Hello everyone, i have been trying for years to find someone that knows how ptsd effects your life. i was diagnosed a couple of years ago with ptsd and it has been hard for me to make people understand what goes on in my mind.

Hi mikeb,

I think if you just read around on the forum you will see that there are lots of reflections concerning how you feel. I used to feel trapped in my head, a prisoner of all my thoughts and fears. Feeling like an outsider looking in, feeling disconnected from the world and myself, feeling confused over what was a rational thougth and what was not, feeling hurt, rejected and like a 'missfit', feeling afraid, edgy, scared, undeserving of anything good, incomplete. However, I am on the road to recovery and I understand where all of these feelings came from, why I have felt the way I did and do and how the whole package of trauma and PTSD have affected my life.

As for others' understaning PTSD who have not expereinced it, yes that is diificult. If the people who love you care, then they can research it to try to grasp an understanding, and the rest don't really matter, do they?

I guess my way forward through PTSD hell is to try to understand myself first, that is the most important person you have in your life? But, yes I can totally empathise with your statement!

Best wishes

Spirit x

Hi mike, I agree with spirit. It's important to understand your illness first and come to terms with it. After that happens, making other people understand seems less important.

You may never get other people to understand what goes on in your mind and you will have to find a way to accept that. This illness is very difficult for me to understand, and I have PTSD, so for me to expect others to understand completely, is a bit unreasonable.

But I do understand how frustrating it can be.

Peace
Tammy

I wish I could explain it better. I have recently tried to explain it to one of my friends with no luck at all.
Very hard for someone to undertand as well. My mind can be such a mess at times that I do not really understand. So cannot really expect somebody else to understand.
It used to stress me out alot trying to understand what was happining to me. Now I go with the flow and dont question everything that I do or feel that is out of the norm.

I have been trying for 11 years to explain this to mother. Unless someone HAS PTSD there are no words to begin to explain this. Instead, I have watched my mother educated herself as much as she can ABOUT this thing.

She does not understand who I feel or what is going on with me BUT she knows the signs of my being overly stressed and she is also aware of and concerned that she not cause me any stress.

IMHO this is all we can expect and treasure from our loved ones. The rest of the world can take a flying leap because they really do have no clue. True friends will accept
you as you are and try to be supportive--not pushy!

Need people who understand this thing called PTSD Well, ya found them Welcome!

Explain how this affects you. Example---when your symptoms flare up you do x, y,
or z. Let them know what to expect when you get overloaded and tell them what they can do to help. This has worked extremely well for mother and I.

Hope this helps

thank you all for welcoming me to the forum. some days are good and some are bad and sometimes that is all i can hope for. but at least i now have somewhere to go and vent, express, or just have an ear to bend. today is a good day so far but my wife leaves for training for two weeks today and last time was not so easy. i have a 16 year old and a four year old and dont get me wrong they are great kids. sometimes the overwhelming thought of doing what my wife does makes my mind go into a tornado like effect. stress is one of my triggers and i am doing well with medication sometimes that isnt enough to control the craziness in my mind. well off for now. thank you all for being there.