Can I Work Through PSTD Issues in 2-3 Months?

[nic]

The doctor I am currently seeing for the PTSD is only my temporary doctor. (I was in a med. trial that didn't go too well for me, so the doc. is seeing me until he finds someone else for me to see.) Right now I'm not doing too much to deal with the PTSD (aside from medications and monthly check-ins) because my health insurance isn't so good, and my current doctor can't find anyone who deals with PTSD who will take it. I plan to switch health insurance, and (if all goes well), I will be able to start both a new insurance and a new doctor/therapist come June.

The doctor I'm working with wants me to do CBT/exposure therapy once he finds me someone and I have better insurance. I'm a bit hesitant because the treatment that I was going through a few of months ago included exposure-like stuff, and let's just say that didn't go too well and I ended up with really bad symptoms for a while. This made my daily life very difficult, as you all can imagine.

Anyway, I did say that I am willing to give the CPT/exposure therapy a shot. I figured that since I don't work during the summer--(I'm a teacher)--it would be a good time to do this since I wouldn't have to worry about trying to stay stable for work.

That being said, I wonder if this will give me enough time to work on some of the tough stuff and get to a "better place" with the PTSD before I have to go back to work in the fall. Now I don't expect to be 100% better or anything; I am just hoping that I can get some of the hardest parts over with within a few months.

Am I being realistic? If not, is there a better option? (Taking time off from work is not currently an option for me.)

[Cindy]

Nic:

This is tough to answer. I have been in therapy for years. I'm not sure what your goals are regarding your trauma's. I'm not sure how much you can take in a short period of time. With me, personally, it took a long time to process some parts of the therapy outcomes and assimilate them. I still flip back and forth with a few of the outcomes of thought that I have a hard time either accepting or understanding clearly because of the emotions attached to them.

To say that you could fly through and accept everything on blind faith and then assimilate it into your beliefs and consequently behaviors would be flawed. Because in that process, emotions run rampant and hinder progress by slowing it down to manageable bites for your own stability and survival.

Another piece of the puzzle, is finding the right person that will be a good match for you to do the work with. Someone who will have the time in their schedule to see you several times a week for the 8 weeks you are off.

I don't want to sound - NO WAY ... It can't work. I think you definitely can make a lot of head way in the process given the right opportunities for you. All I'm saying is, I don't think you can get to the end of the road in that amount of time.

Stick with your focus, it is going to happen on way or another. Take the time this summer to attack the program What you do today makes room for tomorrow. (Hey, I like that sentance).

Cindy

PS: save time for the beach!

[becvan]

Honestly here:

I think trying to base your healing time line on your work schedule is ridiculous. Would you expect a cancer patient to heal within so many months because they have to go back to work? What about bipolar, a chronic depressive, someone with back injuries?

Really your not giving yourself a fair chance here. I think rethinking how your looking at healing might be a good idea. Frankly what your proposing is not realistic and your just setting yourself up.

bec

[spiritofnow]

Nic,

the question you have asked is so key!

How long is a piece of string?..

I don't think one persons' treatment and outcome can be compared to another, really? I guess I have said before that PTSD is all about individual differences; where the trauma stems from, how long the trauma caused PTSD symptoms, the person themself -their strength of mind, charactersitics and personality traits that would correlate with healing, family, and friends, and support systems, etc etc. You get me right? I read somewhere that healing can be dependent on so many other factors. If someone trying to heal has not managed to make many emotional attachments and does not have external support this could hinder their progress. However, as we are all individuals there are no absolutes. Generalisations are given as guidance.

So can you heal in 2-3 months? From the percpetion of a realist I would say that that is a rather tall order. Why?..

CBT as far as I am concerened is one dimension of treatment - I do not beleive that CBT in itself can treat all the symptioms of PTSD. Therefore, to beleive that one method of therapy will alleviate all of your symptoms is rather naieve IMHO.

I can see where you are going with this question, and I know all to well how difficult it is to be on the healing journey, and still manage to function in the world - we all wear many hats and sometimes it gets confusing as to which one you are wearing or whether you can fulfil the role it correlates with.

First off; therapy should start with grounding techniques, these enable you to work through aspects of your trauma bit by bit, and ensure that you can sustain your other life duties. This is fundamental to your success! Applying yourself and actually working through the core issues of your trauma has to be in conjunction with being able to manage the emotions that will arise - I guess you could compare the grounding techniques to a car with wheels that are loose. As soon as you go around to many difficult bends you know exaclty what is going to happen. The wheels will come off and you will end up in a ditch alonside the raod. So my advise is to ask about this before any therapy begins. Remember you are in control of your therapy. You should not feel like a helpless by-stander. Your therapist is a facilitator in your healing journey, they navigate, and you control how fast or slow or when to stop!

Once you have established your grounding work I would suggest that you write any questions you have and take that peice of paper with you, and unitl you are satisfied you understand the answers.

And if you want the honest answer that I have concerning how 2-3 months may affect you? They will be some of the toughset, you know it will be harder before it gets easier. You will no doubt have moments of serenity and have many epiphay's concerning your issues and thses are successes. However, the real marker of success is that you will be coming away from therapy feeling like you have unearthed so muh sh*t that you cannot see straight. You have to dig deep, go right down and pull out all of the stuff that has been corroding your very soul. You have to put a stop to it!

CBT in itself is less invasive IMHO. It really only treats the here and now (some of the symptoms of PTSD. Depends on the model the therapist uses. But generally this is how it is used). So you may be able to use CBT rather like a magnifying lense. It will highlight your reasoning and enable you and your therapist to determine how to start to re-programme yourself (Have a look at cognitive schemas, you may understand this angle better?).

So lovely nic - congratulations on being in therapy. Congratulations on accepting you have things to work on. Congratulations on asking your question - I reckon you knew the real answer? Sometimes we put it out there hoping that people will identify with our question and tell us that 2-3 moths is of course enough :wink:..Your question could be - Is 2-3 months enough for you?

One of my lovely friends on here likes to use dieting as an anlorgy for PTSD. My use of it; there is no miracle diet that will allow you to shed all of the dead weight you have been carrying around. There is only determination, retraining yourself, forming new behaviours and good old fashioned hard work! You can do it! Dig deep and begin!

Sent with love
Spirit x

[spiritofnow]

BTW I am usually an idealist so thank you for giving me the opportunity to step outside my box. ;-)

Spirit x

[linasmom]

Nic,

We are all different and have different circumstances to work around. I know, because I've read in other posts, that you do not have the luxury of not working. Personally, beginning therapy has always been the hardest part for me. I think, once you are able to get over that hump in those 2-3 months that you have off will be great. Once school resumes, your therapist will most likely be able to cater to your schedule in that you could probably schedule sessions on Friday afternoons which will give you the weekend to recover. Also, tell your therapist about this specific concern, so that you two can also work on coping skills for when you do go back to work after summer break.

I honestly don't think that 2-3 months will be enough (however, we are all different.) But please don't let that discourage you. I think you will be able to find a solution to this. Tell your therapist up front your concerns.

Good luck and I'm glad to hear that you will be starting therapy!

Best,
Rachel

[cherryblossom]

I think it impossible to give a definate answer here, because, as others have said, everyone is different. Also finding a therpist that you 'click' with is also tricky, and that alone could take a lot of trial and error.

The concern that i would like to raise, is that if you try to 'heal' within a 2-3 month period, you will be putting a hell of a lot of pressure on yourself. This in itself could lead to set-backs. Having said that, this few months away from work could be a great time to make some real progress. Without the pressures of work, you have some real time to focus solely on your healing. But equally the time will fly by.

I wish you all the luck in the world, just try not to put too much presure on yourself, or this may have a negative effect.

[Cindy]

nic:

I think if you plan to attack the worst parts during the summer when you have the down time it would be beneficial to you and holding your job. If you hit the worst parts when you are not responsible for grading papers and teaching I think it would give you the time to focus on your personal needs after each therapy session. Save up the minor adjustments for the fall.

A really good point was made about developing the grounding techniques up front. The grounding techniques help you to stay a little more in the here and now when the past is consuming you. It is important to recognize the past is the past and you survived and are safe now.

I'm glad to hear you are ready for your therapy and willing to engage with the process of healing, unloading the garbage, and moving out of the swamp.

[nic]

Thank you all for the responses. I know I'm not going to be "better" by the end of the summer, but I do want to be able to function.

[nic]

Sorry, I hit the post reply button too soon. Anyway, I do appreciate what you all have had to say. I guess, since I don't have many alternatives, I'll give it a shot and see how things go. I do like the idea of (during the school year) possibly seeing the therapist of Friday so that I can recover during the weekend. I have already learned "grounding" techniques, and while they don't work when I have a major panic attack, they are useful for more genaral anxiety. Well, I report back on this in a few months, I guess.

Nic :-)

[Auburngirl]

Just to also add that just because you may not be "all better" in 2-3 months doesn't mean you won't be "better off" than you are now. It may make a real difference - and you may be better able to function or, temporary in a more difficult place (this happens too) that will make things better. I'm on my second go at therapy, and while my first 3 months didn't make everything better, it did help and I did get a few months of functioning well out of it.

[anthony]

You described to me that you actually are in denial over how much pain you have to endure in order to get better. You said it yourself, you tried CBT / exposure therapy before and it made your symptoms worse. Hello.... what did you expect? Do you honestly expect to just heal your trauma, face your past fears and pain without consequence? This is the typical thinking of people who want something they are not actually and honestly willing to chase. Sorry, but you said it, I am just answering honestly.

What bec said.... your setting yourself up with a timeline. You cannot choose what you work on and for how long, it doesn't work that way.

Here is a hard fact for you Nic.... You must go down before you will come up when facing trauma therapy.

If you think you can resolve your trauma with PTSD and not endure months of serious illness, your just joking yourself and you may as well stop stuffing yourself about now, and likely that of therapists also. They will take your money though, have no doubt.

I think you need to stop here right now Nic, you need to sink your head into the PTSD (http://www.ptsdforum.org/forum12.html) information forum near the bottom of the homepage, and you need to read some of the threads pertaining to this subject which already exist there. That information hasn't changed, nor have the methods or facts. You need to read what your getting into. You need to read the information in the trauma diaries forum, the three or four threads posted in that forum before entering the specific trauma diary forums, as that contains the facts about healing trauma.

What your asking is not realistic, actually it is totally ridiculous to be perfectly honest. Opening up dealing with trauma is the same as opening Pandoras Box.... you must deal with it all once opened, because your brain WILL NOT give you any other option actually.... it will be taken out of your control with the exception of working through all your lifes trauma.

[2quilt]

You can't heal PTSD in 3 months.

You can heal some, if you work hard, but this is a very long process, years and years of work, daily and weekly, to heal. This is the hardest thing I have ever done. It will take the rest of my life.

[anthony]

Nic... bare minimum time frames are something like this:

- 6 months intense trauma therapy working through trauma
- 6 months further of just settling and coming to terms with emotion
- 2-3 years further learning how to manage PTSD through exposure and doing activities.

People keep wondering why I say one must be pushed hard to heal PTSD.... I wasn't kidding. You CANNOT have your hand held and heal PTSD, it won't work ever. You must push yourself, otherwise you will not heal correctly and will forever be battling constant issues. You must have someone who pushes you beyond any comfort levels you have, push you to find boundaries you never knew existed, then to show empathy as and when required. You must be allowed to rest at specific points, you must then be pushed hard again and again. There is a method to trauma therapy, very few therapists or physicians will do it because they are all afraid of legal consequences if something goes wrong. Facts are though.... without this method you will never get through and learn how to manage PTSD.

[nic]

I know that exposure therapy will be difficult. I've been through regular therapy before, and my therapists/doctors were afraid that exposure therapy would be too much for me. I also know how difficult things were a couple of months ago when I did just 2 sessions that combined just a few minutes with exposure therapy with taking medication. This is why I'm hesitant to do this. BUT, there are websites that say that CBT is done in 10-20 sessions. (I think Cognative Therapy Associates is one.)

Also, I told my current doctor (who's a PTSD specialist and researcher) on Thursday that if I'm going to try the CBT/exposure, I want to do the intense part during the summer so that I will be able to function when school starts up again. He didn't tell me this wasn't possible or anything, and I think he would have if he felt my expectations were too unrealistic.

[anthony]

CBT sessions is a basis for getting the foundation of information across to the person, that is all it is. It actually IS NOT a basis that after x amount of sessions you will be all good, because that would be a blatant lie on any counsellors behalf. You cannot just open up your worse trauma through summer and think it will all be ok for you to start school again, trust me on this. You decision... but you can tell yourself the "I told you so" part on you finding this out for yourself.

This forum is about people learning from others experience, all of which replicates itself here. Not one person have I ever read here said they have achieved such a thing, ever. You will not be the first either, trust me. It cannot be done because your brain does not work that way. I say trust your therapist if you want and do this, then you might want to trust me after you find out the hard way.

All I can say to you Nic, is that you have been warned. I am not going to argue this point with you, you're an adult and will learn for yourself. I honestly get sick of telling people how things will go, they disagree, then they find out exactly what I or another here told them to begin with. Go do it I say, go learn, and just accept your own decisions when it all falls down upon you by thinking such or believing such can be achieved with trauma.

Look forward to hearing how this turns out for you.

[kers]

Just to also add that just because you may not be "all better" in 2-3 months doesn't mean you won't be "better off" than you are now.

I think this is an excellent point. I did the brunt of my exposure therapy sessions after about six months in therapy. The exposure sessions went on for about three months. It took another 3-6 months to deal with the fallout from them, though (I was finally able to deal with the memories and flashbacks, so they hit me full force). I'm still chipping away at all of it, nearly two years in, but I do think that the exposure sessions and those that followed it were the worst.

I would add also that it was to my benefit that these happened during the school/working year (and not in the summer) because I had work to distract me. We all function differently, though, so that might not be good for you. The summer after I did all that work was rough, because I ruminated and obsessed about the trauma a lot more.

[pandora]

I made the mistake of thinking 10 cbt sessions and i would be done...I would be healed,,,WRONG. I have now had about 50 but my thinking is totally changed....every thought I now have is countered with a better way to think about things...changing the negative thoughts to positive as much as that is possible. I have been in therapy for i think 4 years and i am doing better...that being said...I have more good days than bad days and even with the crisis i am dealing with in my own personal life, I am dealing with it....one year ago I might have fallen totally apart. Realizing that we can and do learn to live in a different manner. It is a disability so we have to learn to live a totally different way and i know I am...I am still working on processing things as well as learning to deal with every day life and it is exhausting...your brain goes into overdrive and you will feel awful. Take it slow and take breaks or you will become overloaded and make yourself more ill...that is what happened to me. Usually once you start...more things you didn't realize were keeping you stuck are now in the forfront of your brain instead of being buried.....like a pandoras box.....hence my name. I wish you only the best as you continue on with your healing . Take care,
pandora

[Auburngirl]

Just to share my timeline (which is still in progress) - it's been about 2 years since the series of traumatic incidents. I have had symptoms varying in severity since then. About a year ago they got particularly bad. I saw a counsellor for 3 months, then stopped (he left town), then things were okay again for a while, now been seeing a therapist for 5 months and still going. I think every bit has helped in some way, and having a break can also be useful. I don't know when the end point will be, but I do feel I'm getting myself back gradually.

I'm sure everyone's timeline is different.

[anthony]

Yes, everyone's timeline is different. Even with just one trauma, the problem here is this. As adults your life is full of little traumas... this is besides PTSD and a known fact. When you have PTSD it manifests every and any little trauma you have had in your life, now it throws it back in your face 10 fold all because of what this disorder does to your brain. The undealt emotion was always present in your brain, problem is now though that PTSD manifest negative emotion and smacks you hard with it. This is what the problem is.

You think you have one trauma, one problem to solve, suddenly when really pushed hard to face and deal with that trauma, all these other smaller traumas come to light because your brain must rid them all now as PTSD HAS manifested them whether you like it or not. You must now heal not only the traumatic occurance that gave you PTSD, but now you must heal EVERY bit of past trauma in your life. This is where every single person falls down... even one trauma by itself often takes 3 - 6 months of time. More doesn't increase that time frame necessarily, as when you take on the worst trauma first you tend to knock out many at once.... just some that don't get tackled at once haunt you for a little longer.

Regardless of the life trauma requiring dealing with, your brain cannot hit trauma realistically, it cannot process the emotion in one week, one day, a specific time. In one session you may learn 10 things and be able to apply them, in 10 sessions you may learn one thing that takes you two months to learn how to apply and work within yourself and daily life. That is trauma therapy 101. Fun stuff, not.

It is the hardest thing you will likely do in your life... it is harder than living the trauma in the first place, so if you use that experience as a gauge, then double it, you may have some idea just how bad its going to get for you. Scary.... YES.... but absolutely worth taking 6 - 12 months of your life off and just work like hell on facing every major aspect of your trauma, so you go down as low as you can go, then you WILL come back up and be a whole lot better for it. Nothing from then on forward will be as bad as the initial trauma therapy blow.

CBT performed correctly will achieve this, EMDR will achieve it, other types of therapy will achieve it; there is no one way.... but the facts remain that when you start becoming ill it is quite normal and you must push forward regardless how crap you feel and want to throw yourself off a building, welcome to trauma therapy is the answer when you feel that way.... get used to it for the next 3 - 6 months of your life.