Comment from: 65-74 Male (Caregiver)Published: November 29
My husband came back from Vietnam with PTSD and was diagnosed with anxiety. What helped him the most was writing and rewriting his experiences (at least five drafts on a typewriter) into a memoir (Chickenhawk). It moved nightmares and intrusive thoughts and memories into his past. It didn't cure the PTSD, but it made life more bearable. A few years ago, he also started on Zoloft, which helped with his depression that I consider a natural result of PTSD's emotional numbing. Refuse your feelings and you will get depressed.
Comment from: katieh, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: November 29
I had a psychotic mother who was physically, sexually, and emotionally abusive to me as a very young child. I was placed in an even more abusive orphanage where I began to self-harm and eventually try to kill myself. I also switched into another personality there. I was called "#14," and I switched to "14," who wasn't so afraid of the abuse there. At some point, I began to suffer from PTSD. After 30 years, I was put on Zyprexa. It immediately took just about all my self-harming and suicidal thoughts away. However, I gained 100 pounds. No doctor wanted to take me off it, so I did it myself and finally got stabilized on Seroquel. These are antipsychotics but have been proven helpful in treating PTSD. I have not met anyone else though who has had such a significant improvement to the extent I have. However, it is worth a shot.
Comment from: Ashleigh, 35-44 Female (Patient)Published: October 15
After trying several types of medication, I found exercise, yoga and meditation to work the best. The medicine - Lexapro did help some what, but made me feel tired/sleepy and gave me gut problems. I advise not going back to work full time as you burn yourself out again. Seeing a psychologist helped as well as you could talk about your experiences although I wanted to avoid as much of my past experiences as possible. I have heard that 6 week courses run by PTSD psych/psychiatrists have been really helpful for police and military personnel. Remember that your family needs you and set yourself goals.
Comment from: Pushed to the limit, 25-34 FemalePublished: September 24
After being abused when I was a child, moving many of times, going through my parents divorce, and being raped as a teenager, I could hardly sleep, and began having panic attacks all the time. This lead me to see a therapist who helped me work through my past which I kept a secret for years. I was finally feeling better until overwhelming stress and sexual harassment at work pushed me over the edge and I was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It was absolutely awful. I didn't want to do anything, go anywhere, and was terrified of anything related to my job (of which I had to leave on doctor's orders). It's almost been a year and things have improved, but it's astonishing what this can do to a person.
I've found therapy very helpful, along with medicine, plenty of sleep, light exercise, keeping a journal of how I feel and trying to make small goals for myself. If I could do anything differently, I would have spoken up a lot earlier, and not have pretended everything was fine until I couldn't take it anymore.
Comment from: 1happy1, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: December 16
I have been diagnosed with PTSD over the past six months from multiple traumas that happened to me before I was 18 years old. I never thought it would have affected me now at 50! I had an "old" man neighbor put his hands down my pants, one of my brothers inappropriately touched me while I was asleep, I was rapped by my high school biology teacher, and a friend's father made passes at me! I had always wanted to get married and have a family, but I seemed to always pick the wrong men. I had been living in the cycle, not knowing what they heck is going on until I left a relationship that meant the world to me. Then my brother passed away, and then all of this came flowing out of me. So, now I am in the process of putting my life back in order. Wow, it is work to love, appreciate, trust, and believe in myself! What has helped me the most is finding a great therapist and facing this head on. I now know that all people aren't as sick as all the men that violated me. Each day I am getting stronger and stronger.
Comment from: Struggler, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: December 16
I found out that my PTSD stemmed from childhood sexual abuse, which later, I believed it resulted in alcohol and drug abuse. It didn't find treatment until I hit bottom and joined AA. It has helped me immensely. AA helped me to face life sober. Before, all I tried to do was to keep all of those memories away, hence the drugs and alcohol. Acceptance is the key.
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Suggested Reading on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder by Our Doctors
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My husband came back from Vietnam with PTSD and was diagnosed with anxiety. What helped him the most was writing and rewriting his experiences (at least five drafts on a typewriter) into a memoir (Chickenhawk). It moved nightmares and intrusive thoughts and memories into his past. It didn't cure the PTSD, but it made life more bearable. A few years ago, he also started on Zoloft, which helped with his depression that I consider a natural result of PTSD's emotional numbing. Refuse your feelings and you will get depressed.
Related Reading: anxiety | nightmares | depression