It's so amazing how people in general especially those who have no idea what this condition...PTSD that is, can do and has done to the vet who has no idea what's wrong with him / her yet for years they go undiagnosed meanwhile their lives are in virtual ruins and runs through the family unit and friendship(s) as though it's a ticking time bomb and then one day all hell breaks loose and the vet finds themself in an inpatient psychiatric ward hating themselves as a result of losing the control they thought they had yet question still "am i ok"...am i going insane"...."what's wrong with me"

My point is as i read this particular post about PTSD and all the carnage it leaves in the wake of a ripple effect left in the people's lives they love the most. Many ligitimate vets who in fact have and been diagnosed with are subjected to the "red tape".crap because there are so many malingerars out there playing the system it poisons the broad scope of veterans who stuggle every single day of their lives.

Again , no, PTSD is no way fake or a farce afterall "one" who thinks they have PTSD (in my opinion) are the very people who have no idea what it does to you nor do they have any idea what it's like to live with it.

The people who are directly involved in everyday life and have contact with the inflicted vet with post traumatic stress don't know how to handle them and they just give up....thats the LAST THING anyone could do is essentially abandon the man/ woman as a result of ignorance thereby unfamiliar with a disorder that scares them = avoidance = pain = the vicious cycle of anxiety producing circumstances therefore ptsd is widespread and until something or someone steps up and help the system educate itself and others we will continue to have more and more people ask..."is PTSD real or a farce"

Coop

[quote=thecoopstah]"am i ok"...am i going insane"

My 25 yr. old son who recently was a victim of sexualized trauma, asks this question everyday. He is battling with intrusive thoughts and imagery, not straight flashbacks where he is re-living the actual event, but horrific images of carnage involving himself or others, that have driven him to the point of suicide. He has experienced some hope when we assured him that these were symptoms of psychic injury due to the trauma, and not a reflection of something intrinsically wrong with him . . .however although he has taken a step back from the brink, he is still not out of the woods. He told us yesterday, that the images are there in the background most of the time, and he still battles with them when trying to go to sleep. He is scared he is losing his mind.

From what I understand, these intrusive thoughts/imagery can lead to Dissociative Identity Disorder . . . I'm very frigthened for my son, and I know he is very scared too.

He knows all about trying to stay in the present, and I think he tries to re-focus as much as possible, and is aware of other practical exercises like "eating and apple", snapping your wrist with an elastic band etc., but I'm wondering if there is anyone out there, I know that some survivors view and post here occassionaly, who experienced this kind of thing following fresh trauma, and how you survived it . . . I guess my son could sure use some encouragement by knowing that there are others out there, who felt like they were going crazy, and literally exhausted from the effort of trying to battle this, but that survived this. . . .

Any info, personal story of survival would be much appreciated.

vda