I frequently wake up with completed sentences, regarding one issue or another and with respect too posttraumatic stress disorder I woke up with the following completed sentence:

"Posttraumatic stress disorder is the sudden dislocation of everything we believe in."

In other words, if you give a dollar to a panhandler who turns around unexpectantly, hits you in the head with a brick, knocks you out and you miraculously survive a violent asasult that should have killed you, I believe that the likelihood that you will develop posttraumatic stress disorder is certain if you do not develop some capacity to make sense of what happened to you.

Similarily, if a combat soldier who believes that he or she is in Iraq to liberate the people and is forced to shoot eight and nine year old kids because they are armed and shooting at the liberators, then the likelihood that those whose beliefs have been instantly shattered will develop posttraumatic stress disorder is fairly certain.

In my opinion, the definition that allows me to try to understand what I am experiencing provides an outline that is useful to understand others who are suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and not being an expert in the field I don't know whether my perception is valid or not.

Can I have some input regarding my understanding of what posttraumatic stress disorder is?

[zlouis]

In response to this post, an expert in the field of posttraumatic stress disorder indicated the following:

"Sounds like you are paying attention to what intuitively comes into
your brain and your sentence is a reasonable description. It is the
sudden (negative) change to one's world view/experience of 'reality'
as well as the threat or injury of one's physical being that tends to
create posttraumatic stress symptoms - along with a whole raft of
physiological responses to same (flight/fight/freeze) that are part of
our wiring."

[zlouis]

An useful response that was emailed to me:

The College produces a leaflet on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mentalhealthinformation/mentalhealthproblems/posttraumaticstressdisorder/posttraumaticstressdisorder.aspx

Similarly to your definition, the leaflet describes why a traumatic even is so shocking,

"Why are traumatic events so shocking?
They undermine our sense that life is fair, reasonably safe, and that we are secure. A traumatic experience makes it very clear that we can die at any time. The symptoms of PTSD are part of a normal reaction to narrowly avoided death."

[4rivergirl]

While I too am trying to figure out just what PTSD is all about I found a link that has been very helpful in explaining some of the problems that so along with it.

www.trauma-pages.com

I hope this helps answer some of your questions.