This document discusses post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD. It describes some of the symptoms sufferers may experience, such as sadness, rage, feeling out of control of their thoughts and actions. It also discusses how the condition can affect relationships and quality of life. Strategies for patients and families are provided, such as advocating for yourself, understanding triggers, and creating coping mechanisms. Families are advised to listen without judgment and respect the person's feelings and safe space.

1. Suffering With PTSD

2. Have you ever stopped to wonder what our soldiers may
be going through when they come home? Many of us
have heard of post traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.
This is a debilitating disorder that can affect your
ability to work or love normally. Many people face
symptoms that can include great sadness to
instantaneous rage. People suffering from the disease
are unable to process events as they are unfolding and
tend to feel as though they are on 'auto-pilot' and not
feeling like they are able to think then react. Because
these folks feel as though they have no control, it is
quite difficult to change the behaviors into more
positive reactions.

3. I suffered many years of abuse and exposure to
abusive situations. This left me with constant
reactionary reflex when one wished/needed to
critique me. Their criticism would be perfectly
harmless, even helpful to another person. Because I
was told repeatedly throughout life that I was not
the sharpest tool in the shed, I was born with the
devil in me and was repeatedly bullied in school-my
body and brain became used to 'saving' me before I
could even assess if I was in real 'danger'.

4. Effects of complex PTSD on family, friends and
quality of life
It became incredibly difficult to have a conversation
with anybody. I would go into it with the most
positive attitude and would just lash out or shut
down if someone criticized me or my work. Truth of
the matter was that I would often try my best and
would feel deeply discouraged when it was not
accepted as the best work. Besides my brain going
on autopilot and doing its own thing, I would suffer
from a number of physical ailments as well. My
palms would get hot, I would feel as though my
face is on fire, I would just want to vomit. Often I
would begin shaking, crying or yelling at the
person delivering the news. Some have described
this as a type of Jekyll and Hyde behavior.
Awareness is half the battle, you have to
understand that you have an illness before you can
set about getting the appropriate help.

5. Strategies Patients Can Use to deal with the
symptoms of complex PTSD
Having been living with this disease for 20+ years has been
immensely difficult, especially because folks in my situation
are often misdiagnosed, which translates to be mistreated.
Six months ago, I learned that I have complex PTSD. I was
placed on a medication I had never taken before with an
anti-depressant I had used off and on over the twenty years
I had been suffering. I had to allow several weeks for the
medication to get into my system and get used to the side
effects. The combination of the two was AMAZING... I felt
like myself for the first time. I felt like my authentic self, as
described by author Dr. Wayne Dyer: "your path to the
freedom and joy that characterize a purposeful life." The
anguish I often felt was gone. I was able to go into my
therapist's' office and tell her that I hadn't cried in two
weeks. Then, I needed to get a refill. The pharmacy said that
my script wasn't approved by my insurance company. They
said that they couldn't explain why it had been approved
and now was not being approved. On top of that, I couldn't
get a hold of the proper people to get something else
instead. This taught me a few major lessons:

6. Sometimes it is important to advocate for yourself:
Stand up for yourself, ask questions, learn legal rules
with regard to the medical field (once the insurance
company approved it once, they were legally
responsible to continue providing it)
Sometimes you must take charge of your own medical
care: Know the effects of starting or stopping your
medication, understand what you feel and be in touch
with if you feel better or worse, know that your
doctors don't know everything- don't be afraid to
speak up for yourself or question their judgements
and rationale for particular treatments.

7. Create coping strategies to deal with the more
stressful things that must be done with regard to
your health, daily life and living/dealing with
others: Learn what relaxes you, learn what triggers
the bad feelings and share these with your family to
help avoid them, Create a 'safe place' either in your
head or physically and go there when things get
very difficult- Teach your loved ones about your
'safe place' and its purpose.

8. Strategies Families can use in supporting their
loved ones with complex PTSD
Learning to support family members with this invisible
disease can be quite the struggle. We expect people to be
in charge of their thoughts, words and actions. But what
do you do with a person who has little or no control once
they have been triggered. Talk with your loved one about
what precipitated the current event, Listen if they tell you
that you are doing something that they find difficult,
Listen for what they may have been missing from their
lives during the events that caused their current
condition- act to fulfill the needs the person to the best of
your ability. Try to learn about your loved ones safe
place- is it physical or in their head, what should you do
when they are there, what is a cue to let you know they
are there.

9. Maybe one of the most important ways to show
support though is to listen and not minimize their
thoughts and feelings. In most cases, people
suffering from this illness have been minimized or
treated as though their ideals and feelings are not
valued by other, telling them what they should feel
instead of listening to how they do feel will always
result in shut-down and withdrawal, sometimes
after a belligerent tirade because a trigger has
been pushed. It is difficult to learn and understand
why our loved ones could just change so quickly.
As awful as this sounds, just think of how your
loved one feels not having control of their actions
as the event occurs.

10. Sources:
http://cbttherapistnyc.com
http://ezinearticles.com/?Suffering-WithPTSD&id=7126507