Uuummmm.... I don't know if its really you being insecure within yourself, or if its more the PTSD aspects are making you anxious about returning! Anxiety has that affect on us, and there is little we can do about it, except learn to manage it. If you can't manage it at this point, then the hard reality is that your definately not ready to return to work. Me, I will never be able to return to full-time work again, as I have tried just simple things over the past few years already, and it only takes days, maximum a week, and my stress, anxiety, depression, anger, etc etc all kick back in really quick, and then it takes me another few months to get them back to a sustainable level. Some people can work with PTSD, some can't. But you do have to try to work out which one you fit within.

When saying some people can't every work again, more refers to that they won't ever be able to hold down a normal 9 - 5 job that endues being somewhere on time, working with others and general stress that everyone gets during their working day. Many with PTSD end up working for themselves or other similar type job where they can control the hours they work around PTSD. We all know, some mornings it just isn't going to happen, but then you may be fine by lunch time, or vice versa, good in the morning, poor in the afternoon, so generally people tend to take this avenue which caters an income for them, but around what they can manage with PTSD.

What people tend to forget, is that they scale everyone with PTSD on the same rule, in that some people may be at the bottom end of the PTSD scale, whilst others are classified as "severe" symptoms. It is generally the severe end of the range where people will never work normally again.

Its like when people say things like, just go get EMDR to get past PTSD, or the worst of it anyway, and live a pretty normal life with only bouts of anxiety and other issues. Many EMDR specialists won't touch veterans with severe trauma, nor rape or other serious trauma cases, as the method will generally make them worse than they are if too much comes out at once.

People who are successful at EMDR, which is really great for them, generally have trauma at the bottom end of the PTSD scale, and can go work, and pretty much live a normal life again. Everyone else, severe range, nope... it just ain't going to happen.

I guess these are just some of the differences that people with PTSD read about, and sufferers need to know the differences to why their friend with PTSD can get EMDR or get better, and they cannot! The systemic nature of the individual traumas are what pretty much rate the chances of the sufferer to live a normal life again, or struggle to live a semi-normal life again. Unfortunately, I am in the severe end of the range... about as high as it goes actually, with lots of others here. Some here fall at a lesser scale. It doesn't matter where you fall within the scale, PTSD is PTSD, and we all suffer the same crap.

It is these factors that sometimes makes it hard to explain the actual facts for their specific instance... which is more up the local professional counsellors and doctors to provide this face to face.

I think only you will truely know whether you will be capable to continue working for others within certain environments or not. I know some people here who have gone and chilled out and swam with the dolphins for years, turned to an environmentalist or found something they are good at and now work for themselves at a pace they can handle. You will know as time passes and you try things to where you fit in this, and what you need to do for future preparation.